The Myth Of sysiphus

 “Man stands face to face with the irrational. He feels within him his longing for happiness and for reason. The absurd is born of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world.”- Albert Camus 

So what exactly is the myth of Sisyphus? The original myth is greek folklore which follows the story of Sisyphus, the king of ephyra who cheated death twice. He was then condemned by the gods to spend eternity in hell pushing a boulder up a steep hill only for it to roll down just as it reaches the top. 

To most people, this would seem like torment but with a dramatic twist of perception, Albus Camus says that one must try to imagine Sisyphus happy. Here Camus tries to portray a different, more "out there" perspective of the same in his book "The Myth of Sisyphus." He uses the myth as a metaphor for the individual's persistent struggle against the essential absurdity of life. He asks questions such as - Is life really as futile as it seems if it is stripped of its common romanticism? Is happiness not a reality but a way for artists to capitalize on? Do our actions have any meaning in the greater context of the universe or are we just slaves to empty actions? 

He then proceeds to show us that life or even the task at hand may seem absolutely meaningless but we can come up with our own purpose in the monotony of the task and thus find happiness. 

He bases his proof on absurdism which is the philosophy based on the belief that the universe is irrational and meaningless and that the search for order brings the individual into conflict with the universe.

This book thus forces you to think in a way you have never thought before, makes the conditions perfect for an existential crisis but at the same time solves the absurdity of happiness.  

The monotonous routine that was built because of the pandemic, especially the quarantine led to question the real purpose of life, forcing one to believe that the existence of humanity was absurd and had no real purpose. This was when a friend directed me to the roller coaster of emotions that is this book. After 2-3 re-reads (not going to lie, this was hard to understand) I finally got clarity and comfort in the absurdity and made my own purpose and hence I write about it now. In my opinion, this is a must-read if you are interested in the world of philosophy.