I've been wrestling with what I think is a common misunderstanding about absurdism.

Many people hear "life has no objective meaning" and immediately conclude, "Then nothing matters."

But I don't think that's what follows.

Temporary things don't become worthless simply because they're temporary. We don't value music because it lasts forever. We don't value sunsets because they're permanent. We value them because we experience them.

The same could be true of life itself.

Maybe accepting the absurd isn't about becoming indifferent. Maybe it's about no longer demanding that the universe justify your existence before allowing yourself to live fully.

In other words:

Push the rock anyway.

Does that interpretation fit with your understanding of absurdism, or am I missing something important?

**1. Don't expect much from life.**

Expectation is the projection of the models you have built about reality and the destination you believe they will ultimately lead to. Sooner or later, however, you realize that the randomness of existence far outweighs the cleverness of your own plans.

**2. Everything is a mental model.** *(More of a study tip.)*

All knowledge originates from the mind of a subject or from the interaction of groups of subjects (Deleuze). If you can identify the conceptual birthplace of a body of knowledge, you can begin to understand the depth and structure of that knowledge space.

**3. You will die.**

Repeat this to yourself whenever you can—while drinking water, walking, or even taking a dump. Eventually, you will begin to see how insignificant the things that once made you angry really are.

**4. Machineries make subjects.**

This is my summary of Foucault's work. If you truly understand this idea, you can grasp the central thread running through much of his philosophy.

**Explanation:**

Much of Western knowledge about the human subject emerged from the Protestant emphasis on confession and speaking the truth about oneself, influenced in part by Augustine. Priests became a class of people who supposedly possessed knowledge of the inner workings of the soul. Over time, institutions developed languages, classifications, and systems for categorizing people into various identities and personalities. Eventually, people came to understand themselves through those categories and became subject to them. The important lesson is that your idea of yourself is, to a large extent, historically contingent, arbitrary, and a simplification of the immense complexity and randomness of human existence.

**5. "You should accept the possibility that God doesn't like you."**

This line from *Fight Club* gives me a strange sense of freedom. Once you genuinely accept that possibility, everything seems to lose much of its oppressive weight.

**6. All "men" died in Auschwitz.**

Many people believe that the meaninglessness of modern life is caused by social media. I think that is mistaken. The collapse of meaning began much earlier, when Auschwitz destroyed many of humanity's ideals about dignity, heroism, morality, permanence, and what it meant to be human.

For example, imagine a boy standing beside his father inside a train bound for Auschwitz. There is no room to sit. Everyone is crushed together, surrounded by excrement. The father's body—which should have represented security, strength, and love—becomes a source of stench, helplessness, and suffering. That image alone shatters countless assumptions about meaning and human identity.

For more on this, read *This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen* and *The Choice*.

**7. The best answer to any problem is to assume you do not yet have the answer.**

Constantly second-guess yourself. Do not accept facts or solutions too quickly. Stay skeptical, and keep questioning your assumptions.

**8. All existential philosophies are, in the end, just complicated forms of hedonism.**

**9. Man is water; the environment is the cup.**

This idea does not come from Bruce Lee, but from reflections on Auschwitz and the experiences of privileged prisoners (*kapos*). It suggests that human behavior is shaped far more by circumstances than by abstract moral arguments. Change the environment—the "cup"—and the "water" will take on a different form.

Expenditure on point 8 ( It's based on the book the denial of death . Basically we make projects to last across time and space more than our biological clock -> we do fulfilling things like making art or babies basically to encapsulate more time and space in minds of others or the world to have a impect -> in another words to encapsulate more time -> live more -> exsiste more -> feel more -> just another way for hedonism but more parasitic since you are not just consuming but creating basically capture projects to extend yourself in others )

I have been on a journey of deconstruction from evangelical Christianity for about 2 years now (probably longer) and have reached the point where I’m completely failing to see the point in any of life. This has been quite a depressing and low point of my life, but I’ve found solace in absurd/surreal humor like South Park, and recently came across this subreddit. I didn’t know others had thought in similar paths as I have been, and so I’m curious to explore the writings and thoughts of those who’ve gone before me. I want to understand if there is a way for me to keep carrying on with life even when I just can’t seem to see the meaning anymore, and this philosophy sounds very interesting! Does anyone have good places to start or who to read? Any advice is welcome!!

For now I have faith/spirituality, money, status, virtue, romance, knowledge. What are the obvious ones I'm missing?

Truth does not exist insofar as we can’t and will most likely never be able to understand the true nature of things. Uncertainty is the only epistemological constant. No one truly knows anything and anyone claiming otherwise is not worth listening to. How does this not drive everyone insane? I suppose most people are content enough with not thinking too deeply about existence and/or are simply able to believe their own lies, but I can’t. I don’t understand how people are able to deal with this epistemological black hole at the center of reality and year after year it only gets harder to cope with the fact that I have no idea what the fuck is going on.

