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absurd
the confrontation btw the deep human desire for meaningfulness and the universe’s lack of meaning
absurdism
branch of existentialism
there is no meaningness to the world and we cannot create it
Camus - Is anything in the world objectively valuable?
No
Camus - How can we be happy without being inauthentic?
revolt against meaninglessness
hold on to your desire for meaning and the truth that there is no meaning and be happy in your authenticity
What makes Sisyphus an absurd hero?
He lives the kind of life we have to live in order to avoid suicide or inauthenticity
he found happiness in his absurd situation
existence precedes essence
we are free to and responsible for inventing value on our behalf, for all humanity
no pre-established essence = no pre-established morality
no pre-established meaning in life
difference btw a human and a paper knife
a paper knife is a good paper knife if it meets a certain requirements
ppl are not like that
Sartre - Is anything in the world objectively valuable?
No
Sartre - Can we create value? How?
yes, thru our choices
good vs bad faith
good → living authentically
bad → living inauthentically
Young Man story
a young man is deciding btw tending to his ill mother or fighting Nazis
there is no answer and if you avoid that fact, you’re attempting to push the responsibility of that choice onto someone else
you have to make a decision that is based on no prior knowledge
How does Sartre avoid the “anything goes” objection to existentialism?
Guise of the Good: humans only make choices if they think those choices will lead to good consequences
ultimately its an ethics of authenticity, if you care abt being authentic follow Sartre, if you don’t be prepared to get judged by the authentic
work (philos sense)
any activity undertaken solely to realize some purpose or achieve some outcome
work (economic sense)
activities that are instrumentally valuable
play
free purposeless action, action which carries purpose within itself (intrinsic value)
creative play
play that is also work in the economic sense
youth (descriptive, age sense)
early part of life
youth (attitude towards life sense)
a way of leading one’s life w/ a spirit of enthusiasm and playful engagement
Schlick - What is the meaning of life?
youth (philos sense)
Schlick - Why do so many ppl live a meaningless life?
Circularity Problem of Work: a chain of allegedly instrumentally valuable activities only become valuable if it leads to something intrinsically valuable, but working for the sake of survival so that you can work more is a circle, so no intrinsic value enters
Wolf - meaningfulness
actively and somewhat successfully, engaged in projects of objective value
project
any broadly, goal-oriented activity
somewhat successful
a project contributes more to the meaningfulness of a person’s life to the extent that the project is successful
actively engaged
gripped by the project, passionate abt it, animated by it
objective value
worthwhile
value beyond the individual
valuable, not just bc we believe it is or desire it
Wolf - Why must the project be objectively, not merely subjectively, valuable?
grounds significance of a person’s life in something that transcends personal happiness/preferences
for the greater good
couch potato
doesn’t add to society
no motivation to improve himself
just existing, won’t get anywhere
idle rich
lost passion quickly
lacking deep connections
too easy, no effort
alienated housewife
life is meaningful to other ppl
not meaningful to herself
not doing what she wants to do
grass counter
loves his life, loves what he does
contributing the bare minimum
no impact
defeated scientist
passionate, skillful
enjoys the work
could have indirectly led to good things (even if she failed at her goal)
put it all on one categorical desire, that didn’t pan out
would have been more meaningful if she successfully completed her goal
Wolf - Why is meaningfulness a different category than morality or prudence?
meaning involves a specific kind of engagement w/ objectively valuable projects that transcend personal happiness or moral duties
Wolf - Would Sisyphus have a meaningful life if he enjoyed pushing the rock?
No
Wolf - Is it possible for Sisyphus to live a meaningful life, even if he must be pushing the rock up the hill?
Yes, it is possible if he:
transforms the task
approaches activity differently
What is the meaning of “God is Dead”?
loss of objective meaning
the ultimate source of meaning, morality and value no longer exist
the world is meaningless
eternal recurrence
time repeats itself in an infinite loop
demon thought experiment
demon comes to you in your darkest moment and tells you that eternal recurrence is real and you will live this moment over and over again
that will cause an immense amount of despair
if you live a truly meaningful life, you will say yes and continue the loop
