The daily toil; we exist and move forwards, never escaping the same fate we all share. Is there something which makes life worthwhile? Or do we succumb to the absurd?
Many have asked about the meaning of life, a reason for being, purpose, or other similar concepts. Some ideas, like existentialism, embrace the random nature of the universe and say there is no meaning of life on a greater scale, but we instead make one ourselves; existence precedes essence. However, absurdism takes this a step further, rejecting found purposes all together, instead claiming a revolt against the absurd is the only option. We must not turn away from the daily toil, from our inescapable fate, or the meaninglessness which surrounds us. We must fight it.
Today, we'll be exploring this feeling through example within some of the best anime to watch. Whether it's Asuka and Shinji's depression in Neon Genesis Evangelion (NGE or Eva), Revy's static Roanapur life in Black Lagoon, Spike and Faye drifting though space in Cowboy Bebop, the existentialism of Naoto in FLCL, and particularly of Nagara in Sonny Boy, or even challenging God in Vinland Saga like Canute, each one provides some insight into our question; is life worth living? What becomes of those who have no purpose, those who accomplish their reason for being, and those who have the meaning of life stollen away? Is purpose even something to strive for, or do we simply rebel against the Absurd? Taking from the Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus, we reach one possible conclusion; the only answer is constant revolt. We must become an absurd hero, like Sisyphus. Which of our characters are so? Shinji from Evangelion? Spike from Cowboy Bebop? Canute from Vinland Saga? Let's find out...
#anime #animeanalysis #camus #professorviral #neongenesisevangelion
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I'll see your links and raise you: kzhead.info/sun/priYpN2diH-EpWg/bejne.html
Do you have blind faith that life began from random Chaos? Can you show one example of Darwinian evolution (one species into another) today without fossil records? Or the law of the universe that brings life from nothing?
kzhead.info/sun/Y5ide5WvjnaEdIU/bejne.html
Kamijou Touma from Toaru is a great character to include in this discussion
"Her purpose to uncover who she is prevents her from being." That one hit.
When was this mentioned?
@@keziahhilson8624 27:22
Saving this
my god I relate to this probably a little too much
By being she fulfills the purpose of her existance - to she discovers who she is.
“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” ~ C.S. Lewis
Gonna have to remember that one, thank you
Wow thanks, didn’t expect a reply. Love me some C.S. Lewis. You’d enjoy the book of Ecclesiastes as well, regardless of belief (I believe). The entire book is about vanity.
but why?
@@mentalwarfare2038 even as someone who grew up christian and is now an atheist, Ecclesiastes is the one part of the bible I still go back to occasinally.
The most probable explanation is actually that constant dissatisfaction is the meta More food, more wealth, more kids
The absurd feels like an ocean; some days simply swimming through it and admiring its wonders feels like enough reason to live, and other days it feels like a struggle just to find the motivation to keep treading water and not drown.
Yeah, I've been on a massive sequence of ups and downs recently. Each high feeds a low that feeds another high
i love this
@@ProfessorViral ultimately chemicals souls the universe it all tries to regain equilibrium big ups equal big lows, wave physics law. deeper attachment =deeper suffering when cleaved away . deeper love a deeper pain when love is lost ect. who are we the one who likes the wave pool shallow water or the hottub each one has its own set of high and lows. excitement to the sedentary is uncomfortable. calmness to the restless is torture. we are in a point in human history where its not about the american dream we are realizing the greatest work is ourself the way we carry through by our own direction we forget that we are free agents we let society parents upbringing coddle us we as an individual are just then an ant drone. Its eye opening to realize all those societal blankets cover and hide us from our true thoughts feelings and motives. and upon realizing this all the groundwork for life are false as now there are all these things that must be sifted through do i value marriage or is it just what I've been told to value so many of these questions appear before me now and i must decide now or be in mental purgatory until death as a slave to all these societal chains that others blindly accept my choice your choice the choice is ours. its obvious the american dream is a lie why strive for a lie just because others do?
exactly how i’ve felt
True
It's easy to say "search for your purpose" but sometimes you simply can't find it, or no purpose you give yourself gives you happiness. I could dedicate myself to anything, and whether I achieve it or not nothing will take away the emptiness.
Is that really so bad?
Maybe your purpose is just to roll with it, your story only ends until you stop moving, so just keep moving until you stop, and see what comes after you stop moving. Another life? A new home? If God is real, then there’s a Heaven, and if there’s a Heaven, then there’s a Hell, so either way you can still keep moving, and if there’s nothing and you become a spirit, just keep moving, and with all these ways, you can keep moving with someone else, there’s never going to be an end to our lives, we just keep moving until something else happens, even if you don’t have a purpose, you can still discover something new, so when something new happens, you just gotta roll with it and keep moving
There isn't any purpose. Strive for a better life if you don't have one yet and then do whatever the f you want with those greasy green papers. That's all you can do.
Too real
I feel the same. Look, I'm no good with words, but you interpret what I was trying to say. You're not the only one.
One man told me: We live the first half of our lives to sin and the second half to atone for our sins. Now I agree with him.
I ca agree with that in a sense. While each side spills into the other, we spend time making mistakes, and then have to deal with the results
That reminds me of a part in the manga Goodnight Pun Pun where the main character Pun Pun asks his uncle what life is. His uncle tells him that life is redemption.
Truly a য় moment
@@spliffspiegel834 and fear.
what when you were sinned upon, do we get to sin back later?
I am without rutter, as I walk the road of life. No goal or mission bound, I do a day's work then lay down at night. Repeating this task each day. I fall further and further down, meaninglessness bound. Recalling the absurd nature of this world , stirs a memory. "Life doesn't have inherent meaning, it just is. You can choose your own meaning or choose to continue to struggle it matters not what keeps you going as long as you keep going".
I started this video because I've always personally rejected the idea that we continue because there is no other option. But, setting my own desires aside, I see my hate for that idea is just a result of what I want from the world. But there is some small comforting in knowing that if there is no reason to keep going outside of doing so, there is also no reason to not keep going.
@@ProfessorViral Once the ancient greek philosopher named Socrates was asked why he just did not end himself if he despised the sensible world so much, he answered that he just did not because he had no idea about what came after that, he could end facing a destiny worst than his current one, I always remember that when I question why should I keep going on, in the end, both life and the end can be good and bad, but at least I know life, anyway, that is my skepticism keeping me alive.
I am happy with this cycle too. But i still want more. If the daily roads spiral downwards, why not also upwards?
This man would love berserk if he doesn't already know what it is
@@TH3RM4L but I ask this, when on a hill is going down necessarily bad or is just a hill like any other?
"Existing Only To Exist" is something i've contemplated before; i asked myself over the years, "what is the point of it all?" and the answer often ocellated between "life is to live, nothing more, nothing less" and "life is happiness; that's the goal" but as of late, i've begun to wonder if that line of thinking was too simple. At 6 years old, i stood in front of my grandfather's open casket, trying to grasp the situation, only to have his daughter, my mother, tell me the cold simple truth, "He's dead and gone. Everyone dies, even me, even you. It's best you get used to it." and those words stuck with me. Not long after that day, i gained the experience of thinking i would surely starve to death and trying to make peace with that. Surrounded by filth and having lost the burning pain in my gut [or perhaps just learning to forget it was there] i found peace with just one simple thing: a cat. A stray cat who would sneak up to the back door and take some kibble from my hand. She let me pet her, and i thought to myself, "that's enough. i can die happy, knowing i've made a friend." Years ago, i was driving to work at a very dangerous location, and i thought it was strange that i wasn't afraid. I remember thinking to myself, "i should probably be scared shitless." but then i just smiled and shrugged and thought, "honestly, life is pretty great right now; i finally found someone who loves me. it's okay if i die today." Today, i look forward to escaping a bad situation in about 176 days [give or take a day] and finally having a place to call home. Yes, the aforementioned love will be a part of that home. In the in-between, where i find myself today, i feel i am in that "drifting" state, but i know it is a temporary one. Reality/Existence is what you make of it; some find reality with the agreed-upon rules of the majority, while others find that their existence, their reality, takes place elsewhere. I believe, in their own ways, both are valid. Do i know where my existence lies, be it one or the other? No, but that's okay. There's always time.
If I die I can't learn, to me I exist to know and to watch, this world is an object everything is, objects are to be examined. I exist to know what this object does
Beautiful story, i am trying to make it out on myself too, and find a partner, and after reading this and watching the video im never gonna stop revolting ❤
Amazing story I'm am in a very similar situation as you, since I was a kid a spent a lot of time in my head , forgetting about the real world, I lived my life without thinking about real problems, but one day it hit me. I will die one day. That though scared me for months, but I was able to ignore it and eventually forgot about it fro 2 years. One mouth ago (I'm 16 now) it suddenly hit me again, and for one week I lived in a nightmare. I was sick (like actually sick, I had a fever) so I was stuck in my house for 4 days whit just me and my thoughts, I was unable to go back to normal, I wanted to cry, to scream, every day I felt this anxiety entering my body as soon as I woke up, it was horrible. On the 7th day of the nightmare-week I was out whit my friends at a bar on a rainy day, I was thinking about killing myself, thinking that it was the right thing to do, that life didn't matter and that there was no point in living. Thankfully I was able to stay calm and my friends helped me, and after a few days I was able to go back to normal again. Now I'm not really afraid of dead, it just makes me sad, and I'm afraid of what's next, what is waiting for me after death, but I'm feeling better now, do you have any advice to help me, thank you (sorry for bad english I'm am Italian)
Your English was great don't worry, only a single minor grammatical error. I personally don't have any advice except to find what brings you joy in life, even the little things. There isn't any grand almighty purpose any of us have really.@@shish5806
Existence is always now including the assumption maybe existence is always now.
With so many people trying to see the world only as black-white and good-evil, it's comforting to listen to videos like this that acknowledge we are all suffering from the same dilemma. Some accept it and explore it, some will just endlessly fight it with denial.
What's the dilemma exactly?
@@nvmffsthe dilema of good and evil and being good. You should definitely read beyond good and evil by Nietzsche
Every breath I take is a literal "FU" to those who said I wasn't worthy of that breath. My very existence is an act of sincere rebellion. Don't let the bad guys win. Keep breathing.