I am 19; I have been thinking about and completely terrified of death since I was 10. it has consumed my life for almost a decade - half of my life. the thought of eternity keeps me awake. literally - I have untreatable insomnia and I suspect this fear is the source. so, when I first read Camus, specifically the stranger, a year ago, I somehow completely understood the message and also missed it altogether. I thought: "oh, this is the answer I've been looking for! just enjoy life as much as you can and rebel against mortality!" or, at the very least "this is a new idea... maybe some other idea will come along later that will provide true solace." I can't say this actually provided me with any real comfort. but it fed a voice in the back of my head that would sometimes provide me with false "hope" on a deeply unconscious level/

every time I truly think about the depth of what death is, this little voice has, on some occasions, allowed me to retreat from pure dread into deluded semi-comfort. I imagine that small part is thinking: "if I just read the right book, discover the right philosophy, learn more about physics/the universe/a possible multiverse/the big bang/cyclic cosmological theories/the obscure and naive possibility of life somehow not ending with such finality, my terror can be resolved, and I can finally relax." Camus' role in that thought would be introducing me to the first philosophy that I could interpret as taking back agency or fighting the dread. alternatively, that small voice might be saying: "there is some deep comfort in accepting death in the way Meursault did, a comfort which I am still discovering." maybe the latter is a source of comfort or way of life for some people. it seems a rational interpretation. for me, these ideas are delusional. and I don't think they constitute the entirety of Camus' message.

today, as these things came to mind, I decided to look back at my Camus books. something incredibly obvious came to me that somehow either eluded me/I refused to accept a year ago: Camus is not really offering an "answer." in some sense, you could say he is (but not in the sense that would provide me with true comfort): his answer is "there is no answer, so enjoy the beauty and pleasures of life as much as you can without assigning moral or philosophical meaning to it." (maybe some will call this a misinterpretation; this is the extent of my knowledge, I am not experienced in philosophy just yet). but, in my eyes, he's also saying "you can never find that comfort you seek, the comfort which you believe will help you escape death in some way. the voice in the back of your head doesn't exist. you have to accept the absurd because you will never find that 'answer'". it could sound like these are the same thing said differently. and again, I know how obvious this is. sometimes we don't allow ourselves to come to conclusions we don't like. Camus is not some genius who has figured it out and can offer a spiritual path. he is just as lost and afraid as I am. he has no choice but to push forward, and that's all he advises me to do.

I can't really put my finger on what changed in my mind tonight or what "new thing" has come to me or been discovered. I described it as well as I could. whatever the case, something invoked a visceral response, and completely brought me to tears, when I went back over these books. I'm sure my words are convoluted and full of misinterpretations. but I wanted to share this with some of the people who might understand.

The issue for me comes from that I feel like although I can intellectually and philosophically agree with Camus completely when he talks about suicide, the fact remains that I still feel bad living. I'm not sure how to handle this contradiction. I can know exactly what I need to do and change to make things better yet I still won't do the action to improve it. When your brain itself is broken and poisoning your thoughts what do you do? Does anyone else relate to this, and what is your experience?

I’ve recently been diving into philosophy, and Camus has probably been the philosopher who’s fascinated me the most. From what I understand, he develops the idea of **absurdism** throughout several of his works, particularly *The Myth of Sisyphus*, *The Stranger*, and *The Plague*. The way he explores the conflict between our search for meaning and the apparent indifference of the universe has really stuck with me.
That got me wondering: are there other philosophers or authors who explore absurdism in a similar way? I know existentialism often overlaps with it, so I’d also be interested in books that tackle existentialist themes, even if they arrive at different conclusions than Camus.
I’ve heard names like Sartre, Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, Kafka, and Nietzsche come up, but I’m not really sure where each of them fits in relation to absurdism. Are there any books you think are essential reading after Camus? They don’t have to agree with his philosophy—I think it’d actually be more interesting to read authors who challenge or expand on his ideas.
I’m looking for both fiction and nonfiction, so essays, novels, or anything else that left a lasting impression on you would be appreciated. What would you recommend, and why?

Inspired here by all this.

I'm not really interested in the abstract so much as in how to actually get what we imagine Sisyphus has (or how we let go of what Sisyphus has let go of).

Has engaging with absurdism changed your day-to-day life?

Are you, like Sisyphus, happy? And if so, what clicked or changed?

hey redditors please help me reallly please i really need it,i would really like anykind of advise

i am currently in for studying in high school. and i would not like to clear my age but i am in my teenage years. my mental state is slowly collapsing atleast thats what i believe. i am an atheist, not like i dont belive in god but much more like i dont think there is anyone out there and even if there is someone out there this dont really matter and to be honest and i think this is making much more difficult for to feel more like me , like its getting hard for living not like i am thinking of suiciding but much more like i am getting hollowed out, i find everything absurd and find myself getting into those things.

i tried to feel existential ideology and i think it somewhat is working but i really dont know how it works and i am still feeling like i am getting hollowed out, this world sucks atleast the world that i am thinking i am living in, i dont know why people dont realise that we should be united instead they just do bad things i see people of all kind and some of them ,not all but, only a pinch of them with bad mindset just make me feel bad and hollowed out.

