Schopenhauer & Camus
Julian Young, the author of ‘The Death of God and Meaning of Life,’ has emphasized the works of German philosophers in his book, one of whom was Arthur Schopenhauer. Schopenhauer is considered one of the most pessimistic philosophers of all time. When he claimed that life is suffering, he meant that the entire life, and anything that lives and strives, was full of suffering.
Suffering
Schopenhauer argues that all the life’s wants remain mostly unfulfilled, and continue to exist in a state of constant unfulfilling deprivation and scarcity, which leads to unending suffering. He cites that all willingness comes from lack, deprivation, and subsequently suffering and that attaining lasting peace of mind was not obtainable for any living creature. He further reiterated that the concept of suffering originated from human desires of wanting, desiring, and fearing, pointing that so long as human beings have hopes and desires, there will be suffering.
Schopenhauer does not offer any solution to the problem of human suffering. He claims that human existence is that of inevitable misery, and no man should be envied, as all human beings suffer. Nonetheless, he described ways by which human beings could be alleviated from suffering, such as compassion, contemplation, and asceticism. Schopenhauer thought the best way to live was through artistic, moral as well as ascetic forms of awareness to enable one to lead a more meaningful life.
Absurdity
Camus, a French philosopher, thought and believed that life had no meaning, and nothing existed, which could be a source of meaning, and nothing exists which could ever be a source of meaning. He brought the question of absurdity when he asked what the meaning of life would be if life were absurd. According to him, the critical issue of human beings was not deciding whether to live or die, but rather whether there is value in the life we experience. By the term ‘absurd,’ Camus referred to the futility in search of meaning in a universe which was not easy to understand, which was devoid of the concept of God or meaning. “Absurd” meant an opposition or conflict between two clashing ideals. He posits that human beings continue to search for purpose, only to find life ‘tumbling back down.’ Absurdism, according to him, arose due to the desire for order, meaning, and happiness concerning the universe’s indifference to providing that. In so doing, he asserts that human beings should accept and embrace the absurdity of human experience, and thus strive to create value and meaning for their miserable lives.
Camus, in recognizing the meaninglessness, absurdity, and pain of life, suggested that human beings should embrace life as it is because it makes no sense. He posits that the only way to cope with the absurdity of life is to take it as it is and to love the unanswerable strangeness of life’s experiences.
Schopenhauer and Camus’ views on life are similar yet different on certain fronts. Both philosophers accepted and perceived life as meaningless and full of suffering. They both believed that life had no inherent meaning and that there was no inevitable escape from human suffering. However, the two differed on their approaches to the concept of pain and absurdity. While Camus advocated for acceptance of life as it was, Schopenhauer believed in using awareness (moral and ascetic) while living a hopeless and miserable life.
References
Young, J. (2014). The death of god and the meaning of life. Routledge.