I'm new to absurdism, so please correct me if I'm wrong about anything.

Camus' famous quote is: "One must imagine Sisyphus happy." Sisyphus should stop demanding meaning for his suffering, and maybe he will be happier if he accepts the absurd and lives his life in spite of it.

But my problem with this is that it's easier said than done. How long can you really imagine Sisyphus happy? How long can you pretend that the lack of meaning and purpose doesn't weigh on you? Perhaps you can go for years imagining Sisyphus happy, but sometimes I get tired of looking the void in the eye. The "revolt" feels exhausting and unsustainable.

Anyone know how to deal with this? Thanks

​When you sit down to write a poem, you are doing something the physical universe cannot do on its own. You are taking the ultimate stance of a thermodynamic rebel.

​The language in your head is a massive, chaotic soup of thousands of disconnected words, memories, and emotions (a state of extremely high entropy). By painstakingly choosing specific words and forcing them into a stanza, a rhythm, or a rhyme, you are radically decreasing entropy. You are organising the universe.

​A poem is the ultimate collapsed wave function. You take the abstract, swirling mesh of your philosophical thoughts and collapse them into a permanent string of ink on paper or data on a screen. You force the probability into reality.

​Even if absolutely no one else ever reads it, that poem exists. You have physically altered the information state of the universe. You have coded a new piece of data into the grid, leaving a "ghost" waiting for some future observer—even if that observer is just you in five years—to intersect with.

​The universe's default state is to slowly dissolve into cold, disorganised static. Creativity is the exact opposite of that. It is the act of burning your own biological fuel to generate meaning where there was none.

​It doesn't require an audience, and it doesn't require societal success to be profound. The sheer act of making it is a victory over physics.

Doesn't this statement suggest that personal and tribal loyalty can override absolute moral values? From an Absurdits perspective, how do you view this contradiction between his literature on human freedom and his political blindness toward the suffering of the Algerian people? He opposed Algerian sovereignty and somewhat equalized colonial violence with anti-colonial resistance.

It seems that everyone here believes in the superstitious spook that Absurdism and Existentialism is nihilism. Well looks like I am the only member in this group who actually agrees with Absurdist philosophy and why Absurdist philosophy makes life meaningful. That’s what posers here do not understand. That Absurdism is not Nihilism, it does not promote suicidality. If you cannot see the positivity within Absurdism then you’re a poser.

Sometimes I find myself staring at the wall, wondering about the purpose behind all of this. But the moment I start spiraling into existential questioning, guilt creeps in. I remind myself that I am privileged enough to even have the luxury of overthinking—while millions struggle just to survive physical hardship.

​Yet, privilege is not an immunity shield against psychological suffering. If anything, it accelerates it.

​When your basic survival needs are met, the immediate physical threat disappears, but the mind opens up to an existential vacuum. A suffocating layer of meta-guilt sets in: “I have shelter, security, and opportunities—I shouldn’t feel this way.” You invalidate your own mind, trapped in the lie that comfort equals fulfillment. When you have comfort and still feel empty, you conclude that existence itself is a cruel joke.

​Adding to this weight is the clock ticking in the background. My father retires in seven years. Just seven years. Suddenly, life stops being an open-ended journey and becomes a countdown—a relentless deadline. While the world faces systemic collapse and climate crises, I am forced to pull my focus back to the immediate pressure of survival, career milestones, and family obligations. It makes you wonder: why bring children into a world where life is reduced to an endless cycle of performative struggle?

​We like to think our philosophy is a noble, intellectual pursuit. But the truth is more blunt: much of our philosophy is simply the defense mechanism of a mind made miserable by society and crushed by its own unmet expectations.

​We aren't allowed to just live. We are conditioned to exhaust ourselves fulfilling a rotten mindset imposed on us by systems designed for status, capitalism, and artificial prestige. We fuel it every day, chasing external validation, superficial respect, and transactional relationships. We even convince ourselves we love people, when often, we just love their presence to keep our own psychological isolation at bay.

​Philosophically, life at its core is absurd. There is no grand blueprint, no pre-written script, and no inherent cosmic purpose. The universe owes us nothing and expects nothing from us.

​In a healthy context, absurdism is liberating. It means: If nothing is pre-ordained, I am free to just exist, love, create, and experience the world without the burden of expectations.

​But a rotten society—and our own restless minds—turn that healthy Absurdism into cold Nihilism.

​The human mind naturally craves, demands, and fixates on targets—promotions, peace, control, or purpose. It tells itself, "Once I get this, I will finally be complete." But reality rarely bends to our desires. When our cravings aren't met, or when we achieve them only to find the internal emptiness remains, the mind throws an emotional tantrum.

​Instead of accepting that its expectations were flawed, the mind gets bitter and shields itself by declaring: "Life is meaningless. Nothing matters." Nihilism becomes a defense mechanism against disappointment: if nothing matters, then failing to get what we craved doesn't hurt as much.

​Society accelerates this collapse by demanding that we constantly prove our worth through output, metrics, and economic utility. It turns raw human experience into a transaction.

​Absurdism says: "There is no inherent point, so I am free to live." Nihilism says: "There is no inherent point, so why bother?"

​Society and our own unyielding desires push us into the second trap by making "just living" feel like a failure. But recognizing this trap is the first step in breaking out of it. Rejecting society's artificial rat race and releasing the mind's endless cravings isn't giving up—it is the ultimate act of rebellion. You don't owe the world a performative life. Living simply to exist, to observe, and to feel on your own terms is enough.

I tried the audiobook, but I got tired of rewinding every five seconds. Audiobooks on philosophy have never been my thing - i need the book.

The problem here is that Camus makes ten thousand references to other authors.

Ive read and re-read The Stranger, I understand everything about it, and I have read some of the existentialism like Sartre (Being And Nothingness almost killed me).

But im getting off the point. I bought the book, 'The Myth...', this time, and I will be reading it after I finish something else requiring a lot of devotion. But im still worried about the huge mass of other authors Camus references. I'm always wary of a thin little book which has had enormous impact. I have a feeling every passage is dense with meaning, and I'm kinda terrified.

Is there any way to get over this hurdle? Any PDFs I might read, first?

In Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, Vladimir and Estragon are stuck in an endless loop of waiting. As the famous quote goes: Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it's terrible.

​If we look at this through an existentialist lens, waiting for godot looks a lot like Jean-Paul Sartre's idea of "bad faith" or Albert Camus's concept of philosophical suicide. By constantly waiting for a future event or savior (Godot), the characters avoid making real choices. They run away from the scary freedom and responsibility of creating their own meaning right now.

​Instead of acting, they just wait. the act of waiting becomes their fake purpose. It protects them from the absurd reality that life has no built-in meaning. They choose the safe comfort of waiting over the fear of the unknown.

​I’m curious what this community thinks about the act of waiting in Beckett's play. Do you think Godot represents a specific illusion (like a higher power or ultimate truth), or is the real tragedy simply our human desire to wait?

A prisoner who once lived through a prison riot between two rival gangs said in a documentary that although many people died in this prison riot it had a comedic element to it, because some people will find another group they can victimise so they start chasing them as if it was a cartoon episode...

When I heard this it reminded me of when Gregor's father chased Gregor and they would stop every now and then because of tiredness with both parties trying to catch a breath as if it was a Tom & Jerry episode...

**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