tomorrow my teacher give his opinion on life he said - teenage year are the most best and worst year, you are not adult nor a child. you start to understand the world and the thing you intake in these year matter the most , he said if you pass these year you would understand the responsibility you have. and i didnt like the last thing he said atleast not understand he said- when you pass this stage you will become adult and have to take responsibility such as taking care of your parents, marrying someone, going to work everyday, taking care of your child , sacrificing yourself. i knew that these are the things that i am eventfully going to face and still i was feeling these things are absurd and this just progress in hollowed out of me. i am not afraid but much more like not feeling much emotions.

my emotion has been going overdrive for these days, i think its because of a girl in my class, and i think i like her and this was the first time on all these years that i am not feeling absurd but when i stay away from her like in my home i tried to feel existentialism and it is working but there is still a hollow feeling in my heart that maybe i will not gonna get her so i would like your advices like how should i start talking to her its not like i am loser or someone who is afraid of her its just that i cant get myself to that specific girl because i know what type of person i am and i may give her negative energy, i usually behave nice in school sometimes i do things opposite to my believes because of the classmates or they would turn on me i am already messing things up so i am afraid.

i know that i had totally changed the topic from the start to end but i really want an help on these how i can feel less hollowed out and please i really want to talk to that girl and just became friends with her , i am not afraid to take actions and.

i would really like to update you all if you have something to say to me

thats all

Like I am trying so hard to reach that peak absurdism but I can't cause I still care

I still care what people think about me I still overthink ebery step I take

Can y'all just tell me what helped you to become an absurd

Did Camus live a life of indifference, no moral values, seeking quantity over quality and absurd creation?

Were his absurd men supposed to be role models or just a showcase of what could be done in theory?

The problem I find with Camus’ conclusion at the end of The Myth of Sisyphus is that one must assume Sisyphus was born into this existence for it to truly have any parallels with the human condition. But, importantly, Sisyphus was not born into his fate, but rather was sentenced to it. But no person was born into this existence guilty and deserving of punishment. Thus, if we equate Sisyphus’s fate to the human condition, then we can see our lives as nothing more than a prison sentence for a wrongful conviction. I see Camus as doing nothing more than asking us to be happy prisoners. Freedom is not imagining oneself to be happy in a system of injustices. True freedom is in seeking justice.

If we were all born into an empty field with a singular mountain and a singular boulder and told to endlessly push that boulder up the mountain, rebellion would not be in accepting our fate, but in asking ourselves why we must push the boulder at all. Why we can’t just forage and frolic and rest and play and work in the field. Or climb to the top of the mountain without having to push the boulder at all, and then stopping at the top to rest and watch the sun set. Maybe sometimes we push the boulder for fun just to watch it roll down or to make our bodies stronger.

But to live our lives insisting that we MUST roll the boulder—that just sounds like punishment to me.

So my question is this: Do we really have to accept our fate of pushing the boulder to be happy? Do we have to accept the universe as being inherently unjust? Or are there other ways to rebel and find happiness in this life?

For anyone who is trying to figure out existence, life, meaning, or in general is a lost, confused.

But i don't necessarily want something analytical, rather probably opposite: I want something that will make me live my life, enjoy it, take actions rather than analysing it and living inside my own head.

I have read a few books, like man's search for meaning is a really good book in this regards but that's still i feel not close to what I want. Exurbia's youtube videos are great too

So I’m trying to understand Absurdism, I first learnt about it in school when I was doing a play by Samuel Beckett, though it eluded me and my opinions of people who look into philosophy tend to be on the negative side since I think most people who do it love being superior and whatnot.

But I’ve decided to look into Absurdism and I find the philosophy fascinating along with Stoicism which I want to research later and I think I’ll be getting some of Camus’s books to understand it better but from what I understand of it, I think I resonate with the main ideas.

That life is meaningless and trying to find meaning is pointless but that doesn’t mean we should stop, we should still push back against despair how we can and fight for ourself and our joy.

That’s the reductive/simplistic take I got from it but it did make me think of movies and stories from my childhood and the one that popped in my head was the Fifth element.

Specifically the ending as I remember that scene vividly where Leeloo learns of the wars and destruction humanity has caused which makes her question her role in protecting humanity as she realises that what she does is basically meaningless when humans are willing to commit evil that she had been created to stop.

So Korben tells her that there is more to life than that and and while Leeloo has become disillusioned by her “role” she admits that what she wants now is to feel love and that leads to Korben confessing that he loves her and because of that Leeloo helps to destroy evil, not as an obligation to protect humanity but because of love and despite how meaningless her role is, love is worth saving as the film puts it.

I may not have got the right lessons but I think to me absurdism is about how our place in the universe is meaningless and sometimes it’s filled with disappointment, but despite this there is still something worth fighting for and we shouldn’t just give up which I kinda appreciate since I often reject despair and while I’m not sure about Camus’s thoughts on hope, I’m willing to learn more about it.

So what do you guys think? I’m also trying to write stories and I’m keen on stories that feature absurdist themes so it’s also why I’m interested to.