Albert Camus says “You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.” We hope that you enjoyed this video and for more videos to help you find success and happiness using ancient philosophical wisdom, don’t forget to subscribe. Thanks so much for watching.
I think that you are wrong about "giving meaning to life", this statement is rather Sartre/debeauvoir way of existentialism. The mythe of sysiphus help us to free our selves by learning how to accept that life has no meaning. The first aim is to live with this idea without getting further to any attempt of finding or creating meaning.
Definitely an interesting perspective from camus. If you or anyone else like that philosophy of thought around meaning, I would love to hear a perspective of a philosophy also centered around meaning but goes in a different direction. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QmHXYhpEDfM.html
Through living my life I have basically come to these same conclusions. It's incredible hearing that there is actually a name for it and others have the same belief.
@@JamieJacksonati If anyone likes these philosophical thoughts I would love to get perspectives on a philosophy that says goes in a different direction. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QmHXYhpEDfM.html
Same, i pretty much developed this ideology in its entirety on my own since i dropped out of college 7 years ago. watching this video was mind blowing because nearly every single one of these lessons is a conclusion id come to already
I would love to get perspectives on a philosophy that says goes in a different direction. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QmHXYhpEDfM.html
6 Important Guidelines in Life -When you are Alone, mind your Thoughts. -When you are with Friends, mind your Tongue. -When you are Angry, mind your Temper. -When you are with a Group, mind your Behavior. -When you are in Trouble, mind your Emotion. -When God starts blessing you, mind your EGO.
My mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don't know. I received a telegram from the old people's home: "Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Very sincerely yours." That doesn't mean anything. It might have been yesterday These words have been burned into my skull since I read them almost 15 years ago. Absolutely love Camus
That is so untrue. I never tell anyone about my billion dollar bank account, my paralyzing good looks, my giant boner, my Lamborghini, my giant house on the hill complete with giant swimming pool complete with waterfall and slide, my movie star wife or my 97 million followers on instagram.
This was so perfect for me. I have the same opinion on life as Camus. I didn't know he had that opinion as well. I heard about a book called The Stranger. I read it. It was the best book I have ever read. I'm 17 btw, I'm sure that throughout my life I will read a lot of more masterpieces, but this is the 1st one I've read. I was interested in Camus and I found out that he was not only a writer but also a philosopher. And that he "founded" absurdism which has the exact same life thought as I do!!! This is so perfect. I already ordered 3 different books that he wrote.
This famous Camus quote needed a slight correction .... "To be happy we must not be too concerned with strangers". Without a deep concern for those we love life becomes even more absurd.
Fantastic video, thank you. Looking back, Camus was clearly influenced by the Stoics, and also by Socrates who said all evil is ignorance. Finally, I'm not sure he studied Eastern philosophy, but his emphasis on not striving for some illusory happiness in the future - but being content in the present moment - is absolutely Buddhism and Taoism.
@@johnz8843 Hi John. Consider Camus’ philosophical treatise, The Myth of Sisyphus, based on the Greek myth of Sisyphus whose punishment it is to roll a boulder up a hill, then down, then back up, for all eternity. For Camus, Sisyphus is a hero because he willingly accepts his fate - the absurd job/existence (i.e the human condition) of rolling a rock back and forth - without resentment. This seems to me a virtue he took from the Stoics and the importance they place on accepting, rather than fighting ones’ fate. ‘Focus only on what you can change; not on what is out of your control’. There could be other parallels in Stoicism and Camus’ philosophy, if I thought about it, like regarding agnosticism.
@@coadmiller5010 Nice one. I hadn’t made that connection before, but you’re right. I think both Dadaism and Camus’ philosophy were a reaction to the insanity/absurdity of WWI and the arrogance of society’s hypocritical Bourgeois values. (Also very inspired by Nietzsche, generation or two, before.)
@@ericjohn277 Eric, thanks for your reply. I know that Camus studied ancient philosophy, having done a thesis on St. Augustine and Plotinus. And certainly accepting one's fate and being without resentment are essential principles of Stoicism. Camus, however, would consider the acceptance of other Stoic principles as philosophical suicide. The Stoic believed our reason was a portion of Divine Reason and that God cared for us by giving us resources to deal with our fate. It was a theodicy with which Camus would disagree. Also the Stoics believed our virtues derived from the defined nature of human beings. I believe Camus conceived of human virtues as our response to our tragic fate -- the certainty of death without hope. The Stoics did not have a tragic view of human life. Stoics accept their fate as a reflection of the unfolding of Divine Reason immanent in the universe and they seek to have natural virtues of a human being. Doing so leads to happiness and peace of mind. I'm not trying to be simply contentious. I love the Stoics. I read them each day as an inspiration and guide. But I believe what virtues we cultivate reflect in a meaningful measure existential choices without some assurance of ultimate consolation or transcendental grounding. That position would be consistent with Camus but not with the Stoics. Perhaps I'm missing something though. Again, thanks for your comment.
