Uncertainty In Albert Camus The Myth Of Sisyphus

Worldview

Ever since civilizations began forming around 3,500 B.C (TimeMaps), there has been a gradual formation of social hierarchies. As humanity advanced, the progression of more needs was met, and the emphasis on knowledge and understanding of existence became more important. Philosophy is the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence. The prominent question of its study is to interpret the meaning of our existence. In recent times, a philosopher named Albert Camus won the Nobel Prize for his literary essay, "The Myth of Sisyphus." In this article, Camus brought to light many theories, but the central question posed was, “Proceeding from the premise that, in light of the apparent purposelessness of life, suicide is the only truly serious philosophical problem" (Ward 80). This statement gives an explanation behind the fundamental motivation behind our existence. You can theorize that, by living in an irrational world (Uncertainty), obstacles are inevitable, but to construct our viewpoint about them gives us ultimate control of navigating it.

In The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus

argues not about what is the meaning of our existence but more about how to live our lives without certainty. He claims that, “Upon encountering an incomprehensible universe, the rational response is to seek explanation and certainty, but the mind finds nothing but contradictions" (Ward 80). It raises the question, if life has no meaning, then what are we living for? The only logical answer would be to learn to bear an irresolvable emptiness or face our demise. When living with a mindset that there is no purpose to the future, there is no obligation to reach a goal. The constraints of needing to conform to society disappear. Camus disregards the theories of some of the greatest minds and claims, “The world is vastly irrational, but that it is not in itself, absurd." (Ward 80) this claim is based on the fact that an explanation of our existence still has not been provided. It is impossible to read Camus's mind. but it can be surmised that he did not believe there to be a meaning to life. Instead, he offers the suggestion that our only guaranteed power is our freedom of thought. When facing reality with no certainty, the only thing we can change is how we perceive our own happiness.
Under this theory, the meaning of the events that have shaped our existence comes down to our search for meaning. Most of recorded human history can be interpreted as a search for a higher power. It comes down to the expression, “Why do something if you don't have to?” Tying into Maslow's hierarchy of needs and increasing knowledge and technology has allowed us to live a more comfortable life. Why waste your time fishing for a meal if you can just go to a supermarket that fulfills unlimited needs of food? Civilization is at the point where, in most places, most basic needs are met. The result is that civilization is now trying to solve the last need: self-actualization. It is this process that has driven the formation of religion, governments, and the quest for power.
Using Camus's theory in retrospect to the events leading up to our current societal placement, our existence can be viewed as pointless or with meaning. Human history is full of brutal wars in the conquest for power, which have resulted in different ethnicities and civilizations being destroyed or enslaved. In fact, of the last 3,400 years, humans have been entirely at peace for 268 of them, or just 8 percent of recorded history. Estimates of the total number of people killed in wars throughout all of human history range from 150 million to 1 billion (Hedges). Conflicts attributed throughout history have stemmed from our need of self-actualization by opposition views on religion to a government, or to the economic, ideological, political, or social systems of a society.
The ideology of facing an acceptance of uncertainty is a potential ideal to start living by. The influences of our past conquests result in the creation of many of the issues we presently face. Many issues based on the different views of generations have resulted in ethical issues involving slavery and racism and what is socially accepted. The problem with creating a general understanding between generational beliefs is that the world is ever-evolving to adapt to changes in life. With the massive advent of technology that has come in the last generation, increasing conflicts have arisen on the future of civilization.
In Millennials Moment, author Josh Stein takes the idea further. He stereotypes the millennial generation as narcissistic, lazy, entitled, and selfish. He explains how the views the newer generations have are affecting society. His use of statistical evidence states the decline in the belief of hard work to create success. For example, “In 1992, the nonprofit Families and Work Institute reported that 80 percent of people under 23 wanted to one day have a job with greater responsibility; 10 years later, only 60 percent did"(Stein 28)
The evident issue that arises in the article is that people are becoming more narcissistic. Stein explains these changes by looking at issues that are faced in our current society. A definition of “social norms” cannot be determined, due to simple diversity. Diversity will always cause conflict. The simple fact is that a number of factors contribute to shaping your beliefs. The sheer amount of information available, as well as the vast realm of the unknown, make total certainty impossible.
Camus argues that there will never be an answer to our questions. He states that people who view life with an internal locus have the ability to spark revolts against ideology. He infers that humanity's external locus will eventually result in its downfall. He draws upon the idea that proof of our existence doesn't lie in the physical world.
Camus accepts uncertainty.

We can only change our mindsets. The realization that we live in a mechanized world that has no purpose impacts our search for personal meaning.In Learning to Read by Malcolm X, he explains how being incarcerated for seven years positively impacted his life. He describes his prison sentence as seven years spent behind the bars, but, to him, it was a million words written in his tablet. He led an epistemological approach to understanding his ethnicity and other minorities' social standing in society at this time. Even though he was physically imprisoned, he states, “I never had been so truly free in my life" (Learning to Read 2). It's ironic considering he was not “free” in the outside world at this time period either. He turned his “negative” experience into a coping mechanism to negotiate the absurd world with which he was

confronted.
Killing Rage and Learning to Read focused on the impact of racism and slavery’s effect on ethnic communities. While Killing Rage expressed the residual effects of the Civil Rights Movement, Learning to Read focused on how the issue came to be. Bell Hooks explained this best in Killing Rage by saying, “Narcissistic rage rooted in the ideology of hierarchical privilege say (the) white ethnicity felt they should be treated better (Hooks 28). She explains how many people still follow the racist beliefs of previous generations. She states that racism has had an almost psychodynamic effect on some people. Subconsciously, events that occurred in the past influence our current views.
Hook took her perception of events as a black woman living in a racist environment and used them to build an awareness of her situation. She stated, “I feel that the vast majority of black folks subjected to everyday racial harassment have accepted as one of the social conditions of our life in white supremacist patriarchy that we cannot change." (Hook 10) Instead of conforming and surrendering to “absurdity,” she chose to take her unfair situation and create positivity from it.
These examples are a big step in the right direction. Of course, not everyone will argue with the views presented, but that is dependent on their interpretation of life. A writer's goal is to share his or her viewpoints and get readers to understand them. I am not stating whether religion exists; I am just interpreting the effects it has had on the formation of the present. Camus argued that God was important to the existence of humanity because God provides people with motivation.
Based on what he has seen during his life, he challenges people's perceptions of change. Instead of living for the future and evading a purpose, he wants people to live with an awareness of kairos. Understanding that society will always be "absurd" and understanding your lack of capability to make a major change creates a need to find happiness in the situation you are in, regardless of whether it is positive or negative. The goal is to not look back at 75 years old and determine the purpose your life had, but instead look back on how you used your time on Earth to be happy.