TED-Ed｜生命是否毫无意义？以及其它荒谬的问题

Is life meaningless? And other absurd questions
Nina Medvinskaya | TED-Ed • Sept 2020

Albert Camus grew up surrounded by violence. His homeland of Algeria was mired in conflict between native Algerians and colonizing French Europeans. He lost his father in the First World War, and was deemed unfit to fight in the second. Battling tuberculosis in France and confronting the war's devastation as a resistance journalist, Camus grew despondent. He couldn't fathom any meaning behind all this endless bloodshed and suffering. He asked: if the world was meaningless, could our individual lives still hold value?

Many of Camus' contemporaries were exploring similar questions under the banner of a new philosophy called existentialism. Existentialists believed people were born as blank slates, each responsible for creating their life's meaning amidst a chaotic world. But Camus rejected their school of thought. He argued all people were born with a shared human nature that bonded them toward common goals. One such goal was to seek out meaning despite the world's arbitrary cruelty. Camus viewed humanity's desire for meaning and the universe's silent indifference as two incompatible puzzle pieces, and considered trying to fit them together to be fundamentally absurd. This tension became the heart of Camus' Philosophy of the Absurd, which argued that life is inherently futile. Exploring how to live without meaning became the guiding question behind Camus' early work, which he called his "cycle of the absurd."

The star of this cycle, and Camus' first published novel, offers a rather bleak response. "The Stranger" follows Meursault, an emotionally detached young man who doesn't attribute much meaning to anything. He doesn't cry at his mother's funeral, he supports his neighbor's scheme to humiliate a woman, he even commits a violent crime — but Meaursault feels no remorse. For him the world is pointless and moral judgment has no place in it. This attitude creates hostility between Meursault and the orderly society he inhabits, slowly increasing his alienation until the novel's explosive climax.

Unlike his spurned protagonist, Camus was celebrated for his honest philosophy. "The Stranger" catapulted him to fame, and Camus continued producing works that explored the value of life amidst absurdity many of which circled back to the same philosophical question: if life is truly meaningless, is committing suicide the only rational response?

Camus' answer was an emphatic "no." There may not be any explanation for our unjust world, but choosing to live regardless is the deepest expression of our genuine freedom. Camus explains this in one of his most famous essays which centers on the Greek myth of Sisyphus. Sisyphus was a king who cheated the gods, and was condemned to endlessly roll a boulder up a hill. The cruelty of his punishment lies in its singular futility, but Camus argues all of humanity is in the same position. And only when we accept the meaninglessness of our lives can we face the absurd with our heads held high. As Camus says, when the king chooses to begin his relentless task once more, "One must imagine Sisyphus happy."

Camus' contemporaries weren't so accepting of futility. Many existentialists advocated for violent revolution to upend systems they believed were depriving people of agency and purpose. Camus responded with his second set of work: the cycle of revolt. In "The Rebel," he explored rebellion as a creative act, rather than a destructive one. Camus believed that inverting power dynamics only led to an endless cycle of violence. Instead, the way to avoid needless bloodshed is to establish a public understanding of our shared human nature. Ironically, it was this cycle of relatively peaceful ideas that triggered his fallout with many fellow writers and philosophers.

Despite the controversy, Camus began work on his most lengthy and personal novel yet: an autobiographical work entitled "The First Man." The novel was intended to be the first piece in a hopeful new direction: the cycle of love.

But in 1960, Camus suddenly died in a car accident that can only be described as meaningless and absurd. While the world never saw his cycle of love, his cycles of revolt and absurdity continue to resonate with readers today. His concept of absurdity has become a part of world literature, 20th century philosophy, and even pop culture. Today, Camus remains a trusted guide for moments of uncertainty; his ideas defiantly imbuing a senseless world with inspiration rather than defeat.

