PHL 366 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Existentialism, Coffee Cup, Hermeneutic Circle
17 Jul 2016
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Document Summary
Roll a boulder up the mountain, only to have it fall back again. The most fundamental question is the question of the meaning of life. Camus takes up the question of meaning in the absence of a traditional religious or metaphysical framework (i. e. , one that appeals to a world beyond the realm of appearances) Although as reasoning beings, we strive to find meaning and a rational explanation of the world, the world itself is indifferent to reason. The absurd involves recognition of the meaninglessness of life: what follows, lack of motivation, alternatively; making the most of every day. Camus" initial question concerns the relationship between what he refers to as the absurd and the decision to take one"s own life: suicide, escape from life in other ways: Religious hope, faith: living, naturally, is never easy. You continue making the gestures commanded by existence for many reasons, the first of which is habit.
