Absurdity in the Mythical and Existential Worldviews
Presented to:
Paul Catanu
Presented by:
Marley Chase
Classical and Contemporary Worldviews
Section # 345-102
Champlain College, St. Lambert
November 23rd, 2012
Humans have been searching for the answer to life for centuries. Worldviews like the Mythical and Existential emerged and were built on with the ideas of several philosophers. Great minds like Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre have attempted to explain the ultimate meaning of existence. Fully understanding the meaning of the universe and an individuals existence will never be achieved because the absurdity in relation to humans and the universe can never be explained in entire certainty. The following will explain the presence of absurdity in both the Mythical and Existential Worldviews and the similarities and discuss differences between them.
The Mythical Worldview is often described as primative or irrational since it predates the development of science and rationality. The theme of the absurd can be …show more content…
They both muse the concept of suicide. “The hub of a wheel moves with greater speed than the outer periphery, but both are always in movement as long as the wheel moves.” (Catanu, 134) Existence is like this wheel. Our actions and meaning we give to life is the faster moving “hub” and the absurdity that is the outer periphery moves slower but is dependent on the hub. If life ceased to exist, or the wheel stops moving, the absurdity halts as well. Suicide seems to be the only way to counter the notion of the absurd but most argue that it is not the most rational way. As Brée states in her book Camus and Sartre : Crisis and Commitment, “One dies, or one finds a reason for living.” (138) The power of reason is a common way to justify the human