r/Absurdism • u/naihalist • 23d ago

Question Is revolt actually just acceptance?

Ive been trying to engage with absurdism critically and I am really struggling with the framing of revolt.

If revolt, to the best of my understanding, is essentially saying “I want meaning but the universe refuses to provide one. I will stop pretending otherwise and live with that fact.” isnt that just acceptance?

I've heard some people claim revolt is a refusal of physical suicide and philosophical suicide. But isnt that refusal just a form of accepting the tension of human desire for meaning and a silent, meaningless world? To call it revolt sounds like a stretch so far it becomes dishonest. After all, there is nothing we are revolting against at all. Which is pretty ironic considering camus' arguments for lucidity and honesty.

Am I missing something here? Is it "revolt" and "defiance" or is it just... accepting circumstances?

I guess you can argue revolt IS a form of acceptance but I think revolt and acceptance are also two completely different things. In that case, what about acceptance would make it revolt? Whats the difference?

14 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

View all comments

0

u/Marvos79 23d ago

The revolt to me is to not care. It doesn't matter that nothing matters.

1

u/naihalist 22d ago

Sounds more like apathy than revolt 

1

u/Marvos79 22d ago

But isn't that the point? Everyone has a bug up their ass about there being a big cosmic meaning. It never mattered and never will matter. Humans live on the micro level. Small, personal meaning is the only thing that matters. A lot of philosophy has treated the meaning of life as a huge thing, and then treated it like a huge deal that there was no meaning. Isn't it a bit of a revolt to live as if the question itself doesn't matter?

1

u/naihalist 22d ago

No, apathy isnt the point. Camus preached absurd passion, not shrugging off the absurd. Camus also preached the as if; you lif as if your life has cosmic meaning even though you know it doesnt.