"Why am I here?" "What is my purpose?" "Do my choices matter?" These core philosophical questions loom large over the human condition. Especially today when long-held sources of meaning like religion, close-knit community and traditional roles have less influence.
In the wake of increasing dislocation and uncertainty, three philosophical movements emerged in the late 19th century grappling with the search for purpose, ethics and value amidst an apparently indifferent universe.
Existentialism puts the onus on individuals to create their own essence through action and choice.
Absurdism playfully embraces life‘s contradictions and irrationality, finding humor and meaning within nonsense.
Nihilism contends that existence is deeply pointless – there is no objective truth and reality is chaos.
This article dives deeper into existentialism, absurdism and nihilism – their key ideas, differences, leading thinkers and ongoing impact on modern society.
The Existentialist Challenge: Radical Freedom
Existentialism exploded onto the scene in the aftermath of WWII, perfectly capturing the anxiety of the age. With past certainties shaken and society rapidly changing due to technology and global threats like atomic weapons, identity and purpose were suddenly up for grabs.
Key Existentialist Ideas
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Radical Freedom: With the "death of God", there is no intrinsic meaning or purpose beyond what we choose. This makes us radically free to shape our destiny.
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Creation of Self: Our essence isn‘t predefined – we construct who we are through our actions, beliefs and choices within each situation.
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Existence Precedes Essence: Unlike objects that have a set purpose, we exist first and then define our nature through freely chosen goals, values and responsibilities.
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Angst/Despair: Being so radically free provokes anxiety about the meaninglessness of choices and a profound responsibility in making them. It can lead some to existential despair.
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Fundamental Aloneness: Each person‘s worldview is based on their own subjective experiences – we can never truly know another‘s inner world.
Key Existentialist Thinkers
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Søren Kierkegaard – Believed radical freedom of choice created dread and anxiety. He also emphasized suffering, set by God, as integral to the human journey.
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Friedrich Nietzsche – Famous proclamation that "God is dead" – the divine no longer represented a universally accepted moral authority or purpose. Yet he urged humanity to positively affirm life beyond good/evil interpretations.
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Simone de Beauvoir – In The Ethics of Ambiguity, de Beauvoir suggests that while Existentialism places full responsibility on individuals to act freely, it also recognizes our concrete situations aren‘t always conducive to overcome oppression.
These seminal thinkers made key advances in existential themes:
Nietzsche – The Death of God
"God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him." This provocative quote comes from Friedrich Nietzsche‘s The Gay Science (1882). It became the seedcrystal underpinning 20th century Existentialism.
For Nietzsche, the statement reflects that as reason, science and enlightenment values eroded supernatural beliefs in the West, the idea of an all-powerful Christian deity acting as an objective moral authority had lost legitimacy.
But why proclaim "And we have killed him"? Nietzsche suggests that as humanity gained increasing control over nature and society, the divine retreated. And the vacuum left behind provoked an existential identity crisis regarding values, ethics and meaning.
Kierkegaard’s Leap of Faith
Writing in 19th century Denmark when nearly everyone self-identified as Christian, Søren Kierkegaard made an important distinction between religious belief as a matter of personal conviction rather than cultural reflex.
In works like Fear and Trembling, he popularized the notion of a "leap of faith" – where an individual must take responsibility to authentically embrace subjective truths rather than unquestioningly accept the word of religious authorities. Reflecting Existentialist emphasis on radical freedom and individual choice.
He provocatively reinterprets the biblical story of Abraham agreeing to sacrifice his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God – does Abraham simply obey as a matter of religious duty or struggle deeply with uncertainty about whether he’s doing the right thing? For Kierkegaard, only the latter reflects an authentic leap of faith.
Absurdism – Embracing The Irrational
As an existentialist, Albert Camus founded the basis for Absurdism in response to what he saw as the absurdity of the human quest for purpose in a seemingly meaningless world. Largely unconscious of the inherent irrationality of existence, we crave certainty and reason to stabilize our lives against the ever-encroaching chaos.
In his major philosophical essay The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus uses the titular Greek myth – in which Sisyphus is condemned by the gods to push a boulder up a hill eternally, only to have it roll back down every time he reaches the summit – as an allegory for the futility of human existence. We search for profound meaning constantly, yet certainty remains out of grasp.
For Camus, Sisyphus’s punishment morphs into triumph as he ultimately accepts his fate and the gods’ judgment of absurdity. Instead of sinking into bitterness at his condition, he rebels against the gods by maintaining dignity, continuing towards his pointless goal and finding joy at every step. As Camus declares, “The struggle itself […] is enough to fill a man‘s heart.”
