Sartre is my prototype for ‘existentialist’ (and he was the first person to adopt the term), so I’m usually talking about his philosophy when I say ‘existentialism’. Camus’ philosophy is the thing I’d label ‘absurdism’. The two thought they had different philosophies, though I think they mainly disagreed on emphasis and tone rather than substance. I’ve seen it put best:
“Sartre: life is meaningless, SO HUMANS CREATE MEANING.
“Camus: LIFE IS MEANINGLESS, so humans create meaning.”
Camus is also frequently mopey and mournful about the fact that we live in a godless, purposeless universe. Sartre is positively gleeful and exultant about it. (Though, admittedly, glee and exultation can look pretty scholastic and grim when you funnel it through Sartre’s authorial demeanor.) So I think of absurdism as the brand of existentialism that emphasizes our tragic helplessness to escape our world’s absurdity (the Droopy Dog Method for overcoming nihilism), while Sartrean existentialism emphasizes the mad power and freedom that comes with atheism (the Calvinball Method for overcoming nihilism). I believe Sartre avoids the flaw Eliezer’s pointing at. (Though he suffers from plenty of other flaws.)
Perhaps it is a slight digression, but I don’t see Sartre and Camus as two sides of the existential coin. I believe Camus concludes the Myth of Sisyphus with the hero happy, and concluding all is well, despite the absurdity of reality. I don’t get “Droopy Dog” from Camus.
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I really like your first sentence...
“Reality is normal.” That is: Surprise, confusion, and mystery are features of maps, not of territories. If you would think like reality, cultivate outrage at yourself for failing to intuit the data, not resentment at the data for being counter-intuitive.
In my head (and in the context of Camus’s absurdism) it reads like this:
“Reality is normal, though it may appear at times to be perfectly absurd. That is, absurdity, and all that it entails, is a feature of how we may come to view the map, not a characteristic of the territory itself. To win, spend your life experiencing & studying the territory, as well as working on how to draw a better (more accurate) map; don’t waste resources pouting about the ‘way the territory is’...just keeping living & studying & improving that map.”
I don’t see Sartre and Camus as two sides of the existential coin. I believe Camus concludes the Myth of Sisyphus with the hero happy, and concluding all is well, despite the absurdity of reality. I don’t get “Droopy Dog” from Camus.
This is a key reason I see Sartre and Camus as substantively in agreement, and disagreeing just in tone and emphasis; Camus’ insistence that in spite of all he’s said Sisyphus must somehow be happy, aligns him with Sartre’s view that human value can emerge even in nightmarish circumstances, via individuals’ attitudes toward their circumstances. Sisyphus’ sudden and inexplicable turn-around is the moment in the Droopy Dog cartoons when the narrative arc is suddenly broken and Droopy smashes everyone in sight, bringing things back into order by deus ex animale. (In contrast, Sartre tries to give explicit arguments for why Sisyphus’ position is a superior one.)
Sartre is my prototype for ‘existentialist’ (and he was the first person to adopt the term), so I’m usually talking about his philosophy when I say ‘existentialism’. Camus’ philosophy is the thing I’d label ‘absurdism’. The two thought they had different philosophies, though I think they mainly disagreed on emphasis and tone rather than substance. I’ve seen it put best:
“Sartre: life is meaningless, SO HUMANS CREATE MEANING.
“Camus: LIFE IS MEANINGLESS, so humans create meaning.”
Camus is also frequently mopey and mournful about the fact that we live in a godless, purposeless universe. Sartre is positively gleeful and exultant about it. (Though, admittedly, glee and exultation can look pretty scholastic and grim when you funnel it through Sartre’s authorial demeanor.) So I think of absurdism as the brand of existentialism that emphasizes our tragic helplessness to escape our world’s absurdity (the Droopy Dog Method for overcoming nihilism), while Sartrean existentialism emphasizes the mad power and freedom that comes with atheism (the Calvinball Method for overcoming nihilism). I believe Sartre avoids the flaw Eliezer’s pointing at. (Though he suffers from plenty of other flaws.)
Perhaps it is a slight digression, but I don’t see Sartre and Camus as two sides of the existential coin. I believe Camus concludes the Myth of Sisyphus with the hero happy, and concluding all is well, despite the absurdity of reality. I don’t get “Droopy Dog” from Camus.
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I really like your first sentence...
In my head (and in the context of Camus’s absurdism) it reads like this:
“Reality is normal, though it may appear at times to be perfectly absurd. That is, absurdity, and all that it entails, is a feature of how we may come to view the map, not a characteristic of the territory itself. To win, spend your life experiencing & studying the territory, as well as working on how to draw a better (more accurate) map; don’t waste resources pouting about the ‘way the territory is’...just keeping living & studying & improving that map.”
Anyhow, interesting post. Much to consider.
This is a key reason I see Sartre and Camus as substantively in agreement, and disagreeing just in tone and emphasis; Camus’ insistence that in spite of all he’s said Sisyphus must somehow be happy, aligns him with Sartre’s view that human value can emerge even in nightmarish circumstances, via individuals’ attitudes toward their circumstances. Sisyphus’ sudden and inexplicable turn-around is the moment in the Droopy Dog cartoons when the narrative arc is suddenly broken and Droopy smashes everyone in sight, bringing things back into order by deus ex animale. (In contrast, Sartre tries to give explicit arguments for why Sisyphus’ position is a superior one.)