Answering Albert Camus: "Why Not Just Commit Suicide?"
Jeff said it this way:
I've heard a quote at various times that goes something like this: "Do you dance while the music is playing, or sit down and cry because you know it will end?" I think the analogy is apt. So what if the song will end? Why not enjoy it while it lasts? In fact, because our life ends, it gives us all the more reason to squeeze every ounce out of it that we can. It doesn't matter to the universe whether we do, but it matters to us.
19 comments:
John
If eternity didn't last so damn long I might agree?
P.S. Wuold yuo plaese al low ZAROVE bakc in?
And DenCol is still being perfected, hopefully he will apologize to you.
Do you where straw cowboy hats? If I can find one big enough for you I will get you one this summer when we go to San Antonio.
Peace out, feeno
feeno said: P.S. Wuold yuo plaese al low ZAROVE bakc in?
Cute. ;-)
No straw hats nor strawman arguments for me, thank you. That's for the other side. ;-)
Hmm Camus scared of death. No wonder man created god
Jason
Don't make me go all DenCol on your ass.
Later, feeno
Sorry feeno, I work at a seminary believe it or not. I just need to blow off steam from time to time. :-)
I've always thought that because my life does not have "meaning" the way a christian would see it. It therefore, as a result, has all the meaning i can give it...on a day to day basis of course. Everyday seems a blank page in a journal, waiting to be filled.
P.S: You christians who think that your "life has no meaning if your an atheist" diatribe is effective, can go and stuff it up your sanctimonious arses!
I think the question should be directed at christians. Once they get right with god, they should run to him.
but they don't.
which makes me wonder how much they believe it intuitively.
This seems like a question we should be posing to the theists.
If they believe tbey'll go to heaven when they die, why not look forward to death?
Even if suicide is forbidden, there are still a bunch of careers where a risk of death would be a happy bonus.
So why don't we see Christians lining up to become firefighters, lumberjacks, or north-sea fishermen?
A few months ago I went out to dinner with a friend I hadn’t seen for awhile. It was great to see him and learn what he had been up to. I never considered him religious but it didn’t matter to me one way or another. Well, after some time he started talking about praying to deal with a personal problem of his, and going to church, and then asked me, “You’re a Christian, right?” I told him, “No.” To which he said, “But you kind of believe in Jesus don’t you?” I explained that I don’t and told him that I’m a disbeliever and an agnostic. For some reason that kind of threw him, and he started to talk about why anyone would want to go on living if they didn’t know that God exists. I explained that there are many reasons to live whether we know or believe God exists or not. “But what’s the point, there’s no point to go on living or do anything,” he insisted.
Here we were, at a nice restaurant, enjoying a good meal and conversation, and he felt that simply because we might not know if God exists, we shouldn’t try to enjoy life? That it's all meaningless? To this day I still don’t get this reasoning. I go to parties whenever I can, but as the song goes, “all good things come to an end.” I’m not going to avoid going to parties or restaurants or weddings or any event simply because those things, those moments, come to an end. I’m not going to forgo any of the possibilities and pleasures of this life simply because there might not be anything for us once we die. We build our lives, get married, raise children, have families, build homes, love and care for others, perform jobs, pursue careers, join movements, go to college, serve and help others in need, become enlightened, enjoy sunsets and rainbows, drink good wine, eat good food, make good love, plan and prepare for tomorrow, remember and treasure our yesterdays, and participate in all sorts of activities, NOT in hopes that something eternal awaits us, but because these things give our finite lives meaning, here and now, up until the day we take our very last breath.
I don’t need to know that a god or gods are waiting for us or that we survive death to make my life or the lives of others happy and fulfilling. Life certainly can be unfulfilling and miserable, but for many of us who don’t believe in a god or gods, we find a way to bear or cope with the slings and arrows of this life. We deal with life the best we can, honestly and rationally, without relying on a belief in magical things.
I love that line, "Do you dance while the music is playing, or sit down and cry because you know it will end?" Well, I’ve been dancing with my life for these past few years, enjoying it fully, though I do wish I had lived it a bit differently. And I certainly don’t want to die ~ for the sake of my loved ones and myself, and those that depend on me ~ but the end is going to come someday and I’m ready to accept it. So I’ve chosen to enjoy life while I can and try to bring some happiness to others. And that is what makes life worth living.
Lee
Is that really you, you look different?
Hello Richard,
The Apostle Paul wanted to die to go be with Christ, but he new he could accomplish more down here for a little while. He says to live is Christ, but to die is gain.
Mitchy
"you enjoy sunsets and rainbows.
Drink good wine and eat good food and make good love". Weren't you Miss November?
I've asked Christians whether the prospect of eternal punishment in hell looks better than materialist oblivion when it comes to the meaning and purpose of this life. For some reason they seem reluctant to explore this question.
This is NOT an appropriate answer to Camus. The Myth of Sisyphus amounts to a much more profound exploration of the subject of meaning than this answer affords.
feeno
"Weren't you Miss November?"
Profound one, "dude"! Take you long to come up with that?
John, you attract an interesting crowd to say the least.
I see your point, but then it assumes life has as much meaning as a dance from the atheist perspective as well.
Consider this quote from Nicholas Taleb, a practicing Christian: Reality if far more vicious than Russian roulette. First, it delivers the fatal bullet rather infrequently...After a few dozen tries, one forgets about the existence of a bullet, under a numbing sense of false security." [the problem is called the black swan problem] - Fooled By Randomness
So, do I quit the game and cry or do I just let the music play in the background and dance away?
IF there was a god. And he had a grand plan. If he had a will that was to be done. If whatever happened to you, either good or bad, was part of his plan. What kind of life would that be. You would just be a pawn acting out the script of a capricious, ego-maniacal bully who lives for praise. Now that's a life that has no meaning.
OK, I will grant that God could, if he wanted, stop all evil (I have no idea if that is philosophically sound or not).
Now, the problem of evil has no force to me because I believe God can wipe all our tears away. I am also unsure that evil has no purpose.
In my Problem of Evil course in the university, I encountered a theodicy of protest where the author basically said "evil is too real, and if God wipes it away he's destorying truth." I say, no, he'd be a huge bully not to wipe it all away, even if it helped us at all.
Also, what if there's a case for evil? http://www.lulu.com/content/3606822, for example? I really need to look into arguments FOR evil, heh.
I agree with Reuben. This is not at all an appropriate response to Camus. I hope that wasn't a serious attempt to deal with Camus.
An atheist life may or may not have meaning, it depends on the individual to give his life meaning, not a God.
It's sorta like working for a boss vs. working for yourself.
Working for a boss, sure the meaning of your job is to make your boss happen, satisfy your quota, do what your boss says, etc.
Working for yourself means you have internal motivation to do things. You wanna be creative, grow, learn new things, contribute to society, build things of lasting value, etc.
You sure as heck dun need a boss to enjoy whatcha doing. Courage is much more beautiful than living in fear. Courgae is inspiring
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