Camus suggests the proper response to the irrational mystery of existence lies not in suicide, freedom-denying ideological or religious dogmas, but in embracing life’s tension between our longing for order and the radical uncertainty we‘re immersed within:
One must imagine Sisyphus happy.
This perspective gave rise to one of Absurdism’s key qualities – using humor and irony to revel amidst paradoxes and irrationality that constitute the human experience. Finding laughter and meaning within the meaningless gaps.
Nihilism – The Root of Existential Despair
If Existentialism and Absurdism were philosophical remedies to modern angst about meaning, Nihilism was the blunt diagnosis. From the Latin term “nihil” meaning non-existence or nothing, Nihilism contends not only that life lacks objective meaning or purpose, but that we exist within an amoral universe devoid of any truth at all – including subjective or socially constructed ones.
Key Nihilist Positions:
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Cosmic indifference – questions like “what is my purpose?” are nonsensical because humans live within a cold, indifferent, chaotic universe. There is no cosmic meaning.
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No objective basis for truth or morality – religious strictures around good/evil and order/chaos are unfounded. Moral considerations are social illusions, often propagated by institutions of control.
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Radical skepticism – it doubted that words could accurately represent reality or that we could obtain objective knowledge about the world. What we take as “truth” are just human concepts disconnected from actual things.
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Contingency – our existence is a fluke accident, a result of pure chance, with no links to some mysterious cosmic destiny. Life has no rhyme or reason.
Prefiguring postmodernism’s notions of relativism and suspicion of dominant cultural narratives, Nihilism controversially contends that many of the pillars upon which society bases notions of truth, morality and meaning bear little substance under scrutiny.
Prominent Nihilist thinkers like Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi and Friedrich Schelling in early 19th century Germany influenced later Existential philosophers grappling with meaninglessness.
But Friedrich Nietzsche most forcefully encapsulated the modern experience of struggle and disorientation upon realizing one’s existence within an apparently indifferent universe:
“What were we doing when we unchained this earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whither are we moving? Away from all suns? Are we not plunging continually? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there still any up or down? Are we not straying, as through an infinite nothing?” (The Gay Science, 1882)
Here Nietzsche evokes metaphors of existential vertigo and terror at contemplating a post-God worldview suddenly ungrounded from universal truths that once oriented society and gave lives significance. Yet his body of work also contains ideas about self-definition that influenced existentialism in constructive ways.
Comparing Perspectives
While sharing some philosophical foundations, existentialism, absurdism and nihilism diverge around key questions of meaning, hope, angst, freedom, morality and our response to apparent meaninglessness.
| Existentialism | Absurdism | Nihilism | |
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| Is there intrinsic meaning to life? | No | No | No |
| Can we create subjective meaning? | Yes | Irrelevant as seeks no subjective meaning | No |
| Purpose of philosophy | Motivate individual responsibility/action towards making meaning | Revel amidst the absurd gaps between desire for meaning and indifference of universe | Critique infirm foundations of meaning itself |
| Key sentiment | Anxiety/despair | Amused embrace of paradox | Cosmic pessimism |
| Regarding ethics/truth | Subjective, self-defined | Suspicious of ideologies but accepts lived morality | Non-existent, mere illusion |
| Response to meaninglessness | Must create own meaning through projects/choices | Accept and rebel, give your life subjective meaning without appeal to absolute laws | Passive nihilism: anguish, paralysis. Active nihilism: destruction of existing societal values to hasten revelation that existence has no meaning at all so we can move forward. |
| Key emotions | Angst, responsibility | Rebellious joy | Pessimism, despair, resentment |
While nihilism pronounces the meaninglessness of existence, existentialism and absurdism both offer constructive ways for people to navigate a post-God world:
Existentialism champions radical freedom and responsibility. It suggests meaning can be forged by embracing our aloneness, exercising individuated choice, and committing to projects.
Absurdism revels amidst uncertainty. It prescribes living vitality, rebellion against prefabricated order, and apprehending transient moments of beauty, laughter and wonder.
In Literature, Media and Pop Culture
These philosophical concepts pervade modern storytelling and culture, resonating powerfully in an age of increasing alienation where traditional anchors of identity and community have less sway.
Kafka‘s Existential Nightmares
Many of Franz Kafka’s surreal tales like The Metamorphosis and The Trial plunge readers into existentialist terrain, evoking feelings of isolation and dread at mysterious forces manipulating the protagonists’ fates. The fantastic situations Kafka dreams up function as metaphors for alienation within modern bureaucracy and industry.
Theatre of The Absurd
Samuel Beckett, author of absurdist play Waiting for Godot about characters pointlessly satirizing religion while merely passing time, directly channels Albert Camus’s perspective on embracing the irrationality of existence. Following WWII, playwrights like Beckett used surreal non-plots, irony and black comedy to capture alienation in a seemingly meaningless, chaotic world.
