After months of cultivating the definitions of nihilism, existentialism, and absurdism into a single blur of pessimism, I’ve finally taken it upon myself to explore why so many people find meaning in philosophy. Although, I have to ask, is there really any meaning to philosophy? After all, epistemological nihilism asserts that nothing we know has meaning because we know nothing. But as I delve deeper into the nuances of these three viewpoints, I, too, agree that life itself lacks purpose. Does this make me a pessimist? Does this go against my Christian beliefs? Well, shown through the thematic distinctions between The Stranger and The Alchemist, the disorder of the universe inherently has no effect on a person’s life; but one’s philosophical response to it does. So, to answer these questions, no, not necessarily.
To start, what is nihilism? Well, nihilism expresses that the key components of life have no intrinsic meaning. This philosophy can be refined into categories that address these components, including existential nihilism. While nihilism, on its own, fixates on the meaninglessness of what life has to offer, existentialism comes in to alter the negativity of such a viewpoint, creating the most common branch of nihilism. Existential nihilism focuses on life itself and the lack of purpose that we’re born with. This view primarily holds weight in the general term of nihilism. The largest entity of human knowledge and existence comes from life itself. How can it not be meaningful? This revelation, however, exposes that humans are simply “automatons” who are awoken by the presentation of deeper thought, as Carter maintains. We hardly stop to consider why we live. To get a good job? To grow a family? To be happy? These are merely goals to make living more enjoyable—more survivable. So what is the purpose of our existence? According to existential nihilism, it’s up to the individual to decide that.
Meanwhile, absurdism takes a much more blunt approach to the meaning of life. This time, the disorderliness of the world is emphasized. While existential nihilism looks to find subjective meanings in life, absurdism denies one’s ability to create them. Interestingly enough, responses to this outlook are categorized into physical suicide, spiritual suicide, and acceptance (Miessler). I speak on behalf of most when I say that, initially, suicide seems like the almost-too obvious response to life’s lack of meaning. Then why do skeptics, in my experience, continue to stay alive? Well, most are likely existential nihilists who subconsciously or consciously find their own meaning. Those who cannot and remain in hopelessness take their lives away. Others, including myself (apparently), commit to following the spirituality of religion. The remaining, embrace life’s chaos and defy the order of socially acceptable behavior. This is what you’ll find in The Stranger where Meursault ceaselessly confuses both characters and readers through his actions.
Meursault’s famous words “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know” characterize everything that the acceptance of absurdism entails (Camus 3). From the start, Meursault is a man of peculiarity. Was he born so odd that he is always aloof? Introduced to a man well into adulthood, we establish judgment of Meursault out of context. When provided with the option to work in Paris for a “change of life,” Meursault expresses how his ambitions have faded into a determination that “none of it really mattered” (Camus 41). For many, including Meursault’s younger self, experiencing change is the goal in life. We all want to live through the high school, the college, and the familial experience of life. That’s why we’re continually looking forward to the next stage of life’s pre-disposed timelines. At some point in time, Meursault was likely dissatisfied with the realities of life and started to respond to them by denying normal joys and points of idealism. Instead, Meursault simply behaves in accordance with what's convenient to his current situation. Rather than upholding integrity as a witness of abuse, cherishing marriage, and expressing distress over the coming loss of his own life, Meursault feigns indifference. He rejects all order and makes no effort to live up to society’s standards of a normal, good person. He disregards morality, neglects relationships, and abandons life. While my priorities in life lie in being a good person, developing strong bonds, and, simply, not dying, I guess you could say that Meursault responds to the objective meaninglessness of life by not prioritizing anything.
While The Alchemist may not allude to life’s lack of meaning, Santiago takes the existential part of existential nihilism to heart. He creates his own purpose in life, which is pursuing his Personal Legend. From his own experiences, Coelho projected having faith in the journey as Santiago had his money stolen, shared his earnings, and encountered the war refugees. Despite doubts, Santiago continues on his path because it is essential to reaching his goal—whatever it is. The quest is a story that is, at most, disrupted by setbacks and side plots. At first, I wrote out “the story is a quest” rather than what’s written above; but on second thought, Santiago’s journey is much more complex. Yes, he gets robbed, works at the crystal shop, and meets Fatima, after which he always returns to find his treasure. At the surface, those plotlines are simply additional events that pull Santiago aside from the path. Really, these events are part of the path. They are part of the treasure that he seeks. In fact, he names them as “the strange way God had chosen to show him his treasure” (Coelho 169). But does the way he attributes his treasures to God conflict with the distinct philosophies? It seems as if he is both an existential nihilist and an absurdist. Well, Santiago fits into the category of absurdists who commit philosophical suicide. He follows God’s plan, which is customized to each individual. In this case, God’s plan for Santiago reveals itself as the Soul of God that he depends on throughout the journey to the physical treasures (Raina). Along the way, he finds himself listening to his heart, finding love, and valuing life’s experiences: the opposite of Meursault.
