Absurdity is a concept used to describe strange and absurd events or things that contradict generally accepted logic or the laws of common sense. The origin of the word absurd is due to the Latin language, where it literally meant information coming from a deaf person, i.e. so absurd that attempts to somehow explain it to oneself or others are as useless as to understand (imagine) what is stated.
More deeply, absurdity means not only the obvious meaninglessness of any position or concept, but also the result of a logical analysis of the chosen mechanism, when people come to the presence of internal contradictions in the concept itself. Many philosophical schools used the technique of bringing a situation to a state of absurdity in disputes in order to show the weak points of the theory put forward by the interlocutor, as well as the contradictory parts contained in it.
In addition to being a concept that reflects concepts and actions, absurdity can be used as a technique for transforming reality or situational influence on people. It is less effective to show a person the absurdity of his reasoning - this takes a lot of time and energy resources. But intentionally bringing a situation with a slight degree of inconsistency to the point of complete absurdity can provoke not only a change in a specific situation, but also understand a person’s general worldview, and sometimes his semantic sphere. In psychotherapeutic circles, when a client begins to lose the purpose of his own life, the category of absurdity is often used to separate what is meaningful from what is simply picking up life space.
The world of absurdity in which we revolve
No one ever pays due attention in everyday life to how absurd what is happening around us is. Young beautiful girls engage in prostitution, talented people kill themselves with drugs or alcohol, and untalented individuals sit in high offices and shovel public money for themselves. And after that, do you want to say that this world has meaning, it moves forward, and does not stand still? All of the above is only a tiny part of the absurdity that is happening in the world. And as an integral part of the universal system, the life of every person, according to the philosophy of the absurd, is meaningless.
The meaning of the word absurd
For example, an attempt to hiccup with meaning would be absurd; the question “what does the blueness of his eyes mean?” If the transcendental use of reason, according to Kant, gives rise to paradoxes, then the transcendental use of the procedure of comprehension gives rise to figures of the absurd (let's say we agree to distinguish between absurdity and nonsense as Deleuze does).
Bifurcation."[2] It is an integral part of the universe of the theater of the absurd, criticizing the absurdity of modern life, thereby making a breakthrough through the absurd.
Although Nietzsche shows that absurdity gives rise to a special theatrical and artistic technique “spectator without spectacle”, “spectator for spectator” [20], which will become one of the fundamental ones for the aesthetics of the theater of the absurd, absurdity is not yet considered by him “functionally” (Oliver Dear’s term )[21], that is, as art.
I have to retell one of these short stories to you, but at the same time I feel - which is the frightening ambiguity of what happened - the meaninglessness of such a retelling, since you - how, this can only be learned from the short story itself - already know everything; in spite of the arguments born of common sense, in spite of common sense itself, the answer that I have just received from you convinces and compels me to do what I am now doing, facing the absurdity, if, Glenda, it is an absurdity, and I I believe that this is not absurd, although neither you nor I can even guess what it is.
he wrote not just about absurdity, but about the “absurd situation of Europe,” which found itself in a state of crisis [24], having felt that absurdity was taking shape at the turn of the 19th - early 20th centuries.
We need to hit the weak points, bring it to the point of absurdity and show this absurdity, poke it in the nose of those who have not yet forgotten how to think.
The Cold War is over, the absurdity of nuclear confrontation, stupid spending on the arms race on all sides, the climate of absurdity, and so on, are over.
Both absurdity and nonsense each time arise in the form of separate singularities (when nonsense loses its singular character, it becomes a kind of meaning), however, under the influence of absurdity, “strange zones” appear on the reverse semantic side.
But both Sartre and Camus were not only philosophers of the absurd, but also writers who tried to express it through the means of literary text: it is enough to read “Nausea” to be convinced that immersion in the absurd inevitably entails the disintegration of a person’s inner world, his consciousness and the collapse communications.
The absurdity of life, which is eternal and inevitable
If a man comes up to you and says that he is going to lift his car above his head using only his own hands, you will tell him: “That is absurd.” Why? Because you recognize the futility of his efforts, you see the conflict between his means and a reality that does not favor the successful completion of this enterprise. He simply physically cannot lift this car over his head.
The absurd is the relationship between what people try to do and the reality in which they exist. There are absurd wars and absurd policies. There are absurd marriages, absurd university assignments, and so on. Wherever a goal (say, the war on drugs) seems impossible given the reality (there will always be some group of people producing and distributing drugs), we say it is absurd.
The philosophy of the absurd view of life begins with the idea that life has no meaning (at least not the kind we create for ourselves). Thus, a person’s ordinary desire to find the true meaning of life can be brought to the point of absurdity, since it is useless. Any attempt to create it means an inevitable conflict with the world, which is structured differently, contrary to your desires.