At the very least, this is something we always have
i dont think anyone cares about me enough to even hate me. im kinda just there, doing my own thing, not having any impact on anyone or anything
@@Natsu_76 didn’t expect to see an actually relatable comment on here.
@@Natsu_76 damn same..
Every shit I take is a literal "FU" to those who said I wasn't worthy of that shit. My very existence is an act of sincere rebellion. Don't let the bad guys win. Keep taking shit. I believe my message contains triple or more meanings...
May this help anyone. I am so tired. So far I've kept going. I've lost every job I've had. No home. Only one in my family hasn't given up on me. I've spent the last ~3 years falling into depression, barely and occasionally keeping a roof over my head. I turned my perspective around. To live free. To live in the present instead of the past. To live in the present instead of the future. To strip away all of the illusions I've propped my world up with. Hard work doesn't pay off. Compassion, forgiveness, vulnerability, are not given when received. Family doesn't always mean no one gets left behind. So I keep on living. Because sunrises are good. And landscapes are pretty. Hugs are nice. I am not powerless. I am not helpless. I am very close. But, what I can do, is choose. I can choose to smile. I am pushing up my boulder. I choose to smile.
you are stronger than you will ever know.
so long as you have this choice you have it all
I felt like I was existing only to exist as a child and teen because I didn’t see myself as capable of anything of contributing anything actually meaningful to the World. I felt too stupid, but I realized I was calling myself that when I had never even fully tried at anything so how could I know what I was actually capable of.
I think I'm in that state of mind right now, I suppose I ought to try something out with this excuse.
why do you have to do anything meaningful?
"There are those who look back on their lives and realize that out of all the lives they could of lived they lived the one not worth living"
I dunno if I understood the video but this describes my life right now. I always had a lack of ambition and never really knew what kind of life I want to live. There was a time I thought I found my purpose when I was with my ex. We got engaged but circumstances happened and we eventually didn't work out. I'm 34 and working at a job which pays the bare minimum. It's not a bad job and I am enjoying it but sometimes I ask myself if this is all my life will be from now on. I draw or play the guitar or sing or play video games during my spare but I don't feel motivated to make any of those anything more than a hobby. Drawing is something I want to pursue but I'm not motivated enough to really go through with making it a career. All in all I am pretty much adrift. I feel disconnected with a lot of things around me and just pretty much go through each day. The last part of the vid gave me a bit of insight that maybe where I'm currently at is the revolt...i still don't really know where I would go from here but I guess I'm just gonna do whatever i feel like the whole way. I dunno if what I make sense. This video just made me really think a lot
That's similar to how I feel, that I believe I'm at the revolt, but it's something that can't be accepted easily. It goes against everything we want to believe, even rejecting the positive aspects many people turn to already somewhat depressing theories like existentialism for. I'm not even sure if we should listen to Camus and revolt. But, I think it's a start. I think there is freedom in it. We simply need to find ways to let that freedom shine through the bounds of society, physics, and so on. Again, I have no answer for that. If there's one thing I can say, it's that I love seeing what people create. Fans share their artwork with me all the time on discord, and it's a relief to know others find importance in what I do as well. That's part of what I'm searching for with the channel. Maybe that kind of sharing in creativity can help those interests feel more impactful among the drift. But whatever the case, thank you for your story. I hope that your life can be what you want it to be
@@ProfessorViral the only conclusion I can tell myself is that I'll just face whatever each day gives whether I do something productive or not. I'll take this as an opportunity to say I am glad I discovered your channel and discord. I mostly lurk there but I enjoy reading the discussions. I really love discussions about anime, specifically Black Lagoon xD If it's ok I might share some the artworks I have there at some point
@@ProfessorViral thank you both, I don't even remember if I've ever felt so understood. Thank you for the video.
I feel you. My reason to live is to be with a nice girl I can be happy with... But since I don't have that, there isn't much but working and trying to fill that emptiness. I want to try starting to paint, but I need a ruler (to make straight lines, naturally) but I always forget to buy one when at a store.... I enjoy cooking, but it's always for just myself.
I'm in a similar boat as you mate, I'm currently 24 and I've felt pretty much the same way, the difference being that I dropped out of society. I dropped out of college 5 times, I couldn't hold down work. I couldn't make friends all cause I've been depressed my entire life and have never really been able to find a reason to keep going. So it's just day and night month after month, year after year in the same room. It's really hard to be something when you can't figure out the why, or even feel what's supposed to be the simple pleasures.
I believe one of the most important things to cultivate when living in an absurd world is a sense of resilience. As you said when discussing Sonny Boy, someone unfettered by mortality may resign themselves to a passive, bleak existence-- not seeking anything out because they're bound to experience everything anyway. However the opposite also exists; someone constantly tormented by the knowledge of their own mortality may remain passive for a multitude of reasons. The most obvious reason is that they may be too afraid to take risks that may possibly lead to an earlier mortality. But there's another reason that I see as very common, which is that people become too afraid of making choices in the limited time they have in fear that it will come to define the totality of their life and being, so they paradoxically choose nothing. This is why I believe resilience to be so important. The choices you make, the things you choose to devote yourself to, they are necessary, but don't wholly define who you are. I've set many goals for myself that I've achieved, then realized ultimately that they weren't as important to me as I had thought during the journey there. Some of them even shook my worldview a bit, as I realized afterward they held no personal importance and were only expectations placed upon me by others. But they don't shake me as a person, if that makes sense. Because I am the one orienting myself in this world, and I am the one choosing the meaning I pursue. If what I pursue does not end up serving me positively in some way, I know that my 'self' lives on independently from it, and that I have the strength to continue on elsewhere. That being said, I do believe some amount of guidance from greater society is necessary. One has to understand the world in order to be able to orient themselves within it. However, I'm not sure I agree with what society tends to value and reward now, so I'm also a bit at odds with it. There's probably more I could say but I'm reaching dangerous levels of text LOL. Overall a really thought-provoking video, I really like this kind of content.
That first paragraph is describing exactly how I feel about my own life. Most of it has been trying to make as few choices as possible out of a fear for them. Most of this video was me trying to reject that second paragraph, and probably more so, understand why I wanted to. it's perfectly reasonable, even on a natural level, that as a collection of thoughts, experiences, and so on, we can't be left undefined by losing what we once thought of as purpose; we are larger than one thing. I think maybe I inherently reject that mindset because of my fear of choice. Believing purpose to be harmful means never choosing one. So, I protect my own mentality by believing such a thing. On the last section, I fully agree. The hardest part of this video was trying not to get overly into specific worldly gripes that complicate discussions of metaphysical matters. We aren't just at odds with the absurd, but our own worlds within the greater universe that impact our lives. As someone who true life's work is these videos, I understand grappling with a society that doesn't value the thoughts and experiences I do. Thank you for your words, they've helped me gain some insight as to why I couldn't end this video, and why I even made it
@@ProfessorViral Having a fear of choice and freedom is a very human experience. Goethe even had something to say about it-- "Most people spend the greatest part of their time working in order to live, and what little freedom remains so fills them with fear that they seek out any and every means to be rid of it." But just because it's a well-documented phenomenon doesn't mean that you have to accept the fear and the burdens that come along with it as a given. It's something I work to combat as well, so I truly do wish you the best there. Also likewise, this vid got me into a real contemplative mood. Synthesizing theoretical concepts, stories, and personal experience makes for an interesting format, in my opinion.
@@ProfessorViral I think i am pragmatic idealistic , and yes choice isscary but thats because its the most meaningful to do and hard to do so without either being tricked by false pretenses or giving up the believe that things can change that is needed for said change to happen in the first place. I guess i know there is no inherent meaning and the world is unfair and dark, and that there still is. Personally because any cynical was an idealist. I just vibe with hopefuly cynicism the most. And absurdism, because if there is one thing making life better other than loveand relatinships, ot has to be humor. Probably why i like the weird series lex haha. Thats very fatalist scifi but also darkly fun and horny. And practical absurdism, humor is a pretty good way to cope with anything. And i dont know where that comes from,without fear there can be no bravery. Oh and i find silice in drama as oitlet as the webtoon kubera thats my ongoing sad mystery drama that hurts. And the charactery its tragic and deep and hits that too i think, is a universe thats that unjost worth saving?!
i'm the exact opposite. i choose to live a passive life that others may view as "sad" or "bleak", and have given up on pursuits long ago, and it's not because i'm afraid of mortality or missing out on something else or any of that. it's because i know that people define their own existence and give it meaning, and it's usually 90% based on social pressures and sex. i know what makes me happy and it just so happens to be being alone and indulging in my own interests. i don't care to live a social life at all. when i go to work i don't socialize about anything non-work related. i have no higher goals or ambitions except to do what i like by myself. it took me a long time to accept this, but i just prefer it that way. i like not worrying about things, i like not having drama in my life. i just like to relax and chill. like the guy from the movie Office Space who had a similar revelation. and when i die it won't matter if i ran a successful fortune 500 company or had 12 grandchildren or just sat on my ass my whole life because i'll be dead.
@@user-rt3pl5hh3m I may be wrong but Albert Camus said something along the lines that we live to work and work to live, I do not want the purpose of my life to be that, I am just so tired of living, if living only means that.
The German band Knorkator has this lovely song "Warum" (Why). The beginning starts asking apparently deep questions (Why did I draw my sword where there are no enemies? Why is the queen crying lonely on her throne?) underlaid with a deep, melancholic melody. However, the "answer" of all these questions comes as a punchline: "This deep melody requires some deep questions, so this song can move your heart." The purpose of this song is not to answer the titular Why, but just to make you feel. The Why is not the goal, it is the medium to be, to feel and to exist.
