Contending With Nihilism Part 2: Meaning in the Face of Absurdity (#36)

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January 15, 2022 • 43 mins

"Written fifteen years ago, in 1940, amid the French and European disaster, this book declares that even within the limits of nihilism it is possible to find the means to proceed beyond nihilism. In all the books I have written since, I have attempted to pursue this direction. Although “The Myth of Sisyphus” poses mortal problems, it sums itself up for me as a lucid invitation to live and to create, in the very midst of the desert." —Albert Camus

This episode is part two of our exploration of nihilism and the search for meaning in life—be sure to check out the previous episode to hear the first half of this conversation. But in this episode, we try to overcome the meaning crisis induced by nihilism to find a more durable sense of meaning in life.

We also try to figure out what meaning even is. Is it possible to define meaning? Or is it something more implicit and instinctual? And finally, we close out the episode by exploring the philosophy of Absurdism as outlined by Camus in The Myth of Sisyphus. As Camus states:

"The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."

For a more thorough exploration of this topic, check out our article below:

Overcoming Nihilism: Why Meaning Matters And How To Find It

Timestamps:

[04:50] Why you should contend with nihilism and camp in that perspective
[08:20] What is meaning?
[12:50] The meaning of the movie It's a Wonderful Life and why it makes people cry
[19:00] Meaning as service to others and assuming that Being is good
[21:05] Meaning as a surrender of the intellect
[26:40] Meaning as pointing (Kevin Simler's A Nihilist's Guide to Meaning)
[29:19] Albert Camus, Absurdism, and The Myth of Sisyphus
[39:30] How to bring someone back from a nihilistic place

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