How to use absurdity techniques - top 5 practices
Often the element is used to make people themselves understand the fallacy and illogicality of their own judgments. How to use the most common techniques in life?
Read the practices, implement them in your daily life, and be sure to share your successes in the comments to the article. This will help reinforce the results and motivate other readers to take action.
Joke
The “joke with some truth” technique. Often used as a way to escape an attack. For example, a person is offered to work overtime without increasing pay (supposedly for the benefit and prosperity of the company).
He can offer the boss to transport a folding bed, a kettle and other personal items to the office. And also mention that he does not need to pay attention to his family or deal with everyday issues.
If the opponent is adequate, then he will understand that what he proposed is completely absurd. But if a person categorically does not understand humor, the technique should not be used.
Arrows
Attempting to move the arrows. If the interlocutor is trying to put pressure, then you should redirect the arrows to someone else. For example, this is not within my authority, contact Ivan Ivanovich. However, the conditional Ivan Ivanovich clearly will not be happy with the turn of events.
It's better to point the arrows at something inanimate. For example, refer to instructions, specialized literature.
Extremes
Taking it to the extreme. It works especially effectively in domestic disputes. For example, a girl prohibits a guy from attending sports training because he pays little attention to her.
The guy should respond by refusing to participate at all in all the events and trips that they usually carry out. Just to avoid leaving the house at all.
Generalization
Inappropriate generalization. A classic example of absurdity that parents use at least once in their lives is “If all your friends go jumping off the roof, will you go too?”
Exaggeration
Intentional exaggeration or understatement. An overly touchy person should be advised to start being offended even more. Then remember the people with whom he has not yet been offended and offer to do so immediately. Then move on to those with whom he is not even familiar and to inanimate objects.
Thus, the technique of absurdity was used by ancient Greek philosophers in discussions about the meaning of life, the purpose of existence, etc. It has become widespread in various fields of art and science. Today it continues to be widely used by people whose activities are directly related to communication.
Thank you for reading the article. We will be interested to know about absurd and funny situations from your life. Share the article on social networks, save it for yourself. From time to time, you can return to the comments of other readers for a good laugh.
Sisyphus as a symbol of the philosophy of the absurd
A clear metaphor for this is about Sisyphus. He rolls his rock up a hill only to have it roll down the hill, then it all starts again. He will never roll a stone up a hill because it will always roll. But Sisyphus continues his hard work, he accepts his fate. In this sense, Sisyphus is an absurd hero. Imagine that he is happy just like you are happy, because everyone in life has at least the absurdity of existence. This philosophy says that absurdity is living in a meaningless world, where all our efforts are ultimately useless and do not lead to anything good.
Origin of the word - what is it?
The absurd is something absurd, devoid of meaning , illogical. The word is used to denote strange, incomprehensible events and phenomena, internal contradictions within the concept, due to which it becomes unnecessary and inapplicable in practice.
The concept is used in colloquial speech and scientific literature as a special term for the following fields of knowledge : logic, philosophy, dialectics, mathematics, literature.
The concept of “absurd” came into Russian from Latin, from the word “absurdus” (“ absurd ”), which, in turn, was derived from “absurdum,” which literally means “coming from the deaf.” This information is so useless that trying to understand it or explain it to others becomes nonsense and a waste of time.
An absurdity is a statement that is logically connected, but contradicts the real state of affairs. This is how it differs from a concept that is similar in meaning – “ nonsense ”.
The difference between them is demonstrated by the following example:
- The sun rises because gladiolus.
- The sun, as always, rose in the north.
Both of these phrases are contrary to common sense; they cause protest in the minds of the reader or listener. However, the first one is devoid of internal logic; attempts to understand it are obviously doomed to failure, so it falls into the category of nonsense.
The second sentence is absurd. Its author either made a mistake due to ignorance of the real state of affairs, or deliberately distorted the facts in order to attract the attention of his interlocutors and evoke some emotions in them.
Absurdity and time
People usually think that there are two main problems in life: finding love and finding a job. So much has been written about how little time is given to acquire both. We could give up love or work, but if we lose one fundamental human purpose in order to have time to move more effectively toward another, we are left with, at best, half a life. And even half of life is actually out of reach for most of us - life is too short for just work. The absurdity is the constant lack of time.
By the time we feel like we've found our dream career and a great job seems to be falling into our laps, most of us have only a little time to realize ourselves. At that time, we are no longer as competent and active as before, and our minds are not flexible. The rate of cognitive decline (which begins before age 30) increases as we age, with a sharp decline occurring after age 60.