I've been struggling recently with existing. The world seemed to be purposeless and I felt lost. Throughout most of my life, I've struggled with wanting to die because of circumstances or people around me. The specifics don't really matter. I spent years fighting to stay alive. That was my goal. I fought with everything in order to want to live. About a year ago, I reached that point. Life got better and I wanted to live. Having spent years without imagining I'd have any future, I was left with basically nothing and no goals. I fought the toughest battle for years with nothing to show for it except time. Now I wanted to live but with no real reason. It's been like drifting around, lost and wanting to live but not having a reason to exist. It's difficult to pick up the pieces of your life after it's been shattered many times but no one talks about what to do once you've spent the time putting the pieces back in place. After your purpose has been lost and you feel like all the time you spent fixing things was pointless. Once you heal, you end up back at the start in a way. Where you were before you broke but much more fragile this time. This video helped me realise that finding a reason isn't necessary. One can exist for the sake of existing and still be happy. I don't know if this little rant means much to anyone else, it's just my experience and I wanted to share how I felt. The world can be shitty but at the end of the day, you may as well live in it since it's an experience you'll never have again. Any time spent can't be retrieved and so why not use it? There is no inherent meaning to life or goal to achieve and there doesn't need to be. That's kind of what I've learnt anyways. If you got this far, I'd like to say thanks for reading my comment (:
Wow, I'm seeing myself in your story. I remember feeling completely lost upon seriously considering the question of "purpose/meaning" for the first time after becoming the young adult. I couldn't come up with an answer, but felt that I was absolutely supposed to. No ambitions or goals either. It went downhill from there for a couple of years and resulted in an ugly breakdown and hitting the lowest I've ever been yet. During that time I've found the comfort in drugs, which numbed the anxiety and allowed me to compose myself and push the problem to the back of my mind. A lot happened afterwards, but somehow I've managed to keep my shit together and carry on. The "existential" question has resurfaced recently, years since. But! This time I am feeling strangely at peace with not finding the purpose or meaning. It truly does not distress or concern me, to the point I'm not sure why it was an issue in the first place lol. It seems that I've come around to the idea you've had - 'There is no inherent meaning to life or goal to achieve and there doesn't need to be.' Although can't say I'm pleased with my life or that I'm happy, there are things I enjoy enough to go on. I'm not feeling like complaining much either as there are people who have it harder than me. I'm also sure reading this is of little interest, but it feels surprisingly good to have this shared with someone. Hope you have a good one ✿
@@kombucha_director I didn't expect anyone to read my comment but thank you so much for replying. It's nice to know that there are other people who have felt/feel the same way with similar experiences. I hope you have a great day (:
I think another show that captures that feeling of futility is The Tatami Galaxy Our protagonist is constantly aiming for an idealized college campus life, but in doing so loses sight of his own college experience. In the final episodes he is confronted with a cruel and pointless universe trapped within his rooms, and learns of what had existed in his previous lives he had taken for granted. It's probably one of my favorite shows just from it's ability to draw out this message in the most fun, trippy, exhilarating way possible PLEASE GO WATCH IT
That sounds very me, I'll keep that in mind!
@@ProfessorViral I'll 1 up the tatami galaxy, definitely concord with the comment above, never found something quite like it. I also suggest The Night is Short, Walk on Girl, is a movie done by the same director as the tatami galaxy, and has the same characters even if it touches less on the deep message from the original is still very funny and a very good movie to watch! (sorry for bad english)
Masaaki Yuasa’s works are incredible. Definitely recommend this show and some of his other movies and shows as well
I tried watching it but the subtitles went way too fasssst
ily
Ever since I was a young child I’ve always seen myself in the same static and stoic self and have heavily related to characters like Spike from cowboy bebop and Ginko from Mushishi in the sense that I can just experience tragedy, face danger and lose friends and still remain simply indifferent to said situations and move on. I live just to exist and lack purpose. Constantly laid back and bored and extremely jaded but still going on to find something to keep me tied to this existence I loathe, maybe a soulmate or a ride or die friend or even just a career I genuinely enjoy etc. I always tend to roam around in my city at night and just converse with random people or go on weird random adventures because I’m relatively nomadic and like to stay distracted from how empty my life is. I am eternally adrift and tired, lacking any real connection, if you will. What I like about some of these certain shows and anime I’ve grown up watching is how they display existentialism and loneliness and how these characters cope and overcome or just accept the circumstances around them. I’ve never valued my life therefore I just go with the flow and try not to think, because whenever I do I tend to cycle back to the same boredom and jadednesses I always feel, back to square 1. That’s why I’ve always lived by the famous quote of my favourite stoic, broke, hungry, and depressed bounty hunter… “Whatever happens, happens.” - Spike Spiegel
I'm the same as you. I have experienced so much deaths, losses and pain in life that I just feel numb to all these. I always go out for walks and look at different people doing different things, feeling detached
It's funny I feel just like that on the opposite extreme, I love existence so much, just the experience of experiencing is enough to make me feel good. I sit at that level and feel a disconnect from the moments of pain and discomfort though also the connections and good feelings feel distant. But I feel good anyways so I've always felt lucky. I can just do the tasks in my life and enjoy the process and the journey and the beauty of a fluid species, and an incredible universe, and a continuity of consciousness that allows for introspection and wonder... I'm sorry you dislike existing, I hope you can find joy in the bigger experience of experiencing
I have intense feelings for both my enjoyment and suffering when I’m in suffering I experience intense moments of it (about a day to a month) and then I revert to a state like you described not liking life but not hating it either. Not wanting to live but not wanting to die. A period of apathy. I then move to one where I use things I enjoy but can do while letting my mind wander to process them. Then I tend to move on and enjoy the best parts of life. Only to become numb to the good parts of life as they bring me less of a dopamine rush and less enjoyment. Or when I have to return to normal mundane things like work. It becomes a rinse and repeat cycle. I have done the night walks both in the city I live and on hiking trails. I often go to the woods after the city walk. Even though I have found someone…. A soulmate as you say but we both live with the intense ups and downs followed by being comfortably numb it becomes more of a we live for life and enjoy the moments we can between numbness and boredom and while we each use each other as a reason to live we don’t make a complete one. But we are happier together and much less lonely. I thought for a long time those connections are a reason to live and they can be but in my case they are merely and addition to the highs of life. Even if the connection is genuine and deep it’s not enough to undo the mundane moment in between the highs and lows. I kinda lost where I was going with this he he sorry bout that. But have you ever found a point where then loneliness and numbness became so comfortable that even when you found connection you kept a part of that comfortable numbness alive? I guess I both enjoy and dislike being alive in equal measure and I have these times where I feel bored and numb between the highs and lows. I want to ask is this boredom and numbness similar to what you are describing? Do you have highs and lows or are you mostly stuck In the middle ground where you just don’t feel much? Are your periods of numbness tiredness and apathy ever comfortably numb or is only uncomfortable numbness? I hope you can find someone to be alone with together it does make it more bearable or at least find some form of comfort and enjoyment so you can like living and if you don’t want that I wish you whatever you consider best for yourself. Good luck. I think if I understand what your describing I’ve been there and I want you to know you can make it a bit better but I can’t tell you how exactly because I’m not exactly sure how I did. Whatever you want I hope you can find it.
@@ASMCourtney is it strange that I feel both your feeling and the person your are responding to? I experience the highs of life and the Mundane joy’s both very intensely and I also feel the lowest points of life and the normal everyday disappointments (as well as the heart crushing losses and heartbreaks) to their fullest strength. Whatever I feel I do so strongly. I have to then numb myself to process them and have these periods of apathy where I feel comfortably numb then I begin to feel uncomfortably numb to it all until I use something I enjoy that I can do passively to process it. (Lifting or hiking) then I return to a comfortably numb state. I begin to grow restless and uncomfortable and bored with the mundane portion of my life so I do something to force a high point. I go to a convention and party and I have fun only to return to a comfortable but boring middle ground with little ups and downs to keep my busy but not anything that makes me say I like living nor anything that makes me want to say I want to stop living. I have frequent frustrations due to my Asperger’s and ADHD so that might be part of it. But ultimately I want to experience the mundane joys and enjoy them like the highs of life and I wind up dissatisfied. I have found someone who is like me in this way and we are better together. but I find it strange does everyone feel this whole spectrum or is it just me and her? What is it like to go numb without the intense downs while still enjoying the highs of life? I hope these questions aren’t to much to ask you.
Zoomed doomers generations
For me it's easy to imagine Sisyphus happy because he managed to defy the gods and was given a purpose for his efforts. I find it much harder to imagine myself happy because if I defy the gods of this world I will just end up homeless. No boulder to push up a hill, no one to tell my story for thousands of years past my death, just homeless and forgotten. I know that I only exist because my parents forced me into a world that views my only purpose as another human to extract money from.
2:50 Without meaning 8:13 Losing meaning 15:50 Achieved meaning 24:33 The endless revolt Life is many things; *What we make of it, what it give us, how we react, who we choose to have around us, why we do what we do, what we do, ect.* And each detail makes it that much more interesting to learn! 🧘
What's the title of the song at 15:50
@@candidranger9110 Nijiiro Passions by Nijigasaki Highschool Idol Club
For most of my adolescence i was faced with my own mortality, from threats of violence and starvation to my own suicidality, so my ‘leap of faith’ was running away at 17 and for the first time thinking that i’m allowed to give myself meaning for living. Two years later i’m writing this, living a life of healing and recovery when i’m still not sure as to why. My one goal in life is to find a sense of long lasting inner peace, but i don’t think that i want to give myself or my life meaning. Being the oldest sibling, there’s a feeling of being born to nurture and take care of others: something i can’t seem to pull away from when i try to subscribe to a meaning of life I think that if anything, life isn’t ever “worth living” but rather a condition forced upon us, one that could be for better or for worse. There are some people who are fucked from the start, others who are granted the gift of a blissful existence. Either way we are all here against our conscious will, to my knowledge. Therefore i live not to spite it nor to find a reason, but because i have no other choice other than death.
Hehe, i feel i may be a bit on the other side (to me death is always a choice, one i tried then rejected) but i feel you're going in an good direction. You made the choice to better your life, right? Thats strength, thats something many forget they can do, running away is hard when young as its a whole lot of unknowns, in the context here it is the absurd itself, rejecting the familiar... but, my assumption, it was no better then dying, why not? I chose to live and take that burden, you chose to seperate from what was worse to, hopefully, better your life. Thats a strong feat and dont ever forget it, because many crumble at such a decision. I genuinely hope you find something thatll drive you or make you happy, trust me, living just cause its the opposite of death is boring~ you gotta fill the gap somehow and enjoy what life has to offer... or make your own stuff~ :3 Death is the end, life on its own is meaningless and tedious, its up to ourselves to make or find fun in it~ try whatever you can, you've already dealt with worse :3
lol drug addiction
Men can reason, but the world can not. So simple, but it never crossed my mind.
