Why are we here? Hm? What’s wrong, fellow reader? I know it’s a corny and overused quote, but that doesn’t change the fact that we as humans have been asking that question for years.
It’s because of this question we have philosophy, religion and sociology. These three subjects have eventually been divided into hundreds of differentiating schools of thought, and that, my friends, is what this week’s article is about today.
Have you heard of absurdism? It’s the belief that we humans exist in a purposeless universe. “So….like nihilism?” I hear some of you ask and to that I would reply: “Kinda….but also not really.”
First off, both absurdism and nihilism reject the idea of religion and moral principles.
However, while a nihilist would tell you that it is useless to find any meaning in life, an absurdist would tell you to find meaning in what makes you happy.
A common stereotype of a nihilist is a depressed middle-aged man in a suit who would kill themself if they didn’t find every task physically draining no matter how small.
On the other hand, a common stereotype of an absurdist would be a comical, cartoonish person that to everyone except those who knew him or her is someone who needed to be locked in an asylum yesterday.
See where I’m going with this? Nihilism is a depressing school of thought that makes you wish that you were never born; not that you exactly want to die, just wish that you had never existed in the first place.
Meanwhile, absurdism makes you laugh at the ridiculousness of the world and not care about what society says.
Have you ever seen those nonsensical cartoons where the characters do impossible things like stretch their limbs out thousands of miles or make their bodies grow and shrink to unrealistic portion sizes?
That’s basically the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of that philosophy.
I know a lot of people greatly disliked both nihilism and absurdism. Many found their ideas dangerous due to how demoralizing they can be.
Others are against how both philosophies heavily criticize religion. That being said, I would still recommend you give both subjects a try, even if you do end up hating both.
