An examination of Camus' essay The Myth of Sisyphus and the adsurdist school of thought. This is based on the premise that
Existentialism is a Life-Affirming Ideology and we should consider the case for atheism (non-belief) to understand Camus' ideology more clearly.
3. Camus and The Absurd
The absurd is the state of being in
the absence of religious faith
Absurdism is interested in
morality, justice and the revolt
against the irrational
As Jean-Paul Sartre stated,
“Existentialism is a Humanism.”
4. Ideas from Camus’ essay
The Myth of Sisyphus
Please click the image to download the key quotes
7. Theist = Creator
intervenes
Absolutist
Deist = Creator
does not intervene
Agnostic = believes that
nothing is known or can
be known of the
existence or nature of
God
Rationalist
Materialist
Relativist
18. Why do some people
believe in a supernatural
power?
19. 1. Fear
Of death
Of loneliness
Of meaninglessness
Of being an outsider in a religious culture/
community
Of earthly or eternal punishment
20. To terrify children with the image of hell... to consider
women an inferior creation. Is that good for the
world?
21. So we are designed to fail?
Solution is a mysterious, invisible product that can only be
achieved through loyalty and pure faith
22.
23. 2. Power
Submission to a ‘higher power’
The laws, morals, ethics, commandments of ‘God’
always serve an institution
Church = State (Government)
Hierarchy designed to oppress weak masses and keep
them ignorant
Marx: Religion is the opium of the people
24.
25. 3. The Unknown
The ‘unanswerable questions’ about the human
condition, consciousness, the natural world, the cosmos
Mystery – Is ‘God works in mysterious ways,’ a
satisfactory response?
Grace
Service
29. Human decency is not derived from religion. It
precedes it.
God did not create Man; Man created God.
Therefore, in a secular age such as ours, God is
Dead and we have killed him
Renaissanc
e
Humanism
1500 AD
Existential Humanism
30.
31. A Moral Compass –
the problem of evil
If God is all-knowing, all-seeing and all-powerful,
how do we explain evil?
Human beings create a system of morality based on
what is best for the individual, others and the world
Existentialism is a humanism
34. Existentialism is terribly
misunderstood. It is…
Life-affirming – it actually attempts to deal with the anxiety, dread
and fear that is natural in life. The world is wonderful, but complex
Authentic – accepts reality for what it is. Freeing one from the
shackles of religion and other meaningless ideologies
Based on reason, rationalism and a struggle for justice. This starts
with self-awareness and the freedom to make choices. Values are
never fixed, we must construct the best ones we can! We are what
we do.
It is a liberating ideology that recognises the beauty, wonder, flaws
and limitations of Humankind. With the inevitable anguish that life
offers comes rich understanding and awareness.
How is this at all depressing?
40. There is an interesting correlation between highly religious
populations and poorly educated populations. It would be
incorrect to state that all religious people are uneducated,
however, those who do not have any other educational views
presented too them (other than religious ideology) are denied
the opportunity to think freely.