I’m 14, and I’m so glad I discovered Camus and his philosophies because it gives me the entire rest of my life to live by them. I’ve been through a lot and he’s helped me accept it and without him and his ideologies
I love this channel because it's not a self help channel. We are just hearing thoughts of the well known philosophers rather than self help sharks/cowboys who trying to sell you more of their junk stuff.
Camus is so right - life can often seem absurd and meaningless, but how we choose to respond to it makes all the difference. This video is a great reminder of that
My favorite Camus quote on Fascism and Marxism, and his abhorrence for both- from the guy who insisted he is not an existentialist ( probably due to his fallout w/ Sartre): “ The first [ Fascism] represents the exaltation of the executioner by the executioner; the second [ Marxism], more dramatic in concept, the exaltation of the executioner by the victims. The former never dreamed of liberating all men, but only of liberating a few by subjugating the rest. The latter, in its most profound principle, aims at liberating all men by provisionally enslaving them all.” -Albert Camus, The Rebel-
What it's important is that we study different Philosophy from different Philosophers. So, we can always have questions and never hit a wall. That's why philosophy and psychology go hand to hand
Ok, am I the only one who always heard that absurdism never proposed for us to create meaning, that's existentialism. Absurdism was about accepting that life has no meaning, and remain happy, as an act of rebelion.
This is a very interesting lecture which makes me reflect upon my own life. As a teenager I was a big fan of Camus and Sartre and I read all their books in the original language. Now I find it really amazing that I recognise myself in all seven points of this video: 1) I create my own meaning of life by not following the herds. 2) I use to live in the “here and now” and thereby don’t see happiness as a distant goal. 3) I can very well relate to the wonderful sentence “the root of all evil in the world is ignorance.” For example I firmly believe that the root of conspiracy theory is ignorance of scientific facts. 4) I am a rebel in the sense that I live authentically, without trying to please others. My lifestyle is guided by my rebelling against the absurdity of materialism. 5) I very much enjoy spending time alone and meditating on love and the absurdity of life. 6) Tolerance is one of my highest moral values. I am flexible with regard to new challenges regarding work or a relationship. And I totally agree that we have to be flexible when dealing with the world’s biggest tragedies which at the moment is climate change. So we need to adapt our lifestyle accordingly. 7) Last but not least I have chosen love above any thing else in my life.
Beautiful principles. We should encourage teenagers to read more existencialism. It gives the young minds the mental peace to become what they decide to be and work hard for it. It helps the whole society to become more human oriented.
@@addevries8163 love is a mental contruct. It, in itself, does not have more purpose than the person who is deconstructing it gives it. In other words. You find the purpose of your interpretation of "love"
I've been going through a mysterious time for a while now. I've been visiting with my VA psychologist also and we are trying to discover what my underlying issue has caused this. I have felt like I broke out of something. Like I broke out of the bubble of life as we think of it. We've cistern some topics including Alan Watts, existentialism, even Bruce Almighty. None of them fit exactly, but they come close. Dark Nigh of the Soul was a near match. I would recommend that to any one searching this path. I've mentioned in sessions a lot pointless of suffering, disappointment and disgust (with God,) futility, etc. We are slowly making progress, but emphasis on slow. This philosophy of Albert Camus is amazing and probably the closest match to what's been going on in my head and my gut. My counselor had questioned me about suicide and I asked her that wasn't a possibility or an issue. I told her I do not have faith. I believe (in God) but do not have faith in him. She brought up the option of acceptable interestingly, but not understanding how that applies, I calmly disregarded that our questioned it. I don't have the feeling that the origins of her idea actually came out of Camus' philosophy but I am definitely going to inquire and share the knowledge. I am sure she will investigate. This discovery is leaving me hopeful that this confinement of discontent may subside... or morph into the form of acceptance in terms of this philosophy. I've mentioned all of these upbringings as pieces of some puzzle that haven't found their place yet. A lot of the prior work has literally fallen into place upon adding this perspective, yet there is still work to be done. O do know that what emerges out the other side will be a much more light, free, enlightened and content me. I wish the best to all out there with yourselves.
Realising that there is no god and the universe doesn't care about us was probably the most freeing realization I've ever had. After learning about Camus I realized that I had come to many of his conclusions without even knowing his philosophy.
