Absurdism and Existentialism

[0:00]Existentialism and absurdism are two of the most popular philosophies in the world, especially on social media. Existentialism is represented by Sartre and de Beauvoir, and absurdism is often represented by Albert Camus. All were French intellectuals active in the decades after World War Two, and they knew each other. They drank, they danced, and they laughed together, but absurdism and existentialism are not the same. This is the difference. The two start from the same point. Both existentialism and absurdism say that there is no higher power looking after us, and there is no purpose handed down. The meaning of life is not written in stone tablets, or what your dad told you growing up. There is no one objective, correct way to do this life thing. And from here they go their separate ways, because absurdist say we have to make peace with this fact. We have to accept that life is an incoherent mystery, and we are meaning-seeking creatures thrown into a meaningless world. But we also have to pause and appreciate the dark humor in that. In fact, that might be all we have. Existentialists, though, say that meaning doesn't have to be objective. There doesn't need to be something out there telling us how to live. We all have to create our own meaning. In fact, the entire meaning of life is to create our own meaning. We have to direct our radical freedom in carving out both who we are, and what we stand for. Both have their appeal, and both are represented by very cool intellectuals. But which one do you like the most?