The concept of absurdity in existentialism - Vijaya Kumar - Bog

Absurdity 'is a metaphysical term to distinguish thought from reality, meaning from things, word from the subject and consciousness from the world. Existential philosophy is the profound explicit manifestation of an existential attitude that begins with a sense of disorientation and confiision in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world. An important component of existentialist philosophy is the portrayal o f existence as being fundamentally irrational. Whereas most philosophers have attempted to build philosophical systems that produce a rational account of reality, existentialists have focused upon the subjective, irrational character of human existence. As a consequence of the diversity of these sources, existentialist doctrines focus on several aspects of existence. The absurdity of our lives comes from the idea that there is no meaning to be found in the world beyond what meaning we give to it. This meaninglessness also accounts for the 'unfairness' of the world. Humanity must live in a world that is and will forever be hostile or indifferent towards them. The universe will never truly care for humanity the way we seem to want it to. The Absurd refers to the conflict between the human tendency to seek value and meaning in life and the human inability to find any. In this context absurd does not mean 'logically impossible,' but rather 'humanly impossible.' It means the discrepancy between the man's aspirations and his possibilities; the lack of any ultimate external justification of man and his projects^