I just subscribed to these videos and really enjoy them. I wish I could’ve applied some of these thoughts to my life many years ago and avoid some unhappiness.Time to apply them now I guess.Thanks for posting these.
You know, I've spent so much time dreading accomplishments because I've never felt happy when it's done and I feel like it's expected of me. A party to celebrate graduating is more of a hang out with my friends because I've done it daily over time. I want to laugh because I've felt like "other" or broken because people congratulate me in that instance but I feel out of place. It's comforting to watch this video
Lessons: 1- Create your own meaning in life. 2- Don´t make happiness a distant goal 3- Don´t be ignorant 4- Be a rebel 5- Spend time with yourself 6- Be flexible 7- Choose love
Thank you for this. I have felt this way most of my life but tried to complicate it. Thanks for helping me get straight. Makes pefect and simple sense.
The only solution to freedom and justice is to live a righteous life. We need a justice system for those who live unjust and harm humans, animals and the environment.
Am I an idiot or was this video describing existentialism as opposed to absurdism during the point of “create your own meaning of life”? According to Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus, “Hope of another life one must “deserve” or trickery of those that will transcend it, refine it, give it a meaning, and betray it” (pg. 8). Camus describes the creation of a subjective meaning as eluding the truth in search of comfort. The point of absurdism is to live despite lack of meaning. Existentialism is more about having the freedom to give your own meaning to the concept of life.
No, you are correct. The video confuses existentialism with absurdism. He calls the subjective creation of meaning as a way to cope with meaninglessness “philosophical suicide”.
"No man with enough intelligence would choose to harm others, as the harm would come back to him eventually" I can't say I agree with that statement, because it contradicts the observable world. It sounds a lot like karma, which is nothing but faith-based hope. People harm others all the time so as to preserve their own existence, and these people very often live very long lives. Power reigns in this world, and this power comes not just from knowledge, but from wealth and influence. Call me cynical, but in my view, this is merely fact. That said, Camus's philosophy aligns very strongly with my own. I shared his philosophy long before I ever heard of him, and I'm delighted to know that there are many others who can accept the absurd
I interpreted it differently. To me, they mean that doing bad or evil things makes you more miserable on the inside, which could be seen as one of the 'bad things that come back to you,'.
And just because someone lives a long life doesn't mean they live a good life. I don't think you believe this, but I'm pointing it out because it seems that's what you're suggesting when you say, "they live very long lives".
Camo is sometimes used in the military as short for camouflage. Cammo is a north-western suburb of Edinburgh. The philosopher's surname (or at least a reasonable approximation in English) is Camoo, like cows.
I love the balance between freedom and justice, very sage. "Know ye that the embodiment of liberty and its symbol is the animal. That which beseemeth man is submission unto such restraints as will protect him from his own ignorance, and guard him against the harm of the mischief maker. Liberty causeth man to overstep the bounds of propriety, and to infringe on the dignity of his station. It debaseth him to the level of extreme depravity and wickedness." ~Baha'u'llah
Life is good itself. People give a bad meaning when they use it for a bad reason. A good tree just like a good life is supposed to bear good fruits in due season even if it undergoes numerous calamities beyond control but only when cultivated with appropriate care. Time or chance is the key. If you have TIME no matter how little, you have LIFE no matter how short and you can do something good no matter how absurd you think about this world.
I'd really like to see an overview of philosophy to be included in high school curricula. Providing our children with critical thinking concepts is essential.
I love the audio content. However, the blinding white background is very difficult to look at or leave on when trying to fall asleep. Not to mention, it just uses slightly more electricity than a darker hue. Many of us in the software development world have slowly, but steadily transitioned to "dark themes" as our eyes get tired from staring at screens all day. Just a thought.
Life is just a bowl of cherries Don't take it serious Life's too mysterious You work, you save, you worry so But you can't take your dough When you go, go, go Keep repeating, it's the berries The strongest oak must fall The best things in life to you were just loaned So how can you lose what you never owned Life is just a bowl of cherries So live and laugh at it all Keep repeating, it's the berries You know the strongest oak has got to fall The sweet things in life to you were just loaned So how can you lose what you never owned Life is just a bowl of cherries So live it, love it, wriggle your ears And think nothing of it, you can't do without it There's no two ways about it You live and you laugh at it all.
My 18yo son recently told me my outlook on life was not as a Cheerful Nihilist but as an Absurdist. I arrived there probably from Buddhism, Vedism with as dash of Osho. I’m 53 now and honestly can’t see any other view point to better live and actually enjoy doing it.
