Existentialism- Ready for the Dread - Vol 3 No 1

Sisyphus happy? I doubt it.

Debates about human dignity were consistently part of classroom discussion even as the class moved into philosophy proper. Existentialism was on the syllabus, and with it came sobering discussions about meaning, despair, and the so-called ‘absurd.’

Existentialism - "Ready for the Dread"

The Professor walked into the class of eleven students, one of which stood out from the youthful faces because of his silver-gray hair and weathered but wise countenance. They were ready for their philosophy class on Existentialism.

"We are ready for the dread," quipped Zeke.

"Yeah, this is really depressing stuff," another said, but with a fairly chirpy delivery.

Others started hooting about how depressing this material on existentialism is, how empty and dismal, but ironically with a kind of enthusiasm.

Mike thought to himself, It's almost like they are excited. Like they are standing on the very brink of a tall cliff looking over and down. They don't want to step off, but it's exhilarating to toy with the danger.

"Yes, existentialism often causes depression and despair," agreed the Professor, "until you resign yourself to the absurd. As an existentialist, we look to ourselves for answers. We can only look inward for relief. We are limited to ourselves, because we are free, independent, and responsible agents. We determine our own development through our human freedom and experience."

Students were nodding or quietly absorbing this self-exalting worldview.

Mike raised his hand. "So, when an existentialist looks inward for these answers, what does he find there? Does he find cleanness and contentment and beauty?"

"No!" The Professor perked up as if he had good news! He seemed enthusiastic! "Sadness comes because we see that people are filthy and toiling and always in a struggle. Life is meaningless and absurd, a lifelong struggle of endless repetitive toil with no end or purpose. But the existentialist values his human freedom and experience to make his own path and lead his own life in independent thought from all others, and that makes it all worthwhile to him. As an existentialist, I am responsible for what I make out of me. Whatever I make of me is the only reality. The most important thing is that I am true to myself. That is what makes me happy."

Mike raised his hand. "Far from happy, that sounds lonely and depressing. The Bible says that if we really look at ourselves, we see that we are totally depraved. Our natures are corrupt, therefore, we can never really be satisfied in and of ourselves. God has revealed Himself as that which is Good and True and Beautiful. We look at Him and then at ourselves, and we see that very simply, we are ugly, thus the depression and despair. We need to be redeemed, changed and made new. Apart from that, there is no happiness."

We are Sisyphus, happily pushing the boulder…Not.

"But the happiness is in the resignation," the Professor argued. "Albert Camus, a famous existentialist of the mid 20th century, likened it to the Greek myth of Sisyphus. Sisyphus defied the gods, and when captured was eternally punished in Hades by having to push a huge boulder up a mountain. Upon reaching the top, the boulder would roll down again to the bottom and Sisyphus would have to start over. Thus, his eternity was the relentless, useless cycles of toil, struggle, and loss with no purpose or end. The imposing stone always rolled to the bottom, and he must begin again. Camus called it the state of the 'absurd.' He likened it to the fate of the modern working class in factories and offices. Life is cycle after cycle of people who do the same inane tasks with no meaning, and it is just as absurd as Sisyphus' fate. The only reason men do not recoil in despair is that they have only rare moments when they are conscious of their fate."

A young man asked the Professor, "So you're saying that the only thing keeping us from not succumbing to meaninglessness and despair is our ignorance?"

"Partly." He answered. "But when you do become conscious of it, we have to think in terms of resignation. Camus came to realize the crux of existentialism is that the struggle itself is the source of satisfaction. When Sisyphus acknowledges the futility of his task and the certainty of his fate, he is freed to realize the absurdity of his situation and to reach a state of contented acceptance. For us, the good in our conversation is in the struggle to figure it out, not in the acquisition of truth. There is no truth except what we make for ourselves."

Mike spoke out, "What you're saying with nihilism, existentialism and postmodernism is that you want to live the life of Sisyphus. I think the absurdity is in the illusion that you can go though monotonous cycles of suffering believing there is no purpose and no end in sight and get satisfaction from that. No one really believes that. If you told this class that we must study and read for this class, but there is no end to it, no grades to be earned, no completion of the task so as to achieve a greater goal, just reading and studying, reading and studying, we would all eventually tire of it and give up."

Several students spoke up in agreement. One well-intended young woman loudly stated, "I f***ing agree with him!" pointing toward Mike. Typical language for the class.

We do have value!

The Professor persisted. "We cannot know things for sure; only the truth we make for ourselves. There is no purpose. Satisfaction can't come from outside of ourselves, it can only come from within us after we have resigned to the absurd. We must acquiesce to the idea that we are headed toward nothingness. What has happened is that we are disenchanted with the material world which brought on existentialism. In existentialism, we want to know ourselves without attachment to anything else. Yesterday I was talking to a group of students about how existentialism was helping them know what they really were, that they were really nothing. That they had no value except in themselves to themselves. That is the first step to their coming to accept the absurd."

Mike spoke up forgetting to raise his hand, "But we do have value! We were created in the image of God, and therefore we have value. He values us! We are not headed to nothingness, because we all have souls that can never die," retorted Mike. "You all know that you are more than the flesh and blood that is your body. You have a soul that is uniquely yours, that is eternal and that makes you, you. The Bible is very clear on that fact. When you die, and you all will, that soul will go before the holy, holy, holy God and you will give an account for your life."

Looking straight at Mike a young girl asked, "How do you know that is true?"

Jesus is the Truth

"Because Jesus is the Truth and He said so. You see, when you say there is no truth, that is a direct affront to Jesus, because He claims in the Scriptures to be the Way, the Truth and the Life. John 14:6. Jesus said that His mission was not only to come and save our souls from hell, but his mission was to come and testify to the truth. John 18:37. So you see there is no such thing as personal truth; there is universal truth, transcendent and eternal truth. And what you believe does not have the ability to create or destroy truth. Truth does not change because we ignore it or seek to deny its existence. Jesus is the truth, His Bible is true and it says that He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Jesus is the total truth in which I dwell and THAT makes me truly happy!

"You sound so sure of yourself," one man said in a disparaging tone.

“I know what I know because God has revealed Himself in His world and in His Word. I can know Him, and you can know Him. I can't know him exhaustively. I'll never know everything there is to know about the infinite God, but I know true truth about Him and He's told me how He relates to me. I have a future and a hope, because Jesus Christ is the total truth in which I dwell."

"That was a hell of a class!"

Class was dismissed and the young woman who agreed with him, if not profanely, called out loudly slapping her books, "That was a hell of a class!" Another young woman came up to him, grabbed his hand and hugged it to her with affection. "Thank you, Mr. Mike. That was great."

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