See, the reason why I had never bothered to find the nuances of nihilism, existentialism, and absurdism is because of God. I never thought to involve myself in such philosophies because life does have meaning! Turns out, I’m just an absurdist who has committed philosophical suicide because “it’s too hard to live on without [a spiritual framework]” (Miessler). I have always thought that there is an objective meaning to life, but it’s only objective in my perspective because it’s only objective in religion. Looking at the bigger picture, I see now that it’s incredibly subjective. Religion, as a microcosm of all philosophies, is composed of each group’s truths. Objective to the individual, religion appears subjective to all others. For reference, my faith has been so deeply planted inside me that I know no other truth than that Jesus is my Savior and that God exists. I’ve believed that all my life, and, to me, it’s just as true as George Washington being America’s first President, though I’ll never see it myself. (Conspiracies will find a way to negate anything: Moon Landing Conspiracy.) So I’ve unknowingly subjected myself to taking a leap of faith and sacrificed the ability to indulge myself in any other philosophy.
Like Santiago, I’ve taken endless leaps of faith by trusting God with my life. Both he and I trust that we’ll be led to treasure, whether or not it aligns with the world’s standard of success—or, in absurdist terms, order. To put it in perspective, let’s talk about college. Many people will expect that if God were to truly want the best for me, then He’d take me to Harvard. In the Christian framework, God’s best for me is leading me to a place that I will develop and learn from. Maybe a less prestigious school will provide me with greater communities. Maybe another school will provide me with a terrible experience, but the trials will provide me with growth. Maybe I will get into Harvard. (I don’t think putting this in italics alone sufficiently expresses the unlikeliness of this.) In summary, life’s possibilities are endless and I can only put my faith in the process. Through Christianity, I’ve defined order in an alternate way. I can’t define it in words because I, myself, don’t know what it is exactly. I can only allude to the ideology that a plan exists for me so that I can develop a relationship between Jesus and me to glorify God. It’s complicated, I know, so I won’t go on a tangent about theology. But essentially I rely on the order that I believe God provides throughout my life so that I can achieve a purpose.
Despite being an absurdist all my life, I was only made aware of my viewpoints recently. Honestly, I feel almost like an intruder, naming myself a lifelong member of the club of philosophical inquirers. But contrary to popular thought, we all have philosophical standpoints whether we name them or not. Even if the words existentialism or absurdism did not exist, millions of people would still think accordingly to the beliefs those words entail. So people’s actions and speech are much more telling of what life means rather than naming a philosophy.
Ultimately, the response is what matters, not just the thought. Everybody knows the glass half-full or glass half-empty analogy, but people’s levels of optimism and joyfulness can easily be attributed to life’s gifts or misfortunes. When I was younger, I knew this girl that seemed to have the perfect life. She was sweet, pure, and nothing could go wrong for her. To me, the only thing that made her subject to life’s unpleasantness was the fact that everybody dies. Well, lucky for me (and mostly her), life’s reality exposed itself with the pandemic before I needed to see her death to realize it. This disastrous event has been a perfect yet rare event to compare responses to misfortune. Quarantine and social restrictions have become the control variable because everybody has been affected negatively by them. I see such a large discrepancy when discussing the pandemic’s effects despite its expansiveness. I often hear, “I wonder how much better our summer would have been if it weren’t for the virus.” Yet, for me, I never consider what the past could have been (as much as I do consider what the future will be like). I see my past as the best possible string of events that shape me and my story. Without quarantine, I wouldn’t have been able to make such strong bonds with certain people, learn to appreciate nature, nor pick up new hobbies. Yes, I didn’t go to that Lauv concert, go to Spain, nor see all my friends, but I developed in unexpected ways and experienced new aspects of life.
I’d like to believe that Santiago would see quarantine similarly to how I do. He finds his treasure where he starts. He doesn’t necessarily have to leave the house to explore new sides of himself. He uses the time for introspection and character development. He thanks God for those adversaries—those social restrictions—that built him into the person he is today. What Meursault would be like is a drastically different story. He ignores socially acceptable norms: I can’t guarantee that Meursault would wear a mask or care if others don’t. Or maybe he’ll follow along with guidelines a little too well. I could see him staying home for months straight watching the streets under the hypnotic trance of time. Meursault doesn’t care enough to live a dynamic life, find ways to make memories, or pursue freedom all while meeting social standards. It’s the same pandemic, but how each man perceives life drives how he acts in accordance with the circumstances.
How Meursault might wear his mask (and how many others do—absurdist or not)
There’s more to seeing life than being an optimist or pessimist. Our responses to even trivial situations are much more than just a personality trait; they are actually indications of how we think on a larger scale. These driving beliefs even split opinions on the preference of being Santiago or Meursault. Do we wish to pursue life with a goal, or do we wish to live without a care in the world?
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