quotations about absurdism
Our escape from the absurd takes us down some strange paths. From motorcycle gangs to consumer culture, we are replete with escapist strategies -- but such solace affords only a temporary respite from the icy indifferent stare of the universe.
STEPHEN C. SMALL
"Brief Lives: Albert Camus", Philosophy Now, September 21, 2015
It seemed a ruse that fear of death should be the sole motivation for living and, yet, to quell this fear made the prospect of living itself seem all the more absurd; to extend this further, the notion of living one's life for the purposes of pondering the absurdity of living was an even greater absurdity in and of itself, which thus, by reductio ad absurdum, rendered the fear of death a necessary function of life and any lack thereof, a trifling matter rooted in self-inflicted incoherence.
ASHIM SHANKER
Only the Deplorable
The absurd does not liberate; it binds. It does not authorize all actions. "Everything is permitted" does not mean that nothing is forbidden.
ALBERT CAMUS
"The Absurd Man", The Myth of Sisyphus
Accepting the absurdity of everything around us is one step, a necessary experience: it should not become a dead end. It arouses a revolt that can become fruitful.
ALBERT CAMUS
"Three Interviews", Lyrical and Critical Essays
Absurdism is virtually a philosophy, as it views life as hopeless. Individuals are alone in a meaningless universe. Language does not lead to communication.
JIM PATTERSON
Stage Directing: The First Experience
Absurdity has a momentum you can surrender to. As does exhaustion.
GLEN DUNCAN
By Blood We Live
The bond between atheistic existentialism and absurdism is the denial of God, religion, immortality, and a natural moral law rooted in God, this bond of denial being so strong that those who conflate absurdism and existentialism have to be pardoned for blurring the distinction.
STEPHEN M. O'BRIEN
God and the Devil are Fighting: The Scandal of Evil in Dostoyevsky and Camus
At times people draw associations that, far from producing plausible interpretations, instead produce results that mystify or puzzle due to their novelty or absurdity. When results of this type are seen as threatening, others may react negatively with anger, outrage, or puzzlement. The incongruity that is brought into existence by the creative thinker is, in this case, too much to be intellectually tolerated.
JOHN MARMYSZ
Laughing at Nothing: Humor as a Response to Nihilism
Of course, believing that the whole world is just one big, absurd, unpredictable mess doesn't really lend itself to any desire to change things. I would be lying if I said I didn't have dark days when I thought that things could never possibly improve. My ultimate desire to make the world a better place outweighs those negative thoughts, but my embracement of the absurd gives me a safe place to turn when I feel exhausted by the horrors of the world. Thanks to Lemony Snicket, Douglas Adams, Kurt Vonnegut, Franz Kafka, and Tom Stoppard, among others, I can laugh at the bad days until the good ones come along.
KRISTIAN WILSON
"How Absurdist Books Like 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' Help Me Make Sense of the World", Bustle, May 17, 2018
It is to be believed because it is absurd.
TERTULLIAN
De Carne Christi
When we come face to face with our lives, we see, clearly, that it makes no sense. We see the ridiculous in it all. But, we live our lives as if we do not see. We continue our lives as if we know not that life is absurd.
HENRY ANUMUDU
"Henry Anumudu: Life & Its Complexities", Bella Naija, January 16, 2017