"The Myth of Sisyphus" - Albert Camus(加缪) / 分类： 哲学

[Excalibur]

最近的严重的疫情的影响非常的广泛，作为湖北人，在这段时间心理经历了不小的冲击。所幸目前家人尚无恙，希望疫情能够早日消退。

本来想借机读一下法国作家加缪的名作《鼠疫》，但在查找的过程中发现了他的另一个有意思的短篇哲学作品“西西弗斯的故事”。读了之后发现加缪的一些想法其实和我非常类似，能够会心一笑。

严格的来说这并不是一部专业上的哲学著作，而是加缪自己提出的一种人生哲学。他并没有批驳前人的学说，也没有严格论证自己的理论，而是提供了一个思考方向。加缪认为人和世界都有很多不能用理性解释的“荒谬”，荒谬的存在导致了追寻人生意义的困难。在难以寻求到意义的时候，有人选择自杀，有人选择依靠宗教信仰。而加缪认为，荒谬就是人生正常的，重要的一部分，人们完全可以在接受“人生没有意义”的结论下，过的幸福和快乐。西西弗斯在希腊神话中的命运是将石头运到山顶，然后石头自行坠落到山脚，周而复始无穷无尽。西西弗斯的工作是没有意义的，但他有没有可能是快乐的呢？

附一段summary:

The central concern of The Myth of Sisyphus is what Camus calls "the absurd." Camus claims that there is a fundamental conflict between what we want from the universe (whether it be meaning, order, or reasons) and what we find in the universe (formless chaos). We will never find in life itself the meaning that we want to find. Either we will discover that meaning through a leap of faith, by placing our hopes in a God beyond this world, or we will conclude that life is meaningless. Camus opens the essay by asking if this latter conclusion that life is meaningless necessarily leads one to commit suicide. If life has no meaning, does that mean life is not worth living? If that were the case, we would have no option but to make a leap of faith or to commit suicide, says Camus. Camus is interested in pursuing a third possibility: that we can accept and live in a world devoid of meaning or purpose.

Living with the absurd, Camus suggests, is a matter of facing this fundamental contradiction and maintaining constant awareness of it. Facing the absurd does not entail suicide, but, on the contrary, allows us to live life to its fullest.

Camus identifies three characteristics of the absurd life: revolt (we must not accept any answer or reconciliation in our struggle), freedom (we are absolutely free to think and behave as we choose), and passion (we must pursue a life of rich and diverse experiences).

The book ends with a discussion of the myth of Sisyphus, who, according to the Greek myth, was punished for all eternity to roll a rock up a mountain only to have it roll back down to the bottom when he reaches the top. Camus claims that Sisyphus is the ideal absurd hero and that his punishment is representative of the human condition: Sisyphus must struggle perpetually and without hope of success. So long as he accepts that there is nothing more to life than this absurd struggle, then he can find happiness in it, says Camus.

[swortal]

荒谬其实就是一种痛苦吧，而人生需要学会忘记/忽视痛苦，而更多关注快乐的事情上。比如西西弗斯 可以享受每一次把时候运到山顶的快感，而忽视石头又落下去的痛苦。