It's an odd thing. Sometimes, we feel so distant from the conditions that made us
For a while, I was angry at the idea of finding a purpose, like it was some thing outside of myself that I didn't have, didn't know what it was, and had to go searching for it while being told to live a certain way by people who didn't know anything about me or my capabilities. I lived in the irony of welcoming death while living in spite of it. I found some comfort in watching old Bob Ross episodes like a nice distraction. There was one episode where he showed paintings done by fans. I remember the one that stuck out to me was done by a 6 year old. I thought that if that kid can do it, I can too. So I decided to try my own with only black and white paints (to save money). The painting was rough and not very good, but it felt so good that I didn't care. It was like pouring out my subconscious onto canvas like a mirror into my own soul. I knew I could improve my skill and wondered how far I could go. I realized then that my purpose was mine to decide. So, I decided my purpose would be self cultivation through creation. That was 4 years ago. While I still paint, my path has gone in a direction of interactive art in the hopes of bridging the conscious and subconscious in a broader sense for anyone to leverage. We'll if it works out like that. If not, at least I will have made some pretty cool stuff. My way. I can be satisfied with that.
I've always thoroughly enjoyed the simple thought of: "Life would be better without me in it and thus I shall continue to live"
it's like that meme "God has allowed me to live another day and I'm about to make it everyone's problems"
I’d tally this as a negative in my eyes. I’d like to do the people I love a favor.
There is no true good
@@YuaMoon-lf9qz Jean-Paul Sartre would disagree
Ahh so you’re just another asshole then.
For me when I think about the absurd and the meaninglessness of life, I oddly feel content with it. I feel as though I may not have fully understood the video but with the revolt section, it felt odd as I feel rather than living in spite of the absurd I live because of it. The best way that I could probably put it is I exist because I love existing as I see a weird beauty in the meaninglessness and contradictions.
To be honest, I don't understand it fully myself. Camus escapes me at times, and the thought process he went upon is hard to follow. But I've seen some other comments saying similar things, mentioning that the absurdity itself, that it makes no sense, makes life worth living in full, because how else could you experience something so odd as life? I'm coming to like that idea as well
Honestly, that tracks~ from what i remember of Camus, or how my philoteach described it, it was always 'because life is meaningless, we have to ascribe meaning, that is absurd... but because it is absurd, it keeps us going' essentially ANY reason, no matter how ridiculous, has value, as it helps us stave off the void. My own experience is 'i said no to death, i cant go back on that' thus i keep existing by bond, promise and choice. Its as valid as the flying spaghetti monster said so or 'just because', theyre all absurd but they are 'reasons', essentially that is the essance of the 'revolt' (he never called it that, but it is fun to say~) Living in a meaningless world is insanity, its against logic, makes no sense, and as it makes about as much sense, ANY reason to keep going is just as valid. Why? Vs. Why not? Its dumb and overall a 'youre thinking too hard stop it' kinda thing in philosophy so going in deep is often hard, but really it just cones down to that basic 'why?/why not?' And im always one to be the annoying 5yr old saying 'why not?' :P This is how my philoteach expressed camus, i have my own experiences, and honestly? I like seeing someone just flat out saying 'why not?' And enjoying life... cause why not? It can be fun at times :P
Ah yes I must say I agree with you . I also think that finding meaning in meaningless which is life is the purpose human are created in the first place...
Watch the sea and the storm, friend for if you run you live in a desert till you die, bored and thirsty
@@SteveBufzyeah
Well, for years I was trying to be a high class 9 to 5 jobber & failed miserably each and every time - in academics, friendships, business, family & romance - so much that I wanted to jump out of a window from up high into the snow on a cold September night. And then I thought, screw all this - this is not me. And today, I am a community leader whose phone never stops buzzing, who no longer needs to chase anyone or anything - so many things just fall into my lap by going with the flow & just by the admiration for my good cause. So, my friend - we are not just existing to exist; we are existing.....to persist.
I was born because a spiteful narcissistic father took advantage of the loving and innocent and naive nature of his girlfriend that he later married. My home was always one of fatherly abuse and mother's feelings of inadequacy to save us from him. Me and my brothers knew only forced love, forced obedience, and punishment for retaliation. To this day I feel like my development was stunted by a lack of parental knowledge pertaining to the proper raising of children. I resent them both to this day but I keep in contact with the failure of a mother whom usually tried to do the best she could and rarely gave up on me. They have both damned me. Through genetics and the terrible environment of my childhood I gained 5 disorders that make daily life with human interaction nearly impossible. The two that took the most from me are Bipolar and Borderline Personality Disorder. The Absurd has been my one constant companion and I always envisioned escaping it instead of facing it, thou it ironically stares into me every waking moment. I used to avoid the Absurd by seeking platonic and romantic companionship, but for every friend I lost due to my own fault I lost four because they judged me for past actions and for my mental state. I have had full-blooded family tell me they only know my story through the harsh and biased retellings from my parents and that they fear me too much to feel comfortable learning who I really am. No one loves me. I have no one. I am alone. After leaving my childhood home as an adult I decided to Revolt against the Absurd. I soon realized that I was not simply content with the rote motions of Revolt unless I had someone who loved me and accepted me through my struggles. Through my repeated loss of friends, family, and romantic relationships I have accepted that my personality and my biased way of viewing the world does not allow for the trusting of others, nor can I believe in a General Goodness of people. My Revolt only manifests as living off of those who understand my inability to provide for myself and choosing to try to improve my station. I have lived on couches for years now and I am tired. I have only found better ways to communicate how tired I am. I am alone. And I am exhausted. I write this on 3-27-24 and as of April 1st, during the month of my birth, I will be homeless and living in the cold streets of Farmington New Mexico. If meaning finds me there then all the better. And if not... If not then I will destroy the human half of my battle with the Absurd. So be it.
Life doesn't need a meaning. People have meanings, little goals that make them happy for a little while. If you find joy in others that's enough.
I like short comments like these that get the idea across rather quickly
Exactly. Happiness is a passing feeling, just like any other. So accomplishing goals, getting lucky and spending time with people you care about will give you joy. But that doesn't mean you should do all those at all times, it'd be impossible. We don't really have a "purpose" in life, well except for the biological need to procreate. But even then, there's people who do not care about that.
I agree, I am one of the rare people who are happy with just existing. Don't get me wrong, I am an ambitious person with big goals, but suppose I would lost the ability to achieve theses goals, while I would defenetly be sad I would still be able to enjoy the other aspects of existence
@@Walamonga1313 Says who? How do we know we don't have a purpose? Do you belive in reincarnation? Because if you do, then we most definitely have a purpose. And for the most part, it was we who gave it to ourselves. We just don't remember it and need to rely on intuition and introspection.
@@nvmffsI don’t believe in reincarnation. Now what.
C.C. is another great exploration of this concept. She's faced with the absurd when she becomes a Code and loses the only person in the world she felt understood by and is told that her connection with that person was all built on a lie. She then embarks on a neverending quest to die and do away with her existance, but only experiences failure after failure. What makes her change her mind about this path is when Lelouch tells her to live for the sake of living and reassures her that it's it's okay to pursue happiness. Interestingly, however, the conclusion of her arc isn't the acceptance of mortality, but rather the acceptance of her *immortality* and seeking to embrace life despite the fact that death will never come to her. Even though she's faced with Lelouch's death, he still taught her to smile, and that's enough to make life worth living to her forever.
hah imortality? Good luck with keeping your sanity.
Do you have blind faith that life began from random Chaos? Can you show one example of Darwinian evolution (one species into another) today without fossil records? Or the law of the universe that brings life from nothing?
@@SeektheLordsface Ever heard of Particle Life? Chaos into emergent phenomena is not actually unexpected Evolution takes place over extraordinarily long time periods- Fossils are the best you're going to get, beyond the written history of cultivation Of course, I'm sure you believe in artificial selection, since it's literally the entire reason livestock exist If you grant that we can make livestock exist by selecting for certain traits, such that they become wildly different from their wild ancestors, then why can natural changes in their environment not do that same thing? The law of the universe that brings abiogenesis about seems to be that atoms arrange themselves into structures to more efficiently dissipate energy Of course, that complexity could lead to self-replicating structures, and once it does that, the least entropic self-replicators succeed And from there, life begins
@@BlockyBookworm so which law brings life from nothing? Adaptation is observable, bacteria evolves into more bacteria yet a lizard into a bird happening today? Can you show the process of how to make a cell from nothing if it can be done and observed? Is truth, morality or justice objective? And you mean God particle
@@SeektheLordsface "A New Physics Theory of Life" from Quanta Magazine describes what I'm talking about The adpatation you're talking about takes a while Far longer than turning a wolf into a chihuahua, although given that our species has turned wolves into chihuahuas, I find it very hard to see how you don't believe in evolution Species aren't real Enough genetic variation and fertility rates in the union of two organisms becomes zero So basically, chihuahuas will eventually be unable to successfully reproduce with wolves. We don't know for certain how a cell is made from nothing, but that doesn't mean it's God. After all, once we explained illness, the weather, and politics with God, and we have since replaced him. The God of the Gaps argument is a fallacy for a reason. Truth is objective by definition, but morality and justice are not.
Sometimes at night I get this feeling like I’m waking up from a dream; I can hear my breathing and feel everything around me. It makes me realize how real death is, how after all my days of watching this kind of show it’ll be gone forever. It’s a frightening and invigorating feeling.
