Philosophy Now Forum

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 13, 2020 8:54 pm

It seems to me he feels that ANY person who thinks deeply at all could well come to his conclusion...be he university professor or garbage collector.

Probably so.

So, if that's the case, why does Camus think we ought to share his intuition of the absurdity of things? Why does he think that a thinking man must be drawn to suicide? That's the next question. If a person is living a life of futility, where that which s/he wishes very much to accomplish is someth...

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 13, 2020 5:04 pm

I think Camus is giving his emotive impression, yes; but I think he's also trying to say, "If you think carefully, you'll come to the same feeling about this that I have."

Maybe so.

People are allowed to express themselves in writing to others. If they perceive the world a certain way, then they are allowed to write about it. Others can agree or not. Do you think Camus should have simply shut up (not exposed his feelings) and suffered in silence? Heck, no. But I don't think he...

I don't know if he's necessarily saying that "lot's of serious-minded people have a desire to die". I tend to think he's speaking for himself and his own existence (what he experiences in what he perceives to be an absurd world), and not trying to speak for others, at least I wouldn't think so. Wel...

As far as whether he is right or wrong in saying that suicide is "THE one truly serious philosophical problem", I think it's maybe a little bit like trying to determine if the statement "green is a pretty color" is "right" or "wrong". It's perhaps more like a matter of opinion coming from a particu...

So my question would be, "Is it really inevitable that a person who thinks deeply about the nature of things, and sees them as they really are, is going to be brought to the edge of needing a reason not to kill himself ?" :shock: That's really an extreme position that Camus is taking. 1940 was an e...

BTW: Odysseus, I sent you a couple of PMs, did you see them?

So my question would be, "Is it really inevitable that a person who thinks deeply about the nature of things, and sees them as they really are, is going to be brought to the edge of needing a reason not to kill himself ?" :shock: That's really an extreme position that Camus is taking. 1940 was an e...

Gary Childress Sounds good. I'm starting the first chapter now. Do you want to start a thread in the "Book Club" forum or shall we communicate via PM? I'm thinking if we post it in the "Book Club" forum others might like to join in where they are able and we could have a broader discussion on it. B...

There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy. All the rest—whether or not the world has three dimensions, whether the mind has nine or twelve categories—comes aft...

What good is it going to do for a westerner to campaign for China to make cuts to its carbon output? China does what it wants. That's exactly right. The problem is political, at the moment, not just a matter of generating sufficient panic in the West. People can affect politics in their own countri...

I attended George Mason University back in the late 1980s. Fukuyama became a "Robinson Professor" at the university, IIRC, toward the end of my time there. I never took a class under him but I remember his book "The End of History and the Last Man" I remember during one of my delusional episodes thi...

https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/f0kGJuE3DMgaZ-izvLxHG3xEbs_Esg8IWwunvIWEC6w.png O my soul, do not aspire to immortal life, but exhaust the limits of the possible. - Pindar, Pythian iii [from Camus' foreward] This is a thread for posting comments and questions pertaining to a reading of Albert Camu...

Gary Childress May I join your expedition? A suggestion: How about Albert Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus? It's kind of a continental classic. I have the book and it appears there are downloadable PDFs of it, if you don't want to purchase a copy. It's also relatively short and accessible. I'm not up to...