Albert Camus explored man’s weaknesses, illusions, and political temptations of a post-religious universe. He described how traditional forces lost their influences on modernising societies, and how younger generations confronted emptiness and a sense that anything was possible. While he claimed that modern secularism stumbled into a nihilistic state of mind because man sometimes — perhaps often — failed to free himself from traditions, Camus believed that justice would rise from the ashes. Even if man was and is unable to protest against death, he posited, his central metaphysical concern with absurdity and revolt led him to conclude that postmodern man confronted grandiose dilemmas. In the words of Ronald Aronson, “Camus remain[ed] relevant for having looked askance at Western civilisation, at progress, and at the modern world, but at the heart of his analyses is his ambivalent exploration of what it is like to live in a Godless universe.” Camus recommends, the American wrote, “that we avoid trying to resolve our many dilemmas and face the “fact that we can never successfully purge ourselves of the impulses that threaten to wreak havoc with our lives.” Instead, man should learn to be tolerant, perhaps even embrace the frustration and ambivalence that human beings cannot escape their destiny, at least not in this life, if they ever want clear answers to their questions. (Joseph A. Kéchichian)
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 01:12:14 +0000
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