Nihilism Absurdism Existentialism
Thoughts sprung from wars oh goodie
Dresden, about 1945
The valuelessness of humanity, the fruitless efforts for survival as the end for all is in death and is always assured, never doubted. Surely then, the effort, the issue of suicide or not is inspected over books written by Albert Camus, as well as Søren Kierkegaard, Arthur Schopenhauer, and Friedrich Nietzsche.
Here’s some “cheery” discourse to a particular point: In popular use, the term commonly refers to forms of existential nihilism, according to which life is without intrinsic value, meaning, or purpose.[18] Other prominent positions within nihilism include the rejection of all normative and ethical views (§ Moral nihilism), the rejection of all social and political institutions (§ Political nihilism), the stance that no knowledge can or does exist (§ Epistemological nihilism), and a number of metaphysical positions, which assert that non-abstract objects do not exist (§ Metaphysical nihilism), that composite objects do not exist (§ Mereological nihilism), or even that life itself does not exist.
We’ve learnt so much about the GOP’s desire to silence education which is like “thought police”. Easier to command.
The very challenging philosophies inspired by the modern mind when considering the war, the slaughter of humanity observed. In WWII bombing cities full of culture and beauty till parts of Europe and South Asia looked as the most ruined in Gaza.
“Some 75 million people died in World War II, including about 20 million military personnel and 40 million civilians, many of whom died because of deliberate genocide, massacres, mass-bombings, disease, and starvation.“ The advancing German army as they went north and west across Europe as people fled the terror so many are crushed. Here the link for the article, snapshot below.
Must every “serious” intellect gravitate to the same depressive conclusions that then can lead to that we all will die someday “so then well, screw it. Go for the gusto, everyone! Over the cliff, pronto! Let’s get it over and hurry to the next phase.” Well, the world doesn’t cooperate, Elon, Vladimir.
The screeds of insanity are laced in behavior we witness daily in Ukraine and the Middle East and those that take their private jet to here to there and back like a little handmaiden mouse collecting souvenirs of war as a talisman, to ward off those who may call him Antisemite.
Noosphere, rockets, race to moon but not to erase disease of any sort. Or find a cure. To be perfectly clear, the noosphere is theory whose main value is in that it leads to the Omega Point, a point where, having met the noosphere, the universe progresses to unification. You can see the pseudo spitirual rhetoric describing the end of not humanity and the earth but the all of all would cease. No more rock to push, indeed.
Theories are by nature to be proven. Physicists and computer scientists routinely inhabit these thought spheres and see the potential as different than the concrete. More well done on a computer with the tools of actual art, often these thought places are science fiction. Our greatest science fiction writers were/are scientists, knowledgable people engaged in fiction that can only be imagined no matter how real it seems in ones mind.
Born of oil, fuel, food resources generally but mostly power. The world is in crisis by madmen who seek never to roll the rock of labor to the top only to watch it fall again, as Sisyphus, as every person must as a function of the process of life. But not for the mind of science fiction who’s leap from idea to functioning idea in the world has broken for whatever reason.
A myth, the Myth of Sisyphus, a dissertation on the Greek tragedy by Albert Camus that decides finally, facing that absurdist reality and with the certainty of repetition of life’s labors without end or fundamental change. To surrender to the process with knowledge of ones life task or commit suicide since things will never change. Camus ultimately lands on the idea that internally, Sisyphus finds a kind of peace.
Sisyphus, just like the absurd man, continues pushing. Camus claims that 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. With a nod to the similarly cursed Greek hero Oedipus, Camus concludes that "all is well," continuing "one must imagine Sisyphus happy."[5]
These concepts, like critical race theory, are introduced in education way down the line, like 10th grade and likely in only the college bound classes. These are tough to tackle to find the joy. Camus didn’t find it except after many books or show it decisively but he led a path to reject the distaste for the knowledge that life is a trap and can be what you make to it, while of course rolling the rock.
As we know with Hitler, his mission was all. The tip of the sword promised to Jews. The rest, well, maybe you’re hiding them. He could “whatev”, just doin it, better than most. On he marched, eliminating about 3 % of the population at the time. That number would be 240,000,000 people in todays world.
