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.

2. Before we begin…

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

5. Carl Sagan: A Universe
not made for us

6. Sam Harris: Can you
prove that there is not a
god?

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

8. Christopher Hitchens: Why
are there so many gods?

13. Let’s go back to the
Bronze Age. . .

17. We’re working
on it!

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

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

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

26. Stephen Hawking on The Big Bang

28. What is the alternative?

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

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

32. Stephen Fry: What I would
say to god?

33. Colin McGinn: The
problem of evil

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?

35. The Existential Choice

36. Hitchens: If you want to be inspired

37. Hitchens: The Indifference of Heaven

38. Richard Dawkins

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.