Camus says everything should be sacrificed for love. But, how can you know that what you are feeling is love? I think love is a concept taken for granted. Like, of course, every body knows how love feels like. What If it is just an illusion, a beautiful feeling that will go away sooner than later? Can we really trust our feelings? Then you throw your whole live down the drain to persue this "love" feeling, only to realize later on that actually your life has become much more miserable. That you were much happier before you took the plunge into "love" . I think the word "love" is usually taken too divine. Like a kind of God, deciding for us, demanding to sacrifice our lifes for it. As an existencialist, one should reflect on the part "love" has in obscuring our aim to freedom.
You are confusing the meaning of 'LOVE' with the meaning of 'love'. It's like saying I have $ 100 but they have not value because they are a counterfeit. But the reason there is a counterfeit is because somewhere else there is the real thing. The existence of something false has a meaning because somewhere there is the real thing. The love that has been presented to us by the materialistic culture or society is the counterfeit of real love ( the spiritual one). Therefore people are growing miserable, they become pray of the illusion that what we thought was real love is in reality a falsification of that love. So, without the real experience of love we start rejecting all together any form of love and conclude that love is simply a fabrication of man to keep us prisoners in a materialistic societal system. Real love is not based on feelings, but on actions to do good for others. The feelings is simply the result of good actions for the benefit of humanity at large. Food for thoughts.
@@rosariomusumeci3615 Thank you for your answer. It is very positive and gives me hope in the better understanding of this concept of "love". However, if real love is not based on feelings, as you say, and yet we are supposed to be able to perceive it somehow, because otherwise we could not talk about it, then the only two alternatives we are left with are: 1) It must be a fabrication of humans (mental construct), not necessarily "to keep us prisoners in a materialistic societal system", but maybe to give some purpose to existence. Which is a noble cause that somehow has lost its way in a materialistic world. 2) It is SOMETHING, not in the realm of feelings but in the realm of things that exist independently of human abstractions or feelings. Something real, as a fact. Then, when you say that "Real love is not based on feelings but it is based on good actions", I assume you accept real love as SOMETHING that comes to life when good human actions are performed. Then, how can we recognize that SOMETHING if not by our senses (feelings)? With all due respect, feelings are essential in the conversation about 'love'. Then, my problem continues to lay on the fact that feelings are subjective and inherent to every person's life (history). So, the tool we have to recognize LOVE is our feelings. I would say that feelings among many of us are a twisted chaotic mess during different stages in our life, so how can we say so easily "follow LOVE no matter what"? Is like sending somebody to do a very specific complicated work without the right tools. The intention is good but riskier than presumed.
@@mauriciocardona2853 Love is the outcome of desiring the welfare of the other, and acting upon that desire. The feeling which is called love is not actually love as it can easily, and often does, turn into hatred. How many many marriages have ended in this way? The feeling commonly called "love" is actually the feeling of attraction. That doesn't mean that attraction, or that feeling, cannot be combined with love (the act of loving, to care for another being, etc ...) as in good marriages, or good friendships etc. But the two are separate. Really loving people desire the welfare of all living beings. They aren't kind to their dogs and support cruelty and slaughter of farm animals. They aren't just kind to their families, or to people they are attracted to, but all beings. This real love cannot be taken away, or transformed into hatred, as it isn't based on fleeting attraction, which pleases the senses, but a sense of empathy and caring. Thank you for taking the time to express your understanding.
@@rosariomusumeci3615 I agree. Your thoughts about love are really well tuned. However, most people, on my opinion, do not think like that and that is why reflection on the matter is necessary. Just as we are doing it now 🙂
I really try to embrace the absurd but my depression is always dragging me to nihilism. I Just can't find the energy to make or to see my own purpose in this life. I think like an absurdist but i live like a nihilist. I hope i will break from this circle one Day. Because now i really feel trapped in my life , my job, my relationship, all the debts.
Interesting and instructive video, everything explained in a clear and succinct way. But I have learned that Camus had many problems in the intelectual world in France due to his opposition to communists and Sartre and I think it you have been addressed in the video too. Even there is a theory that the car accident that caused his death was not so accidental.
@Aiden Logan I understand what you say . but perhaps I did not explained myself clearly before, what I was trying to say is that he criticized the URSS invasion of Hungary, and he named killings thereafter the URSS's KGB minister of the time. And this individual ordered him to be killed. But anyway I think that you are right and his contributions to philosophical thinking are more important than all that. I think that many things attributed to the late Soviet Union were the entire responsibility of some individuals, and I am not in any way criticizing the basis of the Soviet Union's political foundations.
