Transcript April 2 – Existentialism

April 2 – Existentialism & Absurdism
Agenda:
• Is death bad for you?
• Discussion
• Existentialism & Absurdism
• Albert Camus
• Existential Moralism
• The Stranger
• Chapter 1 & Absurdism
Homework:
• Read “The Myth of Sisyphus”
and complete the reading
questions
• Read Chapters 2, 3 and 4
(~20 pages)
Take out:
• Pen/Pencil
• Notebook
• Highlighter
• The Stranger
• “…Death…” reading and
answers
Kagan – Is Death Bad for You?
• Considering what you have read about (the deprivation
account, the existence requirement (modest and bold),
Epicurius’ argument, Lucretious’ argument, shmoss vs.
loss) try to answer the question a second time:
• Is death bad for you?
• This is an EXISTENTIAL question
Notes: Two Philosophical Movements
Existentialism:
• Centered on the analysis of
individual existence in an
unfathomable universe
• Considers the plight of the
individual who must assume
ultimate responsibility for acts
of free will without any certain
knowledge of what is right or
wrong or good or bad
It is:
• A belief that neither human
beings nor the universe has
any essential, predetermined
nature.
• Therefor human beings
construct their natures
through their choices.
Absurdism:
• Human need for meaning is
greater than the ability of the
universe to be meaningful,
making all philosophical
positions absurd
• Absurdism essentially says
that the world is so
nonsensical, so absurd, that
you can’t expect to find
meaning in it anywhere
• The search for order brings
the individual into conflict
with the universe
Camus’ Existential Moralism
• Human beings inhabit a moral universe in which
there are no absolute guidelines
• Nonetheless, we have an ethical sense that we try to
live up to
• Most of us want to be “good people,” though it is
difficult to define exactly what this means
• Life constantly presents us with moral choices
without giving us the right answers
• The various ways that we try to define a moral code
and live by it constitute our moral being
• We define ourselves as moral beings by the choices
that we make within the ethical system that we
construct
The Stranger (L’ Etranger)
• Main character/narrator: M.
Mersault
• Takes place in Algiers
(Northern Africa)
• Algiers was controlled by
the French from 1830-1962
• The Arabs in the story are a
reflection of the native
population, while the
French are the foreigners
• Story follows M. Mersault –
an “odd” young man
Chapter 1
• Write a heading on a piece of paper (you will be turning
this in)
• Having read chapter 1, answer the following question,
using at least two concrete details, and your basic
understanding of Absurdism:
• How does Mersault embody Camus’ Absurdist
perspective?