Time and experience are necessary to develop the wisdom and maturity to choose the right partner with whom we can be happy in love. Relationships require attention, and it takes a lot of time. Children also need to be given enough time and effort, but often they are born when we are still young and unreasonable.
Most of us seem unable to refrain from wasting time. It is rare that a person can truly be as efficient and productive as possible. For the rest of us, that is, almost all of us, Seneca's advice about not simply wasting time is useless.
What is absurdity
The expression comes from Latin. Along with it they talk about nonsense and absurdity. These concepts generally lack logical content and are not subject to interpretation.
If we define the concept of absurdity, then it means the simultaneous denial and affirmation of something, usually in contradictory situations. Sometimes it indicates that a person is mistaken.
That is, the statement has a certain logic and meaning; it is found in life. It may be coherent in meaning and grammatically, but simply be incorrect.
Absurdity and nonsense have no logical basis; they cannot be interpreted in any way. Phenomena do not exist in existing reality.
The deep philosophical meaning of the word “absurd” in the video.
Absurd literature as an attempt to more accurately reflect reality
When we talk about absurdity in literature, historical context plays an extremely important role. In the 1950s, people faced the devastation of two world wars, disillusionment with modernism and rationalism, and a more liberal approach to faith—what had been considered traditional. Without a stable social structure and religious beliefs, the question of the reliability of the human psyche arose. Thinkers began to use the ideology of existentialism, which goes hand in hand with absurdity.
Existentialism places man at the starting point of thought and emphasizes the bewilderment that man feels in the face of a meaningless and lonely existence in the world. Separated from other people and disassociated from the world itself, a person is left to wander alone and is much more susceptible to mass manipulation and government control.
A lot of writers of this time used the techniques of absurdism: Franz Kafka, Camus, Beckett, Tom Robbins, Kurt Vonnegut and others. They went against classical literature and insisted that there should be a strong correlation between setting, character and plot. In other words, the authors introduced ideas of meaninglessness not only into the content, but also wove them into the very structure of the story.
The concept of absurdity in the philosophy of existentialism
The philosophy of existentialism (what is this?) developed into an independent movement in the 1940s. Representatives of this trend are Nietzsche, Camus, Sartre and others. The object of their interest is the crisis situation of man in the modern world, when former values and ideals have been lost. Discord with the environment causes a feeling of meaninglessness in life.
The absurdity of perception leads a person to thoughts of futility, emptiness of existence, lack of faith and meaning. Philosophers of existentialism argue that ending life is not the best way to escape from oppressive monotony. You can come to terms with the surrounding reality and enjoy what is happening despite the current circumstances.
This conclusion follows from The Myth of Sisyphus, written by Camus. His hero is forced to constantly lift a heavy stone up the mountain, which rolls down from the top. At first glance, the situation seems absurd, a triumph of monotony. However, it’s worth thinking about: in the course of his difficult work, Sisyphus can look around, find something new for himself and enjoy existence, even in such conditions.
Alice: life's absurdity in a fairy tale land
Absurdity in works of art also depicts meaninglessness. For example, in “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll, Alice finds herself in a world that, first of all, is meaningless, everything there is ridiculous, absurd and causes ridicule. Gardeners painting white roses red, strange foods that make them shrink or expand to gigantic proportions, are just a small episode of the whole mass of absurdity that Alice stumbles upon.
Ahead of his time, Carroll adopted new avant-garde (experimental and provocative) methods of writing that were characteristic of only a few mid-twentieth-century writers. Literary absurdity is a means for writers to further explore the elements of absurdity in a world that makes no sense. It deals with questions of the meaning of life, and the writers often use absurd themes, characters, situations and question whether there is any meaning or structure at all.
Use of the word in spoken language
There are the following synonyms of absurdity:
- nonsense;
- absurdity;
- nonsense;
- nonsense;
- nonsense;
- rave;
- comedy;
- nonsense;
- paradox.
In colloquial vocabulary there is no clear distinction between absurdity and nonsense. These meanings are often used as synonyms, showing that some event or situation contradicts the normal state of affairs, human logic.
For example, the use of the concept is justified in the following sentences :
- This play makes fun of human everyday problems, bringing them to the point of absurdity.
- Everything that was happening around: the neighbors’ statements, the actions of the policeman, was absurd.
- I looked into the distance, and everything that was happening around seemed absurd to me.
- In such a theater of the absurd, it is difficult to maintain the ability to think sensibly.
- The conclusions made by the student in his dissertation are completely absurd.
This word refers more to a book dictionary than to a colloquial style. It is often used as a literary device, expression, definition, designed to attract the reader’s attention, make him stop and think, for example: “Vanity exists and there is no vanity.”