In 2015 I met the last woman I will ever be able to love fully and unconditionally; in August of 2018 my relationship to her ended and the last shred of hopeful human in me died. I've been numb for over 5 years with the last thing she ever said to me being "I thought you made more" almost exactly one year after the relationship ended. I now have periods of dissociation where I just kind of zone out and either relive moments of that relationship (minutes to months at a time in a matter of seconds) or I see myself clawing and scraping up a never ending wall only to realize that no matter how much value I think I provide, the only value that matters in a relationship is if that value that I provide is perceived as "enough" by the other. I died at 28 and exist now only as a ghost of the man I used to be. I've read and researched over countless hours to see if I can come back from this place only to realize that my experience was completely normal and will likely happen over and over and over again since I'll never be in the class of men that women really want. I see no value to my life and I wish, daily, for the impending civil war that is coming to this country to start. Maybe then I can find meaning and escape this void.
My guy, you are talking about women like a monolith. I met my husband when we were both broke and ugly. Love isn’t about having money or looks unless that “love” is superficial. Genuine love is growth together. You aren’t going to find your soulmate through looks or money. Capitalism has even commodified love and given everyone such a narrow image of the opposite gender 🤦♂️
@@nyumyu4265 genuine love doesn’t exist in modern women. Love is transactional at best with them. You don’t see it because you don’t live it; I’ve seen it more times in my life than I can count t.
i don’t find myself commenting on things so profound but this video seems to have clicked a switch for me, i’ve spent so long searching for a point to existence, to the point i fell into a depression that, had i not failed, would’ve claimed me. I know what I want now. Thank you.
me too
I always thought Bon Jovi said it best, "you live for the fight, when it's all that you got." All seriousness, great video. Camu's philosophy has been some of my favorite to ponder, ever since a saw a video on him here on youtube, some 5 or so years ago. Your ability to relate his philosophy to so many anime characters and explain them through these characters is very well done.
That you, that means a lot : )
for the past 7 years, ive been in nihilism, existentialism, and absurdism quite a bit (since i was 17, now 24) and it's been something that has made me think deep about myself and why i do the things i do continuously, why i keep on going just because. Like, it's all pointless in the end, so why keep going? But sometimes I think, why not keep going? Why not just keep on keeping on to prove everyone that doubted you, wrong. Yea, i struggle with motivation, the will to live every day, but i keep on going because that's all there is to do. It's all about finding the beauty in the pain.
I don't know anything about the work the quote is from or the person who wrote it, but this one stuck out to me: "There is no justification for life, but also no reason not to live." If it's all pointless, then there's no reason to keep going, or to not alike. With that, I think the idea of revolt provides just enough, as we prolong our battle with the inevitable simply to make something we hate fight as hard as possible to overcome us
You're fighting an uphill battle against an opponent you know you can never beat, at that point I'd rather just cut my losses and go do something else
I think we live in some sort of limbo. We do not have a reason to live, but also don't have a reason to die. So we just get by, enjoying what we can. I guess when existing gets too tough (for example now with inflation and unemployment) it will be hard to keep going
@@Walamonga1313 This is exactly how I feel recently. Out with the pandemic, unemployment, trash mental health condition, it seems hard to move forward even though I have a loving partner. Someday it feels like existing for the sake of existing and I am slowly making peace with that.
You know, it seems a constant struggle. I had some big chances in life, missed them and concentrated on other things I could achieve. I had successes more in small scale than in big scale. These big chances flew by and I missed them knowingly. At a certain point I almost completely broke down as I was simply faced with the absurdity of it all. And this was not even because something inevitable in life hit me like a death of one of my beloved ones - no, it was just interaction with other people. So basically I went back to where I was born, started living a more simple life. But yet again I found myself fighting against my own picture of what I want to be in this world and it wasn’t enough. So,again I am fighting against my self and the world around me to find at least a little bit of satisfaction for me - just a tiny bit of peaceful path into the unknown but without constant fear of things being shattered to pieces again. You see, this is an endless fight and I think, I am not the only one.
As I get older, I understand why so many wish to relive the “good old days”. I remember being young and wanting to be older so I could do whatever I wanted. I’ve often wondered why do we continue living on? We’re born and then we die. Anything we amount during this life, is mainly null and void at death. We cannot take anything with us, save for our souls. I personally do not hate my life, but I do think of other paths I could’ve chosen and lead a different life. Would that path have led to more happiness and meaning? Or another “grass isn’t always greener” scenario? This was a good video. Putting meaning of existence into perspective through anime. It’s said life imitates art, I happen to agree.
That final statement is part of why I make these. At the end of the day, these are the kinds of thoughts and experiences which went into the creation of the series. Because of that, I think they can be good "examples," taking human experience to new and extreme places. What I've been struggling a lot with is that "greener grass" feeling. I hate making decisions, because I'll look at every one of them as wrong. I look back on things I hated as better than now, knowing I hated them at the time. I have to choose, and live with that choice, rather than trying to mitigate it at all times
"I don't want to die, for me that is the only reason I keep on fighting. There is nothing to save myself for, or give myself to. I fight because I know nothing else."
Canute’s revelation, as someone who was raised religious and pious, struck me to the bone- imo, it was less an edgy rejection-of-religion, and more of a new, raw, genuine understanding of it. Such a fantastic scene
Deciding to revolt is something I did (without knowing about the concept) to battle derealization that I developed from panic attacks and the bleakness that was the first lockdown for me. Since seeking out therapy and realizing that I am able to just live life without worrying about everything all the time, I am a much more stable and happy person. As it turned out, I didn't need some higher purpose, some goal to be accepted by others, but just to accept myself and do whatever. That was your first video I watched and I'm amazed, thank you so much :)
In high school I struggled with meaning and looked to existentialism to help me figure out why I’m here. As time went on however, the reason I give for not killing myself is that I’m here out of spite towards the world; if the world wants me dead it has to do its dirty work itself.
I don't necessarily want to die. It's more about wanting to go to sleep and never wake up again. To be forgotten, and never remembered. Not in the way some people do, though. I'm glad that I exist, I enjoy it quite a bit. It just feels like that's all I'm doing. Just floating in the infinite void. Not contributing, yet not the antithesis. Just floating, drifting, existing.
To me the absurd, the chaos, the endings, are what makes life interesting. I hated changed yet I thrived on it. I got bored with monotony yet it offered safety. I was afraid of becoming nihilistic yet, when I did, I truly felt freedom. Yes, the world as we have known it is crumbling. I rejoice in its death like a good sociopath. It means that once all these "default" pieces have been scattered, we get to see what it's behind them, what they have been hiding, and if they are worth keeping. It's like getting rid of the old furniture in our house to replace it with new pieces. I remember hearing a lot of people saying they would like to hit a reset button in life. Well, 2020 was sort of that, a reset. What we do with it is up to each individual. Do we lament what we lost or do we create the new? It is up to us.
Thank you for this essay. Watching it made me believe that Jung may have been on to something with his theory on synchronicity. I have been lost and facing the absurdity of existence and finding it difficult to find reasons to keep fighting, your words have renewed my fire thank you. All I or anyone else can really do is fight and that’s what I will do, I will fucking fight
Thank you for your words, and continuing. Knowing there are other people with a desire to fight helps. If I can stoke then fire, then I know I'll keep fighting too
Evangelion is the anime that made me feel the way I felt. Thank you for talking about this, Eva is a masterpiece
I don’t know why this was suggested but it reminded me how much I enjoyed anime as a teen and in college.
I think Revolutionary Girl Utena would have perfectly fit the themes of this video. The show deals charachters struggling to move on for the goals and purposes (and romantic interests) that defined them in the past, which prevents them from finding a new path and experiencing genuine human connections
One of my first encounters with philosophy, a story with a "moral", and a solution to the absurdity of life in the digital age was playing MGS2 as a kid. It features a MC, Raiden, who is living in existentialist "bad faith" by allowing anyone to define him & his purpose. As a result, Raiden spends most of the game realizing he's being endlessly manipulated by a illuminati-esque shadow organization called the patriots, his entire world is turned upside-down leaving him uncertain if anything is even real, if HE is even real at all. At the end-game he is advised by Solid Snake that even if everything is uncertain, in fact because everything is uncertain, he needs to have 'faith' in something, to take a "leap of faith" as you describe in your video, and to pass and share that faith with others using "all the magic of the digital age" to do so. As a younger kid I took that to mean that I had to find something to believe in, to cling to, a tiny flicker of hope to hold out on. The best thing I could decided on was political activism, from academic texts & ideological arguments to organizing & political demonstrations. Yet before I knew it my once fiery revolutionary hope had been snuffed out by an absurd world which refused to change, ignorant people who everywhere indulged in simple half-truths, and my growing life-experiences which eroded my confidence in ideological half-truths which I once held so immutably. Like the characters you describe in your video, I was unable to embrace the absurd and settled for a "philosophical suicide" by hope(fully) clinging to a leap-of-faith that I could find the 'one right answer' to the world's problems, be recognized, and find meaning in making he world better. Yet rather than driving my impact on the world to greater heights this hopeful striving only paralyzed me from realizing change as I began to doubt my beliefs, my ability to impact the world, and myself. After watching this video I think I understand a part of Snakes speech from the end of MGS2 that I didn't understand for the longest time. After Snake implores Raiden to have faith and share it with others, he says "It doesnt matter whether you were right or wrong, but how much faith you were willing to have, THAT decides the future". The problems facing our communities won't have a simple solution that works consistently, utopia is most likely impossible, and those who speak the loudest & with the most conviction will always garner more attention than they deserve. But that doesn't mean I should give up on struggling for a better world, nor should any of us. In our efforts to improve ourselves and our surroundings, consistency, always returning to struggle against the boulder, is what is most important. Finding joy in such a Sisyphean task, not for the hope of victory but for the certitude of failure and continuing to revolt nonetheless, is something that puts such an inexplicable smile on my face. This video found me at the right time and I thank you for it. I just graduated college and am at a bit of a crossroads in what to do at this point in my life. Instead of a leap of faith that it will 'mean something in the end', which I always needed to get through the years past, I'm going to try and think about the joy of making things in the present even if it ends up failing or 'won't matter all that much in the end'. At the very least, I think that these 37:41 minutes of listening have been very meaningful to me. Thanks for being here to share that meaning through your words, I really appreciate it :)
This is honestly one of the most meaningful comments I've ever received. I remember watching my older family members play MGS2 as a kid, and being much to young to understand it, instead just witnessing the odd shit happening. Unfortunately it's been so long since I've played it myself most of it's meaning is still lost to my youth, but it's something I want to cover in the future. I've struggled with myself over something like that 'one right answer.' I want to be able to somehow make the worlds problems go away, I dream of the day I could do so. But that dream is something holding me back. The world doesn't change on a dime and the will of one person overnight. It changes on the actions of awful people who spend years cheating their way to the top, or on the backs of people going door to door, cleaning their communities, speaking up at meetings, and giving it their time and their all. One negative and one positive, but neither occurring instantly. Especially positive change requires the commitment of a lifetime, and in the end it will never find a true solution, only approximations of what we think an ideal should be. But because it has no meaning, then there is no reason to not struggle against that boulder and build towards something better. The key to anything we want, albeit in combination with many other factors, is persistence. If I was able to help spur that feeling in you once more, then everything I've done here has been worthwhile. I don't know you, and I've only read some of the words you wrote in an exceptionally brief moment of time. But from what you wrote I imagine you to be someone who could be a part in creating that change you're seeking, and do so in a way which passes it on to everyone. I understand the drift of graduating and not knowing what to do. I'm many years out, and from my mistakes still starting from square one. But it seems like you'll be able to make the most of that crushing weight of decision to a worthwhile task. As someone random on the internet, I can only offer one thing to help, and that's that I'll be continuing my own revolt, of throwing myself against the inevitability of death and society alike to keep doing what I do here. You won't be alone against the boulder. I don't know if that means much in the end, as nothing really does, but it's what I can always offer
Hope makes all efforts to do anything worth, hope is like the oxygen, we cannot live without.
