The Meaning of Life Is Absurd
Metadata
Highlights
- world â stressing out about the fact that I couldnât get a thought out into a word processor.
-
In the grand scheme of things, many of the endeavors we worry about can seem just as absurd. In the same way we laugh at a dogâs purposeful quest to chase its own tail, the cosmos seems like itâs laughing at our desire to work so hard for yet another promotion, ridiculing us for all the research we do to decide which new iPad to buy, and shaking its head at how much we care about how our stories look on Instagram.
-
This asymmetry between our need for meaning and the worldâs refusal to entertain it is known as the Absurd, and this paradox is what philosopher Thomas Nagel addresses in his essay of the same name. In it, he delves deep into what causes this unique feeling of meaninglessness we get when we take a moment to examine what we deem important in our lives.
-
To Nagel, we humans always find ourselves clashing between these two things: (1) The inevitable seriousness in which we view our lives, and (2) The ability to view that seriousness as being silly and insignificant. What makes the whole thing so absurd is that even after we notice the meaninglessness of things, it doesnât make them any less significant to us.
-
The questions of âWhat does it all mean?â and âWhat is my purpose?â are things we ask when weâre not plugged into this very moment. When weâre paying close attention to the project weâre working on, the book weâre enjoying, or the time weâre spending with our loved ones, then weâre not searching for meaning; we already have it.
-
So instead of being distraught by a lack of existential meaning, âwe can approach our absurd lives with irony instead of heroism or despair.â