He sold saving the world. To do that you must destroy it. Really similar.
Our mission is to break the cycle. We see Biden and Blinken making the effort. It may be that social media with all its warts is the bitter pill to swallow whole if it shows the bad without cover of shadow to form war or steal children.
See the toil of life as the bringer of joy through food, shelter and companionship is a joy and a privilege as burdensome as it can be in equal or unequal measure.
Even before the October 7 attack, the Gaza Strip looked nothing like the adjacent coastline of the Mediterranean. A paradise lost.
As a world, we can hope to break the cycle of repetition not of the toil of labor, or the endless cycle of seasons. We are indeed wanting to protect all that, our environment. Life. But depression and the choice of a kind of suicide to wipe the board clean as expressed in the noosphere depressed notions of Steve “three pens” Bannon and Putin and extending to those they have on board their ship of fools. Musk, Trump. Bibi. They’ve convinced the clowns in their 500 dollar haircuts and 3 grand suits. Santos booted today in a strike for the side of good and the sane. Many call them Normies.
Oh, found this interesting. A photo of Albert Camus, I thought a striking a resemblance to Elon Musk.
Thanks for being here ❤️ Be a Normie. Vote Normie.
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IMO, historically, greedy madmen--mostly--have always been power over history. The problem is they have control over much more destructive forces. Yes, Hitler caused a lot of deaths. Stalin probably more. However, we have no way to estimate all the deaths created by Henry Kissinger--I have no sadness about his death--which includes all the bombings in Cambodia that eventually created a power vacuum and the murderous killings of Pol Pot. War and genocide appears to have existed all through history.
Here is a thought:
Camus, Sartre, and all others formed their philosophies based upon what they observed in life and what they believed was true. I’ve learned that almost nothing I grew up with and believed was true, was true.
* the Wild West was not like is was portrayed by Hollywood. Most of the people on cattle drives were not white men and many were ex slaves.
* our founding fathers primarily were slave owners and not nice people. Incidentally, most of their ideas about Democracy did not come from Ancient Greece but from some advanced thinking of some northeast Native American tribes that I never learned about in schools.
* the roots of the Abrahamic religions was once polytheistic until men wanted more power. Then they killed of Asherah.
*the “theory” about how hunter gatherers lived with men out hunting and women gathering is now being discredited in many ways as women are more biologically built to be hunters as science has shown they have developed more natural endurance and it appears our early hunting was developed chasing a prey over long distances until the prey was exhausted. Also, archeological evidence is now showing some women as hunters. Who knows, maybe early men learned by watching lions where the hunting pride is made up of females and the males can lay around, look important, roar, sleep, eat and impregnate females, when not fighting other males.
*all the science I learned very early was revised and revised many times until it looks completely different. We got the Big Bang modified later with expansion theory. Now, because of the James Webb telescope all that is blowing up.
I could go on and on. However, all theories are built upon limited observations in this universe so the theories are limited.
A major problem exists because we grew up with fairytales. We grew up wanting to be beautiful and live happily ever after. I can’t imagine early hunter gatherers sitting around a fire discussing happiness. Chasing happiness leads you to disappointment and depression.
Where am I going with all this? I haven’t clue but I’m aware of observing life much more, challenging all my beliefs and opinions, and somehow becoming more comfortable with life--at times--much like Camus.
PS-apparently having a happy disposition appears to be a function of not only early environment but genes. Read about David Hume who was a person with a great disposition. He is one of my favorites. Loved his idea that what is does not imply what ought.
I do get it. My aunt went to law school but was only allowed to help a cousin with the family business. I'm old so .. that the was it was and is. My sister was rejected from medical school countless times because she was married in college. After pharmacology school she was accepted. Being dismissed, ill advised, pandered to. If you paid attention to how many women were touched, abused raped and never said? When you can see it without feeling you must somehow have personal responsibility, you can see how it's baked in to the US and "our" culture. It always forms a woman's personality.