Discovering the Absurd

About a month ago I read a blog entry entitled, “How to Become an Expert: The Effective Way,” which I thought was really compelling. At the bottom of the article was a quote from French-Algerian philosopher Albert Camus:

But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?

It was interesting enough that I wanted to confirm its author, and, by doing so, I came to discover more about Albert Camus—particularly his viewpoints which seem to have lent support to the concept of Absurdism. From Wikipedia:

“The Absurd,” […] is commonly used in philosophical discourse to refer to the clash between the human search for meaning and the human inability to find any. In this context absurd does not mean “logically impossible,” but rather “humanly impossible.”

Coincidentally, I’ve also been reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, and this whole idea concept of the absurd struck me as being significant to this reading, particularly as I was early in the book where Lewis discusses duality.

Most have heard of the Daoist principles of yin and yang, though I imagine only a small percentage of those people actually understand what “yin-yang” represents. Daoism seeks to align humanity with the Way of all things (Dao), and the push and pull of forces that creates balance is what yin and yang encapsulate. As such, yin and yang are the manifested intent of Dao (this is important to Daoism because Dao itself is nameless and undefined). To put this simply (and perhaps poorly), the duality of yin and yang exist within Dao.

This got me thinking about the duality of good and evil, which is often is equated incorrectly to yin and yang. While there is duality in the concept of good and evil, there is no good or evil in yin and yang for the opposing forces rely upon each other; the absence of yang would be the absence of yin. For many of us, we dream of a world where evil is diminished or extinguished, and this is not possible within the constraints of yin and yang. In a Christian’s mind, God is greater than evil and will conquer it once and for all.

If, then, one believes: * in duality of good and evil * in God’s superiority over evil

I’m thinking that that person must accept one more thing: in God’s superiority over good.

It sounds weird at first to say that good cannot define God, but the more you think about it the better it gets. What is the meaning of good? If it is to be desirable or approved of—appropriate or qualified for usage—then there must be some superior thing that defines that criterion. In the same way that I cannot use the word “pretty” to define the word “pretty,” I cannot call God “good” if good comes from Him. He is the source of good, not good personified. C.S. Lewis alludes to this in his case for the existence of a God but does not follow it for, I assume, fear of confusion.

So if God really is “beyond good,” what do we really know about Him? If human life is colored through the shades of good and evil, how can one illustrate something that lies beyond? Do humans even really know God? Can we know God? Now you see where Camus and the Absurdists have place in my thinking about these things.

It struck me as fascinating, for the more you think about it, the more you realize that humans who believe in the existence of a God at some level believe that they are that God’s primary purpose. For the first time in my life I realized how self-centered and ego-driven my own opinions on this subject are. Perhaps the reality is I—and all of humanity—equate to nothing more than a pet project on a shelf that God attends to on the weekends. There is no way we can prove otherwise.

Just food for thought. If you have some interesting opinion on the topic, have at it in the comments.