Knowra Absurdism Absurdism Absurdism is a philosophical outlook centered on the conflict between humans’ search for meaning and an indifferent universe. It treats this conflict as irreducible rather than resolving it through certainty or resignation.
The Absurd : The conflict between human demands for meaning and a world that does not provide it. This is the defining conflict absurdism asks people to face without escape.
Meaning of life : The question of what, if anything, makes human existence significant or worthwhile. Absurdism begins with the human demand that life have significance.
Camus and Sartre controversy : A public and political dispute between Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre that culminated in 1952. The dispute exposes differences between Camus’s revolt and Sartre’s political commitments.
Sisyphus : A figure in Greek mythology condemned to roll a boulder uphill repeatedly, only to watch it fall. Camus uses Sisyphus’s futile labor to picture lucid, ongoing revolt.
Jean-Paul Sartre : A French philosopher and writer associated with existentialism, freedom, and political engagement. Sartre’s disagreements with Camus clarify where absurdism diverges from existentialist commitments.
Revolt : A sustained refusal to surrender to injustice, oppression, or meaninglessness. Camus presents revolt as a way to live lucidly with the absurd.
Existentialism : A philosophical family emphasizing existence, freedom, and individual responsibility. Absurdism overlaps with this broader tradition but has a distinct account of meaning.
The Stranger : Albert Camus’s 1942 novel about Meursault, whose emotional detachment unsettles social and moral expectations. The novel dramatizes an absurdist confrontation with death and the demand for meaning.
Absurdist theatre : A postwar dramatic movement marked by unstable logic, circular action, and failures of communication. Its stage forms make the breakdown of ordinary meaning tangible.
Martin Heidegger : A German philosopher whose work analyzes human existence, time, and being-in-the-world. His account of finitude offers a neighboring, but distinct, response to human existence without guarantees.
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