ABSURDISM

 NOTE TO READER: the following is totally my opinion and understanding of absurdism. If any of it is wrongfully interpreted then please feel free to correct in the comments.

Absurdism, by definition is some intentionally ridiculous or bizzare behaviour (as told by google), but there is always a deeper meaning to things that google just defines oh so easily. It is only a natural instinct for humans to seek out meaning in life, but the contradicting part comes when we see that no matter how much we try to seek out for meaning, we just keep finding how thoroughly devoid of connotations this world is. It is like, we are asking the world for meaning, but the world does not have any. Now this contradiction leads us to the philoshophy in hand, Absurdism.
                                    
                                      

Albert Camus(1913-1960), is known as the father of Absurdism. Camus, was born in a poor neighbourhood in French Algeria. He later on studied philoshophy at University of Algiers. Camus, was also a politically active person. He supported the left, that opposed Soviet Union due to its Totalitarianism. In his university days, he studied the likes of Franz Kafka, Fyodor Dostoevesky, Friedriech Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre etcetra. Some of his famous works are Myth of Sisyphus and The Stranger, The First Man, The Rebel.

According to Camus, the awareness or sudden experience of the absurd leaves a person with 3 choices, which are:-

1. Suicide
2. A leap of faith
3. Recognition

Albert, himself chose the third choice. He, felt suicide as an unacceptable choice. The elimination of self as a "confession" that life isn't worth to live, did not sit right with him. On the other hand, we have a leap of faith. This meant one's belief, that there is more beyond the rational life. This pointed straight at religious beliefs. Camus, argued to this as a belief based on rather abstraction than personal expirience. He also called the leap of faith as a "philoshophical suicide". At last, the choice that the philoshopher himself chose, Recognition. This meant the identification, of universe as utterly devoid of meaning. This, understanding made the individual truly free. This, he claimed was the correct expirience of the absurd.
                     
                                 

In his book 'The Myth of Sisyphus',Camus says that it is not the world that is absurd, nor the humans. The absurd, arises when the humans need to understand the unreasonableness of this world. He wants us to live by, not being bound to hope of a better future. He says, "what counts is not the best living, but the most living". Without a need to pursue life's purpose or to give it any meaning, the man enjoys a freedom with regard to common rules. In the book, Camus talked about the greek legend of sisyphus. The king, who was punished by the god to roll over a rock to the top of a mountain for eternity! No matter how many times he pushed the rock up the hill, the rock would roll down to the starting point, the base of the mountain. Here, Camus sees Sisyphus as a true absurd hero who hates death, lives life doomed to a meaningless task. Albert, shows the king's never ending, pointless toil as a symbol of modern life that  people live, spending their life away working at office jobs, and factories. He, concludes that one must imagine Sisyphus as an happy, absurd man.

In conclusion, thourgh Absurdism we should live life freely and not get tied up in knots of finding meaning when there is none. When we realize this, 'RECOGNIZE' this then only we can be truly an absurd induvidual.

                   Forget the future that is to come,
                      forget the past that is bygone.

Thank you for reading.