Why does Camus believe that ‘There is only one really serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide’ (The Myth of Sisyphus)? (Exam 2010)
In ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’, Albert Camus claims that the question of suicide, which is fairly synonymous with the problem of the meaning of life, is the ‘only really serious philosophical problem’. This essay will argue that Camus does so because he believes it is the original, unavoidable question, and because he believes his theory of the absurd can provide some form of new solution.
Camus justifies his belief that the greatest philosophical problem is suicide with notions of literal, tautologous importance – questions of life and death are, unavoidably, matters of life and death. Galileo abandoned …show more content…
Indeed, it may be the case that the ‘only one really serious philosophical problem’ is one that precedes others.
Another reason for the question’s importance is its impossibility to answer. Man is doomed to attempt to find meaning in life before finding his answers tumble before him, as Sisyphus is similarly cursed to ultimately irrelevant labour. In translating a ‘What is the meaning of life?’ question into one more along the lines of a Shakespearean ‘To be, or not to be?’, Camus emphasises the prior’s importance by equating it to the latter. Unless meaning can be found, life is worthless and therefore suicide the rational option by conventional deductive logic.
Yet, as Camus points out, most that commit suicide do not do so after a period of philosophical reflection alone. More often than not, triggers like family problems or other dramas set people off. Almost ironically, ignoring absurdity (i.e. the meaninglessness of life) and embracing its trivialities can lead one back to absurdity. Philosophical actions are made with philosophical judgement and a bitterness against the absurd, but in a process spurred paradoxically by the
In ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’, Albert Camus claims that the question of suicide, which is fairly synonymous with the problem of the meaning of life, is the ‘only really serious philosophical problem’. This essay will argue that Camus does so because he believes it is the original, unavoidable question, and because he believes his theory of the absurd can provide some form of new solution.
Camus justifies his belief that the greatest philosophical problem is suicide with notions of literal, tautologous importance – questions of life and death are, unavoidably, matters of life and death. Galileo abandoned …show more content…
Indeed, it may be the case that the ‘only one really serious philosophical problem’ is one that precedes others.
Another reason for the question’s importance is its impossibility to answer. Man is doomed to attempt to find meaning in life before finding his answers tumble before him, as Sisyphus is similarly cursed to ultimately irrelevant labour. In translating a ‘What is the meaning of life?’ question into one more along the lines of a Shakespearean ‘To be, or not to be?’, Camus emphasises the prior’s importance by equating it to the latter. Unless meaning can be found, life is worthless and therefore suicide the rational option by conventional deductive logic.
Yet, as Camus points out, most that commit suicide do not do so after a period of philosophical reflection alone. More often than not, triggers like family problems or other dramas set people off. Almost ironically, ignoring absurdity (i.e. the meaninglessness of life) and embracing its trivialities can lead one back to absurdity. Philosophical actions are made with philosophical judgement and a bitterness against the absurd, but in a process spurred paradoxically by the