13 thoughts on “Stranger than L’Étranger?

  1. So the ‘absurdity’ of the human condition refers to whether he was truly guilty or perceived to be so?

    I didn’t understand what was the ‘absurdity’ theme in the book and at the back cover of the book.

    Thanks for pointing it out, shi’an.

  2. Meursault’s existential crisis (if he even saw it as one) was actually only as absurd as his and the world’s inability and/or unwillingness to see any meaning(fulness) in each other’s perceptions, attitudes and choices.

    According to Wikipedia, ‘Absurdism is a philosophy stating that the efforts of humanity to find meaning in the universe ultimately fail (and hence are absurd), because no such meaning exists, at least in relation to the individual.’

    Interestingly, if the definition of absurdism is so, Buddhism makes perfect sense as the solution to the plight it presents humanity to be in – because Buddhism proposes that meaningfulness is realised not in relation to the individual’s ego; but only in relation to others in terms of selfless wisdom and universal compassion.

    (I)

  3. Thanks for the elaboration, shian.

    I am now able to understand the theme of absurdity better and at the same time take the opportunity to remind myself of true spirit of Buddhism – selfless wisdom and universal compassion.

Leave a Reply to jilexin Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.