Sixty second philosophy: existentialism vs absurdism

“Katie, you constantly preach absurdism, but how does that really differ from existentialism?” It really comes down to how we decide to resolve the inherent meaninglessness of existence. Whether we choose to create meaning, or embrace the meaninglessness and live in spite of it.

But whatever you do, please don’t be a sad nihilist. Nietzsche would be so disappointed in you. It’s meant as a transitional thing, not a permanent thing - I’m sure you’re getting tired of me saying it by now. I did a video on it, if you haven’t seen it.

Anyways, let’s use an example to help us illustrate the absurdity in action.

When we think of Sisyphus pushing that boulder up for eternity, the task should be thought of as an analogy for our individual existence, not as an analogy of a particular component or situation in your life. I’ve made this mistake before. Existence is the part of our life where the only way out is through death. However, this doesn’t mean that we are meant to or should suffer through or accept that which we can change. There’s a difference between these two things.

It’s like the idea of how it’s up to you how you react to others. You can control how you react or interact with the information, but you cannot change it. Similarly, I cannot change the trauma of my past, but I can choose to not let it define me, to be a survivor rather than a victim, and keep going. Do not conflate this with the things which you can change though, eg. it may be incredibly difficult, but you can find your way out of a bad relationship, or you can work to improve your circumstances. These are not the types of things which we should be smiling through. These are all things which we have the capacity to change, no matter how daunting the task may appear to be.

This is just how I interpret it and apply it to my existence. Some absurdists outright reject free will, but I’m not getting into that today. The important part is living defiantly and authentically in spite of the psychological tension from the absurd.

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