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Single Idea 9243
[filed under theme 23. Ethics / F. Existentialism / 2. Nihilism
]
Full Idea
What a man believes to be true must determine his action. Belief in the absurdity of existence must then dictate his conduct.
Gist of Idea
If we believe existence is absurd, this should dictate our conduct
Source
Albert Camus (The Myth of Sisyphus [1942], 'Abs and Suic')
Book Ref
Camus,Albert: 'The Myth of Sisyphus', ed/tr. O'Brien,Justin [Penguin 1975], p.14
A Reaction
It is intriguing to speculate what the appropriate conduct is. Presumably it is wild existential gestures, like sticking a knife through your hand. Suicide will be an obvious temptation. But bourgeois life might be equally appropriate.
The
19 ideas
with the same theme
[human life seems pointless and absurd]:
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7072
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Jacobi was the first philosopher to talk of nihilism
[Jacobi, by Critchley]
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22090
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For me time stands still, and I with it
[Kierkegaard, by Carlisle]
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24123
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My eternal recurrence is opposed to feeling fragmented and imperfect
[Nietzsche]
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23214
|
For the strongest people, nihilism gives you wings!
[Nietzsche]
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20125
|
The ethical teacher exists to give purpose to what happens necessarily and without purpose
[Nietzsche]
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23717
|
Modern nihilism is now feeling tired of mankind
[Nietzsche]
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7198
|
Nihilism results from measuring the world by our categories which are purely invented
[Nietzsche]
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9782
|
Nietzsche urges that nihilism be active, and will nothing itself
[Nietzsche, by Zizek]
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7847
|
Initially nihilism was cosmic, but later Nietzsche saw it as a cultural matter
[Nietzsche, by Ansell Pearson]
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18286
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The greatest experience possible is contempt for your own happiness, reason and virtue
[Nietzsche]
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19622
|
The pointlessness of our motives and irrelevance of our gestures reveals our vacuity
[Cioran]
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19617
|
Evidence suggests that humans do not have a purpose
[Cioran]
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19612
|
The universe is dirty and fragile, as if a scandal in nothingness had produced its matter
[Cioran]
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9243
|
If we believe existence is absurd, this should dictate our conduct
[Camus]
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6708
|
Happiness and the absurd go together, each leading to the other
[Camus]
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23941
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'Absurdity' is just the result of our wrong choices in life
[Solomon]
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3268
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If a small brief life is absurd, then so is a long and large one
[Nagel]
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6688
|
Life is only absurd if you expected an explanation and none turns up
[Graham]
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6843
|
Perceiving meaninglessness is an achievement, which can transform daily life
[Critchley]
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