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Camus life is absurd - Essay Example

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Philosophy: Hare vs Camus Introduction Camus has titled his novel “Nothing Matters”. While this is an interesting title, it can be misleading for some readers who do not understand the real essence, meaning, or significance of the title. Hare has discussed how his Swiss friend drew negative inferences from this title thus changing his behavior for the worse…
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Even the non-living things have their own concerns and things matter for them as will be discussed in the paper. This thesis will be argued for by discussing nature, motivations, and actions of both the living beings and the non-living beings in this world. Explication Hare argues that when Camus says “Nothing Matters”, there can be three entities to which nothing matters; Camus, the main character of his novel, or the reader. Now saying that nothing matters to Camus is absurd because if nothing mattered to him, he would not have written such an interesting, highly influential, and engaging novel.

As for the main character of the novel written by Camus, it is also inappropriate to thing that nothing mattered to him because for one, that was an imaginary character without his own aspirations, desires, or motives and only acted as Camus wanted him to and secondly, the activities he does in the novel cannot be done without having any concern. Thus, the reader draws wrong inferences from the novel by thinking that nothing matters. Matter is not an activity like “chatter” because if it was to be taken in this sense, then “Nothing Matters” seems right. . Life never imparts the meaning that people want from it.

So their either believe in God hoping that they would get the rewards in the world hereafter or they find meaninglessness in life. The latter conclusion motivates one to commit suicide because one does not find life worth living. This leaves an individual with two options; either to commit suicide or to believe in the world hereafter. A third possibility is accepting to live in a world that does not have any meaning. Main Argument Hare’s argument is right. Nothing in this world has been made without a purpose.

Even things like insects such as mosquitos and flies that we often think of as a burden on us have not been made without a purpose as they play an important role in maintaining the ecosystem healthy and going. Likewise, non-living things like the sun and the moon are not purposeless. Sun gives us light during the day as well as during the night by reflecting through the moon. The moon has the concern of getting the light from the sun to glow because without the reflection of sunlight, it would not glow.

Camus’s argument is inherently illogical and false. There is hardly anyone who never gets from life what he/she wants. By nature, man has two desires; first, to gain worldly desires like money, power, and fame and secondly, to gain satisfaction and peace of mind by doing good deeds. If an individual tries but cannot become rich, he might not have been able to fulfill his desires, but he can always derive pleasure and peace of mind by doing good deeds. Many good deeds do not even require the individual to spend money e.g. helping a blind man cross a road does not take any money but doing so lends one happiness and satisfaction.

This suggests that

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