When I watch the videos of RU-vidrs who explain how to live a better life I really think that everything has been said and wriiten about the meaning and purpose of the human being. Everyone parrots what has been said since long whether Camus, Marcus Aurelius etc... People have always been aware of the absurdity of life but saying that life is absurd is meaningless because It's the human soul that is absurd, stupid. The world is absurd because humans are an absurd species.
People have not been aware of the absurdity of life. Pick 10 people randomly and I guarantee you that at least 8 of them will not think that life is absurd or that it has no meaning.
Pretty Good - worth a like. Small quibble at the end, #7. Seems Camu may have been rationalizing (being irrational) his affairs and wanderings. Confusing 'love' with 'lust/desire' occurs way too often. A true 'love' recognizes duty to others and yourself. 'Love is our only duty in life' -- maybe state it this way 'Duty is our only love in life' (and a path to meaning) to recognize the rational path not the desirous path. Seems Camu recognized this finally. [Am subscriber and forwarder to aid the channel and others seeking/needing 'philosophies for life'] Thank You!
As a pragmatist and rationalist, I can't take lesson no. 7 from Camus. Firstly, it contradicts one of the first things he believed, as stated in this clip. Among the 3 approaches to life, he didn't choose FAITH, because it's based on irrationality. Same with love. Love is irrational and supposed to fade in time. Then you will have to chase another lover to excite your heart and oppcupy your mind again. I think this viewpoint was perhaps a result of his failed first marriage due to cheating. It's not very sustainable for nearly everyone to choose love over commitment in their life.
Lock-down in Melbourne (again!) in my apartment & working from home, no problem with being alone here. Being alone becomes being lonely pretty damn quickly.
facing a terminal cancer diagnosis at 55, in the time of covid, and a global environmental devastation, i find my early adoption of camus' perspectives in my 20's stand the real test of life's challenges. There ARE atheists in fox holes. Camus' advice and ideologies caused me to live a life i feel is profoundly satisfying. Because of his writing I face my own shortened life span supremely happy with my personal history. And no, I never had children, pretended at monogamy, had a fancy job, bought a house, or built a large material hoard. For me life has been about love, service, art, and joy. Turns out he was right and i was right to consciously adopt his ideas into life choices.
Exactly. So much to agree with in Camus' theories, but a good deal to view as universally questionable in the praticals. I would NOT want Camus as my therapist.
this feels like it’s appeared at a good time for me to watch…i’ve been struggling with working at school and honestly it makes me desperately unhappy. I have to say i’ve been a little torn between trying my hardest at something which makes me so burnt out and depressed to achieve something i don’t care a whole deal about and trying my best to get the amazing grades i’m capable of and please my friends and my family but being desperately unhappy and depressed. i know it might sound silly but i’ve always seen school as an absurd concept and i can’t see how it’s qualifications will have any real meaning in my life but everybody around me disapproves of my style of thinking but ultimately i just want to be happy and it seems silly to actively strive for the opposite effect. nonetheless i’m torn between making myself happy and others happy
Albert Camus was a great writer, but he seems to have been mixed up love with being in love. Cheating is not love, it's a lack of respect and just feeds shallow, immature, emotional cravings.
I don’t know if Camus was inspired by Eastern thought. But some of his philosophy reminds me of teachings from the Tao te Ching. Lao Tzu or whomever was the author, wrote about, for example, being flexible.
"On this earth there are pestilences and there are victims, and it's up to us, so far as possible, not to join forces with the pestilences. That may sound simple to the point of childishness; I can't judge if it's simple, but I know it's true." - Albert Camus, The Plague
I appreciate all 6 propositions expect for the seventh one. It contradicts his notion of stopping the cycle of hate where when you choose someone else while being committed to your current partner, you will cause them grieve in the same way Camus acquired a broken sense of love when his first wife cheated on him.
Good point. But, is loyalty the ultimate prove of love? I do not think Camus cheated on his wife out of hate as a consequence of a broken heart, but out of freedom. He stoped cheating out of compassion.
Perhaps a re-think of your position is in order. Do we own other human beings? On the flip side, how many infidelities against all the other vows are committed on a daily basis? To love, to honor, to cherish…. spouses across the world are constantly berating each other, tearing each other down, embarrassing each other, ridiculing each other. Yet somehow, infidelity has come to be defined only by physical and/or emotional connection with another - by the “forsaking all others” clause.
@@Gk2003m perhaps you didn't stick to Albert's philosophy as well. That our choices aren't dictated by what others do or think. So yes, I'm set on that proposition.