A generation whose entire life experience and understanding of the world is playing videogames and watching cartoons instead of living
@@j.2512that’s really not that different from all of human history. Humans understand and learn through storytelling. We’ve been telling stories about living for longer than writing systems have existed
"They hold as much power over absurdity as the absurd hold over them" has really changed my view of the world. Basically even though we're moving throughout our days entirely aimless and somewhat lost in translation there's still a message in our existence. At least that is part of what I took from that. I am going to Have to rewatch this a couple times.
I forgot I said anything like that, to be honest. This is my most popular video, but I always felt it wasn't my best work looking back. But I think this helped me to actually look at what it is, not what I want it to be now, a lot later. So, thank you for that, it was something needed right now
Stare in awe and wonder of the beautiful echoes of chaos and find meaning to that of its own
I exist to be happy. People say that being immortal would be sad because you'd see all your loved ones die eventually, and to that I say: I don't care I will find another, and if I can't I will have to move on and find something else that'll make me happy. To die is to stop experiencing forever with no option to start again, I'd rather live in agony for a long time to be happy later than end it all forever, even if I don't know if or when that happiness will come.
A lot of days i just have been feeling like there's no reason to exist and i really find this video helpful. i'm a fan of cowboy bebop and neon genesis evangelion and both of them mean a lot to me , another anime i'd say explores that is serial experiments lain, we see lain questioning her existence since nothing she sees is particularly real, not even her is real, everyone is too obsessed living in the wired that their true self is not real, lain manages to delete her existance tho she keeps living, lain doesn't exist since no one remembers her, when no one remembers something it doesnt exist ur content is amazing, it inspires me in many way and just makes me think about a lot of stuff i dont think a lot , spike at the end got stuck on his past since he couldn't move forward, he didn't have the reason to live and it was too late to move forward, i relate a lot to these characters, im always looking for acceptance and since these days i just feel nothing's worth it i wanna end it, but i'm glad i'm still here, another thing i'd like to share is that i like to write, draw and animate a lot and for me maybe thats the meaning, i just can make whatever and its super fun, thank you for these amazing videos
To deal with my existentialism despite the absurdity of life, I watched HxH and I learned, from Netero, is simply to put my hands together and recognize everything in life that I am grateful for and, perhaps, find my own imperfections within myself... And be grateful for that too.
Corny alert
@@CaptainFracture”corny alert” boy if you don’t do your homework idk why children always in comments with shit like this,this ain’t the time or place bud
I’m currently in a spot in my life where I want change but am too afraid to go through with it due to some temporary circumstances. For the time being, I feel stuck being a people-pleaser that just does whatever my parents want without regard to my current not-so-good wellbeing, but that there is too little time between now and when I’m no longer bound to their custody for it to be worth making any positive change to my situation. That makes the topic of this video so important to me: it gives me my first genuine reason to keep going when I feel or really am unable to make these temporary circumstances - or prepare to make my life after they pass - any better. Not only that, but this video has probably given me the best reason and guide for making positive change to my current circumstances, even when it may be much easier just to wait them out: to make it easier to live for living’s sake, and therefore much more easily carry such a life goal into adulthood.
easily one of the best essay video on KZhead that I've ever encountered. keep the amazing work man
thank you for this, i mostly drift around looking at memes or modelling something in 3d, i havent looked for a job yet, i think im too unqualified for anything worthwhile. but i try to look after my friends and family the best i can, fixing our living space, or sending a "good job!" for some artwork a friend made. idk, ive always been scared of what comes next, and i never finish any long project i commit to, i only complete them when im full of anger and do it in one swoop in a single day.
Just watched the intro, posting this before I watch the rest of the video. I don't think there was a single moment I realized that everything was meaningless. Rather, there was this slow descent into it, one realization after another, that eventually lead to one conclusion: Life has no inherent meaning. We are all just floating nothings in a sea of nothing. Somehow, this didn't break me. It freed me. I was free to do whatever nothings brought me joy and pleasure. I was free to do what I wanted in the world. Because in the end, everything is wiped clean, because there is no meaning, you are free to find your own. In a weird way, a video game I fell in love with, called "Ultrakill", put it best: "Nothing we do matters in the end, and that is precisely why we are not shackled by the burden of expectations, the fear of eternal judgement or the failure to meet up to an arbitrary definition of what makes our limited time 'not wasted'. Time cannot be wasted, for there is no greater purpose to life than simply living it."
Im not normally one to comment on videos, but cowboy bebop is a show the resonated with me. Im still trying to figure out why. I think this video helped. Recently i got done with my community college degree. I spent the past month not working, not playing basketball, not doing anything. I have been pursueing a dream of mine to play 4 years of college basketball. This last year i went through hardship like no other with my season. I was lucky to even play the 11 games i did play this year. Now, im pursueing this dream in spite of everyone telling me i suck, im not good this and that. I fed into it because im facing the fact that i just might lose one of the major pillars that gave my current life meaning.I probably resonate so well because i feel like spike in a way. After the way my season ended, i felt like i lost college basketball for good. I felt like in spite of me fighting to try and gain it back, i felt like i would never be able to. This past month ive felt a drift. Lost in a dream with no point. I could just leave to go hang out with my girlfriend whenever i wanted to. I could go do whatever i wanted to at any time i wanted to. Im still having to face the fact that i might lose one of the things that gives my life meaning, one of the major goals ive set for myself to work towards, and dealing with something i have spent my entire life working towards knowingly or unknowingly, is hard. I ve always been under the mindset of, to quote Spike "Whatever happens, happens.", but if this happens idk if ill be able to just move on from it. Im facing the fate of Spike in this regard. If i lose something ive worked so hard to gain, i might lose the entirety of myself trying to gain it back. I have other goals in life Im working towards, but ive placed so much of my self worth in this, if i lose it i might not recover. I feel like ive lost so much of myself trying to gain this dream. Ive set myself behind in schooling, and thus life (since thats kinda how college ends up working) by at least a full year, if not more. I think this is why i relate to Spike, because i feel like im heading down his path, but i wont know if it was all for nothing if i dont try. I know ill be fine either way. I just dont know if ill be able to accept failure, or even success for that matter, because i only have 2 more years even if i do succeed. Who knows. I might find this video again in 3 years time, and give an update on how ive handled everything. Thank you for a beautiful video
Thank you for making this video
Thank u Prof V...this has broadened my perspective on y I can't conform to the boundaries that continuously smash themselves against my essence. Even the ways I accept their existence and unyielding detours without breaking from my core being is an act of rebellion. One need not fight to win a war... Only the highest level warriors can achieve such feats. Stay tru rebels 🤟🏾🤙🏾
amazing video. it hit me very deeply as someone who has reread myth of sisyphus over and over and finding refuge within its words. this video made me cry, thank you so much
This was an eloquent description of Gurren Lagann without mentioning it once. Well done.
Honestly, this is one of my favorite videos on youtube. I love everything about it. I love the comparison of the myth of sisyphus to the various characters that I just barely understand. I hope that one day I can reread the myth of sisyphus and truly appreciate it for its true beauty. As of now, the absurd has overwhelmed me and I'm not in a great state of mind. The day that I can come to terms with the absurd is the day I will break free from this mindset.
When I was 13 I lost my little brother to a seizure and for a while I felt like I was in limbo, just going through life not knowing what to do or when the cycle would stop. Honestly I think I would've been in the slump for longer but after I got a job at 15 I felt like my life was moving again. Now I'm 18 and if I can just get my life moving faster then I'll be going to school for my dream job to be an auto mechanic
I was faced with the absurd at an age that I never even started to understand the world I lived in the first place. Drifting through all this chaos like Spike in one way of saying it. A little show aired on TV every night. A show that glued me to the TV from beginning to end. At that time, I could not get the full picture but a seed was planted in my mind since, a seed that blossomed in my 20's. " Love & Peace " rang in my head every time I helped someone in need. So I remembered that show long passed. Started watching it again. And I found it. My way to revolt in front of the absurd. Vash the stampede. The blonde haired, red trench coat wearing maniac. TRIGUN. I understood the message he was trying to give to anyone in his path. Help anyone you can unconditionally. Give them a glimmer of hope in their darkest hours no matter the cost. Give chaos the middle finger regardless of how hard it can be sometimes. And even I go myself through the madness of it all. I smile, I look calmly in the indifferent sky and say to myself. " I helped someone today. " Love & Peace.