Sartre & Simone de Beauvoir
The quintessential existentialist power couple, Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir weren‘t just philosophers but novelists putting ideas about radical freedom, anxiety, oppression and political struggle into compelling fictional form in books like Nausea and The Second Sex respectively.
The Stranger – Meursault‘s Defiance
In Albert Camus‘s strange yet iconic novel The Stranger, the affectless protagonist Meursault inhabits his existence on a whim, committing a random act of violence that leads to his condemnation and execution. Yet rather than rail at the injustice, he remains quietly unrepentant right until the end, defying external impositions of meaning on his actions.
Fight Club – Modern Man Adrift
Chuck Palahniuk’s anarchic Fight Club captures the simmering despair of young men struggling to find purpose in consumer society. Formation of the violent, liberationist Fight Club reflects a warped attempt to define meaning through extremes.
Rick & Morty – Absurdist Animation
The dimensional-hopping animated series Rick & Morty playfully channels absurdist sentiment. As the nihilistic mad scientist Rick drags his hapless grandson Morty through bizarre misadventures across the multiverse, mocking everything from religion to pop culture to morality, the audience revels in the meaningless chaos of existence where randomness reigns.
Existentialism & Gaming
As a lifelong passionate gamer traversing vivid virtual worlds brimming with possibilities, I appreciate how games mirror aspects of the human condition illuminated by existentialist thought:
Freedom In Open Worlds
Titles like Skyrim, Red Dead Redemption, Horizon Zero Dawn feature expansive 3D worlds full of choice on how to spend time – what stories to follow, who to interact with, what skills to build, which factions to align with based on your preferred playstyle. This freedom and responsibility to direct your own path through rich environments resonates strongly with Existential notions of radical freedom and self-definition.
Of course, game creators define the possibilities. But their very act of crafting such a detailed canvas full of choice spaces for users to imprint their agency represents an existential gesture at its most fundamental – using their thoughts and talents to build spheres ripe for subjective meaning-making.
Defiance In Dark Souls
The minimalist yet brutally challenging Dark Souls series condenses life’s absurdity into a bleak trek where players respawn endlessly against towering odds. But the option always remains to kindle fires, seek improbable triumphs and messages of guidance from others embarking alike. Persisting despite inevitable defeat and cryptic narrative – finding camaraderie and conquest amidst carnage – channels the rebellious spirit of Albert Camus’s vision.
Reflecting On Choices
Story-driven titles like Mass Effect, The Witcher 3, Detroit Become Human foreground ethical dilemmas that provoke reflection on consequences of player choices upon characters and gameworlds they temporarily inhabit, akin to Existentialist emphasis on moral responsibility.
Through such immersive media that fuse interactivity, complex writing and visual splendor, I’ve experienced the affective capacity of games to provide spaces ripe for injecting personal resonance onto compelling virtual canvases.
Ultimately it’s less about superficial excitement or distraction – such lavish digital spectacles channel that distinctly Existentialist act of making meaning through world-building ingenuity that connects creators to audiences.
Modern Relevance – Facing The Void
What light can perspectives on existentialism, absurdism and nihilism shed today?
In an age of rising isolation, eco-anxiety, political tensions, identity confusion and misinformation some feel we inhabit a perpetual state of crisis. Yet recent trends also showed people tapping philosophical, spiritual and communal resources to cope, heal divisions and find hope.
Existentialism highlights freedom and responsibility in sculpting our purpose and essence amidst uncertainty – attributes distinguishing our humanity. It suggests cultivating honesty about the human condition while still affirming life beyond despair.
Compare that to nihilism’s radical pessimism that there is no meaning at all – subjective or objective. That’s quite a leap and the parallel paralysis or destructive impulses some followers demonstrate seem less than helpful right now.
Absurdism entertains the gap between our desire for order and reality’s irrational chaos. Its playful, almost Zen-like emphasis on not becoming hostage to need for absolute meaning allows appreciating transient moments of wonder amidst uncertainty. Albert Camus calls us to “live life to the point of tears” – to be present and feel fully.
What we make of this strange dream of existence ultimately comes down to the realm of culture, imagination and subjectivity – how we channel absurdity productively rather than being diminished by it. Each person through their expressions and interactions spins fragile filaments of purpose from ephemeral stuff against the certainty of eventual oblivion. Not a ready-made external salvation – but the power to create ourselves. That’s no small freedom.
Perhaps out of the rubble of failed absolutes, new conceptions of meaning can crystallize – contingent, cooperative, catastrophic yet creative visions germinating in fiery interstices between raw existence and longing for the sublime.