It's easy to, in the dead of night long after you promised yourself you would go to sleep, spiral into horrified wonderings about your place in the universe. These thoughts tend to build on one another until there’s no room for reasoning. This experience is widely shared not only in modern times, but also throughout human history–so much so that it inspired several thinkers in developing philosophies that are common beliefs for tens of thousands of people.
Absurdism, our philosophy of focus, is a school of thought that essentially revolves around the belief that life has no inherent meaning. Bleak, I know–a little discouraging, even. However, when properly embraced, the philosophy can become your sole source of solace in the face of an existential crisis.
The main tenets of absurdism are as follows:
1) Humans are without purpose in life
2) Seeking for purpose only leads to inner conflict
3) External conflict stems from humans’ need for logic clashing with the universe’s incomprehensibility
To accept these facts is to accept absurdism into your life. All that’s very boring, though; considering the philosophy’s name, it should be followed with a little more folly.
Although Albert Camus is the philosophist behind absurdism, my introduction to the school of thought was actually Kurt Vonnegut and his novel Slaughterhouse-Five. Vonnegut has a much more lighthearted outlook than other absurdists; in a personal statement, he mused that “we’re here on Earth to fart around.”
What exactly does he mean by that?
By combining Vonnegut’s whimsical approach with the basics of absurdism, we can arrive at a lifestyle that looks a little something like this:
Choosing to live day by day, fueled not by a need for a greater purpose, but rather for the sheer fun of it. In not being bogged down by this hefty concept of ‘purpose,’ you free yourself up to actually find the fun where it used to lie dormant in everyday tasks. It truly is so easy to get caught up in the seriousness everyone imbues in life. It always seems like there’s a paper to write, a test to take, a load of laundry to do, an appointment to make. Worse still, it’s easy to constantly feel like you’re two steps behind, stumbling to catch up.
Ultimately, absurdism teaches us that there’s also always a song to hum, a bad joke to crack, a bag to swing while you walk, a cloud to look at, and a bird, somewhere, chittering above your head. You can always skip down the sidewalk instead.
Comments