Albert Camus“man as the nauseated victim of the absurd

orthodoxy of habit…”

ALBERT CAMUS

Existentialism is a 20th century philosophy that is centered upon the analysis of existence and of the way humans find themselves existing in the world.

The notion is that humans exist first and then each individual spends a lifetime changing their essence or nature.

Existentialism – A Definition

Existentialism is a philosophy concerned with finding the meaning of life through free will, choice, and personal responsibility.

The belief is that people are searching to find out who and what they are throughout life as they make choices based on their experiences, beliefs, and outlook.

An existentialist believes that a person should be forced to choose and be responsible without the help of laws, ethnic rules, or traditions.

In simpler terms…

Human free will (you have a choice) Human nature is chosen through life choices There is no PRE-DESTINATION, FATE or DESTINY A person is best when struggling against their

individual nature, fighting for life Decisions are not without stress and consequences Personal responsibility and discipline is crucial

(important) Society is unnatural and its traditional religious and

secular (school, government, parents) rules are subjective (random)

Existentialism – What It Is

wealth, pleasure, or honor DO NOT make the good life

Science can’t and won’t make everything better

Take responsibility for your own life, choices and situations – don’t blame others or making excuses

Existentialism supports the following ideas

The Existential Teenagervs.

The Regular Teenager

In small groups, decide which one you are. You don’t have to agree and you really need to be honest!

Which one are you…?

Existentialistic ideas came out of a time in society when there was a deep sense of despair following the Great Depression and World War II. There was a spirit of optimism in society that was destroyed by World War I and its mid-century calamities, tragedies and catastrophes.

History – Impact on Society

An existentialist could either be a religious moralist, agnostic relativist, or an amoral atheist. Kierkegaard, a religious philosopher, Nietzsche, an anti-Christian, Sartre, an atheist, and Camus an atheist, are credited for their works and writings about existentialism. Sartre is noted for binging the most international attention to existentialism in the 20th century.

Who is an Existentialist?

When someone or society tries to impose or demand that their beliefs, values, or rules be faithfully accepted and obeyed, existentialists believe this destroys individualism and makes a person become whatever the people in power desire thus they are dehumanized and reduced to being an object.

Existentialism then stresses that a persons judgment is the determining factor for what is to be believed rather than by arbitrary religious or secular world values.

Most importantly, it is the random act that existentialism finds most objectionable or offensive

Write down 3 things you understand about EXISTENTIALISM.

Put the definitions into your own words

Whatcha think?

What does it mean?

You view the world around you from your own perspective.

Your perspective is yours and yours alone. No one can see what’s in your head, your

thoughts, your imagination. Even if you describe it to someone, they will

imagine it in their own way which may or may not be similar to what you have imagined.

Wait, what???

Absolute Individual

What do you see?

Which way is up?

Person or Lunch?

Feel the chair beneath you.How your tushy feels on your chair is different from everyone in the classroom.

…or is it?

Contemplate your butt

What is EXISTETIALISM?In your own words, define it.

Review…

Individualism is the idea that the individual’s life belongs to him and that he has an inalienable right to live it as he sees fit, to act on his own judgment, to keep and use the product of his effort, and to pursue the values of his choosing.

Individualism in Society

Collectivism is the idea that the individual’s life belongs not to him but to the group or society of which he is merely a part, that he has no rights, and that he must sacrifice his values and goals for the group’s “greater good.”

Collectivism

If you could only pick one, which one do you think would work better in society?

Why?

Which one?

Man can most certainly live ethically and morally without religion because every living thing knows right from wrong.

Whom should we follow? Or should we follow at all? Again, it’s the idea of INDIVIUALISM or COLLECTIVISM.

Hmmm…

“The absurd is born out of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world.” ◦ -Albert Camus

Absurdism

A philosophy stating that the efforts of humanity to find natural meaning in the universe ultimately fail (and hence are absurd), because no such meaning exists, at least in relation to the individual.

Absurdism

The idea that humanity must live in a world that is and will forever be hostile or indifferent towards them.

The universe will never truly care for humanity the way we seem to want it to.

The ATHEIST view of this statement is that people create stories, or gods, which in their minds transcend reality to fill this void and attempt to satisfy their need.

What is Absurdism?

Its commonly used in philosophical discourse to refer to the clash between the human search for meaning and the human inability to find any.

In this context absurd does not mean "logically impossible," but rather "humanly impossible.“

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

The Absurd

To truly understand all of these philosophies, we will read The Stranger.

All will be revealed and all will be better understood as we read.

As we read the book, remember this key word:

APATHY

Albert Camus

General mood of despair at a perceived pointlessness of existence that one may develop upon realizing there are no necessary norms, rules, or laws.

Indifference Apathy Whatever-ness It just doesn’t matter because life will just go

on.

Nihilism has a few meanings

Negation of one or more meaningful aspects of life such as religion, government rules, society’s rules, morality, etc.

“I didn’t make the rules so I shouldn’t have to follow them.”

Nihilism

life is without meaning, purpose, or value.

There is no GOOD nor EVIL.

Existential Nihilism

Who was he and with whom was he so angry? Why was he so angry?

When did he live – now? The 1400s? The late 1800s? The 1960s?  

Identify the figurative language – explain what your group thinks those specific lines mean.

Here are the questions (before we read the poem by AE Housman)

The laws of God, the laws of man,He may keep that will and can;Not I: let God and man decreeLaws for themselves and not for me;And if my ways are not as theirsLet them mind their own affairs.Their deeds I judge and much condemn, Yet when did I make laws for them?Please yourselves, say I, and theyNeed only look the other way.

But no, they will not: they must stillWrest their neighbor to their will,And make me dance as they desireWith jail and gallows and hell-fire.And how am I to face the oddsOf man's bedevilment and God's!I, a stranger and afraidIn a world I never made.They will be master, right or wrong;Though both are foolish, both are strong.And since, my soul, we cannot flyTo Saturn nor to Mercury.Keep we must, if keep we can,These foreign laws of God and man.

Housman views himself as a

"stranger and afraid in a world I never made,"

Housman was homosexual during a time when it was a crime.

How would you characterize his poem?

A.E. Housman (1859 - 1936)

In your composition book or notes on your iPad, please write one sentence that describes each of these concepts or “isms”:

EXISTENTIALISM INDIVIDUALISM COLLECTIVISM ABSURDISM NIHILISM ABSOLUTE INDIVIDUAL

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