Albert Camus studied the philosophy of the absurd and decided that, for him, the most important philosophical question was "why not commit suicide?" In "The Myth of Sisyphus: An Absurd Reasoning" (1942), he discusses his thoughts on the answer to this question. He considers the absurdity of life, how to deal with it, and explains his reasoning throughout the story of Sisyphus. He concludes his thought by saying: "in that subtle moment in which man looks back at his life, Sisyphus returning to his rock, in that light pivot he contemplates that series of unrelated actions that become his destiny, created by him, combined under the eye of his memory and soon sealed by his death.” While this may seem unfortunate at first glance, Camus makes it clear throughout his writings that it is possible to find happiness in a routine and meaningless life. According to him, “killing yourself is equivalent to confessing. Life is too much for you, you don't understand it,” and giving up is not the answer. Happiness can be found and life can be lived with passion, full of experiences, but without yet having a purpose. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First, you need to provide some context about the myth of Sisyphus. In the story, it is unclear how he arrived at his fate, but it tells readers that Sisyphus had a passion for life and a hatred of death. He has deceived the gods and faces an eternity of useless work. He must roll a rock up a hill, only for it to roll down every time he reaches the top. Now, at the beginning, Camus suggests that the gods are smart in giving Sisyphus this punishment, but in the end he "conclude[s] that all is well," with Sisyphus, and that he is a happy man. The only way for this to happen is for Sisyphus to recognize the crushing truth of his eternity, and once he does, it's only a little less crushing. He knows the full extent of his destiny and has discovered what Camus calls the absurdity of the meaninglessness of the habit of life, from which happiness flows. He is master of his days and as he comes back down the hill, he is free to reach a state of accepted content. Camus connects this to our lives and the fact that we are in the midst of filling our days with meaningless tasks. , as Sisyphus is. People seek solutions by discovering the meaning they desire through an act of faith, or they conclude that life has no meaning. These seem to be the only two options, so if someone doesn't believe in a deity or some religion and decides there is no meaning, should this person automatically commit suicide? Camus thinks not, that there may be a third possibility that we can accept and live in a world devoid of meaning or purpose; this is the absurdity. Suicide is equivalent to confessing that the world is too chaotic and aimless, it's too much to handle, as mentioned before. Camus believes that the third possibility can allow us to live a fulfilling life, even if we accept that it is a meaningless and absurd world. Facing the absurd in our world and accepting it is the only way to find happiness in it. The absurd is defined as the search for a purpose in this life, but the key is the inability to find one. People long for purpose in life, which is why they take leaps of faith and turn to religion for answers, but to truly know and accept the absurd means that you are aware and okay with the fact that there is no no possible meaning in this confusing and chaotic. world. Recognizing the absurd may seem like automatic suicide, but by accepting the absurd, it can mean living life to the fullest, despite being aware that humanity is here for a short time, all people.