Camus and Existentialism

              Camus argues that if humans can face the absurd and live while being aware that these social constructs were created to cover up pain, suffering, and death, then we can truly live our lives to the fullest and in facing the absurd it allows people to be truly free. This is evident when when Sisyphus is constantly rolling the rock up the hill, but as he gets to the top and the rock falls to the bottom of the slope. Sisyphus then turns around and according to Camus he is faced with two options: He can accept his fate that his life is nothing more than his absurd struggle or keep hoping that he will find impossible success. If he chooses to understand that his life is nothing more than his struggle he can and only then find happiness within his life, otherwise he will live his life in misery hoping for the impossible.

             Personally I can see where he is coming from. It is kinda crazy, but if we can take a step back from our lives and look at ourselves from a far all of his points make sense. To me I can really see this in religion with the whole idea of God and gods as a way for us to explain the unexplainable or have hope that our absurd struggle of death can be explained. At the same time it is very hard to think about, especially at this point in human history after so many different constructs have been created in order to cover up the truths of life, I find myself, as of recently, frequently questioning everything, trying to see all of the ideas put in place as safeties to pain, suffering, and death. The one point though that we went over in class that I do not fully agree with is the idea that love is a construct. I have a bias to this opinion of course with being in a serious relationship with someone that I care a lot about, and though I can see how as kids we were taught, in one way or another, that this is what love is or this is what love means, whether that is a friend or a significant other. I believe that there is still a physical attraction and a similarity among people that draws us towards one another. But that is probably just me hoping in the impossible and not actually facing my rock.