The story of Sisyphus can feel relatable in the toil of modern life: week after week of working 40+ hours to simply afford shelter, food, and other necessities. If you're lucky, you can get a luxury or treat every now and again. I'm no philosophy buff, so I was unaware of Camus' take. The idea of thinking of Sisyphus as happy really gives a whole new perspective to the tale. Persisting, enduring, and the concept of "revolting" that gives life meaning is really something I will be looking more into. Thank you for another excellent video!
Thank you for this video. I feel like it really makes me appreciate these stories so much more and kind of makes me want to pick up writing again. I have an original character (from an un-original universe) whose story *starts* with a sort of "loss of purpose" event. Basically, turmoil in her family ended up with her being left with her maternal grandmother, whom she ended up having to take care of from a young age. Her days were mostly filled with household chores, doing the shopping, etc. without much time for her to learn other things or to get out of her hometown and explore things she liked to do as is the norm for young people in her universe. She didn't really think far into the future and what comes after her grandmother passes. So when her grandmother does eventually pass, she decides that it's time for her to finally leave her hometown as well. This is where her story actually begins. She's definitely a bit of a screw-up at first, doesn't really know for what purpose she left other than to learn and experience everything she can, and is far behind her peers who got to get out of their hometowns much younger, which is something made painfully obvious when she meets other people her own age along the way. Truthfully, I haven't thought of a way to wrap her story up just yet. The ultimate themes were meant to be hopeful, that you can always find or create purpose, even if you're feeling like you're "behind" in life. ...It's kind of funny how this story idea I came up with as a teenager has become so relevant to me, being the main caregiver of my grandmother now, and definitely feeling behind others at times for having not been able to pursue higher education or a career. But I'm doing my best on those fronts, I'm studying for a career path on my own and pinching pennies so that l can one day leave here with as little debts as possible :')
This truly was a video I needed to watch at the right time. Seeing another understand the absurd of it all and living despite it gives me the most sense of comfort, Thank You.
No problem, I'm glad it helped : )
This video really spoke to me. I'm currently 29, in this limbo between work and continuing my education, trying to partake in a multitude of projects across varying disciplines and not quite managing to achieve the intended outcome in any of them, fighting chronic health issues and ultimately questioning whether tomorrow will be any better than yesterday. We live in this reality where nothing is guaranteed, where the ripple effects of our actions ultimately have a maximum and where even if our works transcend our lives, eventually, it all fades. In spite of all that, I think the one pursuit which has kept me clinging to life for all these years is one of an intrinsic infinity. I often compare my own life to that of Grencia Lars Elijah Uo Eckener (Gren) from Cowboy Bebop, ironically enough. He's betrayed by the people closest to him (namely Vicious), subjected to extreme medical experiments (his hormones effectively go out of whack), and all he wants is to understand the why of it all before dying in obscurity. It's about catharsis, and I feel like on some level, achieving catharsis and this perpetuity of knowing myself - "I am, I exist" - allows me to lose myself to the absurd rather than revolting against it.
I took a chance watching this random recommended video, and I am not disappointed. This was fucking great. Living out of spite has always been my motto. Being bipolar, it drastically increases my chances of survival. I can even live out of spite against myself. In the words of my boy Kelsier, "Survive".
just stumbled onto this vid and enjoyed it a lot, the footage of pittsburgh was a nice treat at the end and made it all hit home even more
I'm 18, about to turn 19, and the world already feels overwhelming. There are so many more choices in life than I've ever experienced before, and none of them feel right. I grew up expecting that once I hit the magic 18, I'd suddenly know what I wanted to do, or at least know more of my path, but the inverse has happened. As I get older and older, everything feels just the slightest bit more pointless and confusing, and I feel more and more lost. I'll find a passion for a few months, perhaps a year, and then it'll fizzle out, or I'll learn about a concept and be intrigued, but once I've had my questions answered, that feeling immediately. The purpose disappears. I feel like I'm living a shell of a life, and I'm just making it through for the sake of those around me, or perhaps some future goal, either or. I'm trying to find a way to accept the absurd, but I'm not sure how when I don't even know who I am, or how I can find that person and determine what their opinions are. I'm not sure whether that's the message of the video, but it's what my thoughts are after. Thank you for the content!
It's an odd thing, we're really just thrown into the world at 18 and told to pick a path or die. From the outside it looks like adults have it together, but they never really knew either. They just tried to find the path themselves in the darkness. I think maybe the very idea of having a purpose even in society can do that. One which was more conducive to allowing us to jump between passions may be much more kind, since we can grow and change without risk, rather than locking into something we may not be
You know all those conservative societal values and structure you were taught to mock in high school? Yeah, they existed for a good reason so you would not feel that way. You are not unique in your feelings. People had them for most of history. It is unwise to ignore all the solutions and replace them with cynicism. Escape the matrix
Welcome to the club
You live in a comfortable society of many choices. Our ancestors didn't often have that. From 5 onward you were asked what do you want....to eat, to wear, to do, to read, to see. Therefore you became well practiced in what you want at the moment and moved further and further from WHO YOU ARE. In a product based life most stimulus of what do you WANT is to serve the people selling the product. A devil's bargain. Even the Serpent in the Garden asked Eve, "What do you want?" She said she wanted for nothing. The serpent said "What about that tree right there?" Pointing out the ONE THING in the garden forbidden to her. Eat it and all your wants will be fulfilled....a want she was not even concerned of a minute before meeting the Snake Salesman. Ignore the noise. They are just ads. You knew who you were at 4 or 5yo. The inclinations you had then are the ones you'll probably never find again until close to death if you listen to the greedy noise. If you liked to draw, liked animals, liked gardening, liked making things, liked taking apart machines, liked.... then you are naturally inclined to those activities. They might be your true self. Balance that self knowledge with the want of a successful and peaceful life, and you may find your existence now instead of longing for it at 70.
@@STho205I’ve come to the same conclusion
this guy is truly underrated
Hey, I'm just happy to have what I do!
I think you made a good point by stating our awareness of our struggles drives us back to the absurd(to life). By using this tactic we should result in finding a new objective- redirect our focus...But we resort to our human nature when we can not comprehend the chaos...This sentence above is the summing up of our struggles in this world.
18:13 Ive done this, gone to my childhood home. There was nothing left, nature had completely taken the land back, not a scrap of humanity was there but only an old rut where vehicles used to drive. There was a fraction of despair, then a moment of sadness, but I looked at it and for some reason I'm still trying to find out, peace came over me. It's amazing, but it was like taking a lid off a jar whos bottom I do not know.
Thank you for talking about Steins;Gate 0. I really loved its story, and the triumph at the end is so impactful. He doesn't get to be the version of Okabe to see the good future, but he still embraces his goal of saving his friends and finds them in the end to prove his point.
This was super well made. Love watching anime analysis like this. Keep it up!
I have been feeling existential dread for a while now. Since at least 2020, and definitely sometime before that. Lately it feels like it's been snowballing. Everything that I wanted my life to be feels like it's been uprooted, and honestly I am partially to blame for that. I kept striving for a perfection that isn't even there. Hoping that if I can please everyone, then everyone would like me. Hoping that I can feel satisfaction from besting those who always bragged they were superior, so I would have the sense of superiority they once had. I just realized a key point of my life that started this change was the realization that I could never best them under fair circumstances. Even if I bested them in other stronger tests that matters more. Thanks in part to a part-time job, and the Internet. I am coming to know that I can't please everyone. There are people that hate me just for existing; probably a lot of whom I will never met. There are beliefs that are contradictory to each other. I can't keep faking my beliefs, or else I will never be me. It's funny, I was and am never under pressure from my mom and dad to live life the way society wants. All they want for me was to be happy. It was always me who put the pressure of family onto myself. I am the one who has the urge to lay descendants. I am the one who has the urge to keep his religion. I am the one who is driving himself crazy from all this added pressure. Perhaps it is a twisted way of saying thank you? I don't know for sure. This nihilist part of me, feels out of character. Something that should not be me, but here it is at full blast. I have resorted to copeing with the world around me as something that doesn't matter, and me as someone who doesn't matter. "All we are is dust in the wind." - Dust in the Wind, Kansas I feel like there is no reason to life at all. It's something I know that has driven many a man (including myself) crazy. I surrounded myself at one point with nostalgic things from the past that reminded me of more simple and happy times in the hope that I will find myself once more, but now I know it never helped. It feels like all my dreams are dying slow painful deaths, with the drawn out portion feeling number and number as the days go by. Though I feel like my current life is about to hit it's climax. I don't when, and I don't know how.
I love this video man and it summarizes a great philosophy contrary to many purely nihilistic ones which are so prevalent today. a couple years back I watched a video titled “existence is not enough.” I disagreed with it almost entirely, I wanted to provide a counter but I couldn’t. I can never get my point across very well. You have provide that counter perfectly.
Thank you for doing this Camus breakdown through a contemporary lens. I’ve been struggling to maintain my momentum through my graduate studies, in pursuit of a career that will provide some sense of fulfillment or at the very least help stave off physical suffering. All the while, I’ve been feeling shackled by the cyclic nagging of the Absurd. What good is all this struggle if the flawed transactional system of educational attainment isn’t even assured to return what I signed up for or really yield any positive career outcome? The deck of career opportunity is stacked by factors I can’t really control or meaningfully influence. At times I’ve been led to the brink of self-annihilation, only really able to reel myself back by contemplating the grief and pain my death would cause my family. And I’ve experienced too much grief and trauma in my young adult years to cling to a naive optimistic outlook of a leap of faith or philosophical suicide. To revolt against the Absurd seems the only way to claw out of those depths when I grow weary of the meaninglessness. To confront the hopelessness with the will to live in spite of it all. I hope you are well and that my personal anecdotes can somehow repay your kindness in making this deeply thought-provoking content for us Internet strangers
I have found out about Camus' absurdism a while ago and it truly changed my perception of this world. I was looking for this universal meaning in life for a long time and when I realized there was none - i had a major existential crises. Thankfully, later, rather than being depressed I realised how free I am now. The meaningless of this world gives you the greatest freedom of thought. Yes, I will die one day; yes, eventually everyone will forget about me; yes, my life is of no significanse and even humanity will be forgotten as one day we will completely cease to exist. But here I am, living in this particular period of time on this place called Earth, and I can live my life however I want! I can't be unborn so I must simply accept that I Am. I think the only thing that matters is to experience this life to the fullest and, well, try to be happy.
i needed this one today. thank you for exposing me to some awesome stories.