词汇表
Algeria [æl'dʒɪərɪə] 阿尔及利亚
Algerian [æl'dʒɪərɪən] 阿尔及利亚人，阿尔及利亚的
deem [diːm] 认为，相信，视作
tuberculosis [tjuːˌbɜː(r)kjʊˈləʊsɪs] 肺结核，结核病
devastation [ˌdevəˈsteɪʃ(ə)n] 破坏，毁坏
despondent [dɪˈspɒndənt] 沮丧的，失望的，泄气的
fathom ['fæðəm] 理解，弄清，探究
bloodshed ['blʌdʃed]（战争等的）流血，杀戮
contemporary [kənˈtɛmp(ə)r(ə)ri] 同时期的，同时代的；现代的，当代的
under the banner of [ˈbænə(r)] 在…的旗帜下；以…的名义
existentialism [ˌegzɪ'stenʃəlɪzəm] 存在主义
blank slate [sleɪt] 白板，白纸，全新开始
chaotic [keɪˈɒtɪk] 混乱的，无秩序的
bond 联合，团结，建立关系
arbitrary [ˈɑː(r)bɪtrəri] 任意的，武断的，专横的
incompatible puzzle pieces [ˌɪnkəmˈpætəb(ə)l] 不兼容的拼图块
Philosophy of the Absurd [əbˈsɜː(r)d] 荒诞哲学（探讨人类寻求生活意义与宇宙冷漠无意义之间的冲突）
absurdity [əb'sɜːdəti] 荒谬，荒谬的事情
inherently [ɪn'herəntlɪ] 固有地，内在地，本质上
futile [ˈfjuːtaɪl]徒然的，徒劳的，无效的
bleak [bliːk] 无望的，惨淡的；阴冷的
emotionally detached [dɪ'tætʃt] 情感疏离的，情感冷漠的
attribute to [əˈtrɪbjuːt] 归因于，归于
scheme [skiːm] 阴谋，诡计；计划，安排
commit a violent crime [kəˈmɪt] 犯下暴力罪行
remorse [rɪˈmɔː(r)s] 懊悔，悔恨，自责
hostility [hɒˈstɪləti] 敌意，对抗
inhabit [ɪn'hæbɪt] 居住于，栖居在，存在于；占据
alienation [ˌeɪliəˈneɪʃ(ə)n] 疏离，疏远
explosive climax [ɪkˈspləʊsɪv][ˈklaɪmæks] 爆炸性高潮
spurn [spɜː(r)n] 摒弃，唾弃，冷落
protagonist [prəʊˈtæɡənɪst] 主人公，主角；倡导者
catapult to fame [ˈkætəpʌlt] 迅速走红，一举成名
emphatic [ɪmˈfætɪk] 断然的，有力的，坚决的
unjust [ʌn'dʒʌst] 不公平的，不公正的
center on 以…为中心，围绕
myth of Sisyphus ['sisifәs] 西西弗斯神话（加缪认为，西西弗斯认识到自己命运的荒诞性后仍继续推巨石，这种坚持本身就是一种反抗）
be condemned to [kən'demd] 被宣判，被判处
roll a boulder up a hill [ˈbəʊldə(r)] 将巨石滚上山顶（比喻一项非常困难和费力不讨好的任务）
futility [fjuːˈtɪləti] 无用，无益，徒劳
(with) heads held high 昂首阔步，昂首挺胸
relentless [rɪ'lentləs] 不停的，持续强烈的；无情的，残酷的,
existentialist [ˌeɡzɪˈstenʃ(ə)lˌɪst] 存在主义者；存在主义的
deprive of [dɪ'praɪv]剥夺，使失去
agency [ˈeɪdʒ(ə)nsi] 作用，力量
revolt [rɪˈvəʊlt] 反抗，反叛；违抗；反感
rebel ['reb(ə)l] 反抗者；反叛者，造反者
rebellion [rɪ'beljən] 反抗；叛乱；造反
invert [ˌɪnˈvɜː(r)t] 颠倒，倒置，反转
power dynamics [daɪ'næmɪk] 权力动态，权利关系
fallout [ˈfɔːlaʊt] 争执，不和，闹僵；后果
autobiographical [ˌɔːtəbaɪəˈɡræfɪk(ə)l] 自传的，自传体的
resonate with [ˈrezəneɪt] 与…产生共鸣，共振
defiantly [dɪ'faɪəntli] 挑战地，对抗地
imbue…with [ɪmˈbjuː] 灌输，使充满
senseless ['sensləs] 无意义的；失去知觉的

�翻译、视频和pdf见公众号【琐简】，回复"1" 可加入【打卡交流群】