This got recommended to me at a time when I needed it. For lack of quick, intelligent phrases or a concise way to put my thoughts down, Ill suffice to say my extensive take: There is an untapped philosophy in the quote "It's about the journey, not the destination." We could spend our whole lives chasing some goal, some purpose, but we would be just as hollow as we started once it was finally achieved. If we instead can step back, take in the moment to moment experiences of just being alive, and let our final rest be that destination, life itself becomes the most incredible journey and story we have the privilege to experience. No one says you need an answer. It just matters that you asked the question.
This was amazing. I'm a bit ambivalent about the conclusion, though. So, if I understand that correctly, the solution is that looking for a purpose to distract yourself from the absurd eventually leads to falling prey to it. So you live by acknowledging that the world is meaningless, that suffering is meaningless and simply is, but you continue living and experiencing things in spite of that. But doesn't rebellion becomes a purpose too like that, just more general and reliable? It's not so different from dedication itself being the purpose. Ultimately the human brain needs purpose and a meaning associated to it, it's wired like that for our survival. Results in chasing a goal that has meaning to us lead to massive excitement of neural reward responses, and chasing a purpose has been shown to even improve your health conditions. Psychotherapy tells us that the purpose itself isn't the problem, bad things start to happen when you associate your identity and the value of your life to that purpose, and feel like that if you don't do that, X terrible thing will happen. See Asuka and "if I'm not excellent and striking and an amazing pilot, etc... I'll disappear", and where that leads. So, that's the part where I agree with the idea of "revolt": one or more purposes are required for humans to live, we can't help but seek them, but we shouldn't tie the value or reason of our existence to it, nor should the purpose become a way to distract ourselves from other problems. A good rule is to never tie the value of your existence to anything that is external to yourself, that you can't control. So the only option remaining is the "unconditional acceptance of self, others, and the world", which isn't the same as going full "oh, it doesn't matter that I and the world have XYZ problems, it's all cool", but means acknowledging those problems, that they don't affect the intrinsical value of your existence, and acting to solve them, or in spite of them (depending on whether the problems are on you or external). I think this overlaps fairly well with what Camus said about living in spite of the absurd.
nihilism is the lowest iq take pretending to be profound. Its an excuse for hedonism, locus of external control and self pity
This man's dedication for creating valuable content is absurd, and I'm here all for it! Thank you.
That means so much, thank you : )
The meaning of your life is a simple sum of two: What it means to others, and what it means to you. Subscribed. Lovely piece.
please keep making videos, you have saved me for today. thank you for this.
Thank you for this video. I see lots of existentialism theme being explored in animes and mangas but never really contemplated much about it. You, on the other hand, explored it beautifully in that you've explored characters from different series with different approach and tying them up together in that they are looking for a meaning or trying to construct a new one. You've explored what works and what doesn't to finally synthesize the one correct solution to our question of existentialism: we don't have to find any meanings, we just have to struggle with life. What a beautiful video. I almost cried several times while watching this because I myself have been struggling with my life. I lost my reason to exist because I ascribed it to one single thing that I now lost: my job. When I lost it, I fell into depression. I had suicidal thoughts, friends and family seemed to kick me down rather than supporting me, and I developed a resentment to pretty much everyone. I thought, I did nothing wrong, yet I got punished for no apparent reason. Nothing made any sense. But now that I've watched your video, I realized just how fragile my reason to exist was. I thought I exist because of my job, because it gave me the reason to. Now I know that it doesn't have to be that way. I exist because I'm alive, because I keep struggling with what life throws at me. Sometimes, life may throw nonsense but that's fine. That's just how it is and I just have to go on and do my best. It's just as Viktor Frankl wrote, "We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life-daily and hourly". By watching this video, I feel like I've been released from my shackles. You've helped me in easing my burden and I can already feel it as soon as I've finished watching this video. Thank you and keep up the good work. PS: I'm kinda surprised that you didn't mention Viktor Frankl at all. But thinking about it now I suppose Man's Search for Meaning doesn't exactly agree with Camus either since it's still about how to find new meanings. Nonetheless, I think its way of reorienting our thinking to recontextualize our place in life could still be in line with Camus'.
Hope you’re doing well, I feel you as a recent existentialist, always wondering why we struggle? How abstract and coincidental the purpose we assign ourselves is, yet how devastating it can be to lose such a thing. It’s great to see other people feel as I do in this seemingly less critically thinking world. Anyhow, I LOVE the Walter pfp you got!
I am 3 minutes into the video and did not expect to see sonny boy being discussed. glad to see one of my favorite shows to come out not be forgotten.
I love Sonny Boy; it's our third look at it here on the channel!
I appreciate the insight and care you put into this. I hope you're doing well brother.
Just also wanted to say that the effort in this video is outstanding and i really just appreciated it
Just want to say, fantastic video. Really did not expect it to keep me interested as long as it did. Never been one to know or care about older anime, let alone anime at all, but the structure and pace of the video, plus the use of references only as long as you needed them, was a great thought exercise in Camus’s philosophy, but also in sparking an small interest in me for the shows/characters on their own. A good reminder of how good longer form content can actually be, drawing in interest where they may have been able to otherwise.
Hell is other people. Death is the only truth. Living is harder than dying. Long ago I thought I could leave my mark on the world by doing something monumental. I was so arrogant. I thought I could stay around on this planet longer if I lived in people's minds and memories. I ended up hurt instead. I live because death refuses to take me. I thought I saw a light once but… it's gone now. I'm still chasing it because I'm so scared of standing still. It's caused me to miss a lot of moments in my life. I live because death refuses to come for me. I seek to understand the human condition in my sorry broken state. And yes sometimes this world feels like a game to me. And I wonder. Why me?
thank you for that video, its one of the best and most well made content i have seen in a long time. keep it up!
I walk 37 km (22 miles) just to see if I could. It took about 8 hours. My goal was to reach a city just because it was far away nothing more nothing less. I didn't have food or any water with me and my phone died ca. 2 hours into the walk. I felt every emotion on that walk like fear, anger, hunger, sadness, tireness, pride but mostly just happy. On my way there I luckly found a place to buy food and water. I never reach that city because it started to rain, and last time I walked in rain my shoos became a swamp. Untill the end of that walk I didn't think I had ambition but what else could have carried me so far? I had found self love in that movemt as it rain around me, as I hided bus shelter waiting to get back home. I was 5 km (3 moles) away from that city but I was satisfied
thank you for this. im still trying to find a good reason and way to live but this video has put things in perspective for me. I think all the points you made are very well grounded and important. you say things artistically and truthfully, while still attacking the subject head on. i think thats very important.
Thanks to your video, I really want to read once again some essays from Camus. Especially since it's been way too long that I felt like living to struggle. It truly helps to see that in Absurdity, living and struggling is a victory over life. Thank you again.
Beginning to read Camus this year has left a large impact on how I think for sure. Glad I could bring back some desire for his work!
Sorry for such a long comment. Just felt the neeed to get this out of my system. --- I've struggled with severe depression and anxiety since I was 9, and the worst of my mental illness and life happened when I was 14. I'm 26 now and I'm still picking up the pieces of all the shit I went through and trying to keep going. Whenever I look back and think that I could have died at 14; the only thought that comes to mind is that "I am so grateful to be here". Despite how I am still trying to glue my pieces together. TLDR; I just wanted to comment and say that I really loved your video. As silly as it is, Anime is one of the reason's I'm still here because when I was all alone, it was all I had. In my thoughts were the characters that have gone through so much yet continue to keep going, the characters who remain kind despite their circumanstances, etc. I modelled myself after them.They were and still are my hope. IrishMorgenstern's comment below also made me think of why I exist now and my reason to keep going; and it's as they said, A literal FU to those who said I can't make it and to those who hurt me even more instead of helping me. A literal FU to life. But, along with this I feel like life and existing is something I owe myself. Because even after all the pain, sadness and shit life threw at me; I'm still here. I owe it to myself to feel and find happiness. If anyone reading this is going through a tough time, I hope you know that you are not alone and I am hoping that you can get through it. It's tough an d pain and it might even be a long life journey... but, I'm sure it will be worth it. Even for the small moments of happiness and joy. Hope to meet you all there :)
Just halfway now but I am honestly taken back by the analysis ❤ much love
I've wanted to share my experience with the absurd for a while now, but unfortunately it's not something that comes up in conversation - and even when I try to share it the response is a look of confusion and a possible "you're thinking too much" or "I can't comprehend that." My least favorite is when others interject their own meanings as if they've miraculously found the solution to this Gordian knot. So I've kept it to myself, silently hoping for someone to come along and actually listen to my words. And here you are, asking for those very words - my very experience that's fundamentally changes the way I see Reality. So I'll share them, but not here. To give my words justice, I shall take some time to formulate these words and speak them through my voice so everyone and anyone can hear my testimony. Once again, than you for for these videos ProfessorViral. You've been making some of the best content I've seen in a while.
Keep pushing your boulder my friend, one must imagine Sisyphus as happy.
life is pretty easy, to be limitless then be deceased however, as a kid you can strive for perfection which keeps you going and sustains you, and you can look at things and build upon them to fit whatever your desire is as someone who has an entry point into life.
See it's a very natural thing for people to draw what they feel are parallels to your situation from their own life. We ourselves are our primary standard for everything, the one we know and _feel_ we understand the best.
i hope that i will be able to hear your words one day
you are overthinking excuses to not have to face reality and remain a manchild and justify your own cowardice. Everyone has issues and no one has time to deal with your pseudointellectual crap when theres more constructive things to dedicate energy to
Im suprised that berserk isn't mentioned
I saw how everything is connected and how we are all infinite and all one.. it was a very beautiful experience but it has left me empty and facing with the absurd. I struggle everyday to keep going knowing that it is all meaningless, I tend to distract myself to not have to confront the absurd. I’m not conforming with society but I’m also not fighting against it. I am just here.