Episode 4: Camus and the Absurd

Summary: Discussing Camus's "An Absurd Reasoning" and "The Myth of Sisyphus" (1942).<br> Does our eventual death mean that life has no meaning and we might as well end it all?  Camus starts to address this question, then gets distracted and talks about a bunch of phenomenologists until he dies unreconciled.  Also, let's all push a rock up a hill and like it, okay?  Plus, the fellas dwell on genius and throw down re. the Beatles, the beloved Robert C. Solomon and Malcom Gladwell's Outliers.<br> An abridged version of the reading covered with most of the good stuff in it is <a href="http://users.humboldt.edu/jwpowell/sisyphus.htm" target="_blank">here</a>. An unabridged version of "An Absurd Reasoning" is <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/3223928/Albert-Camus-The-Myth-Of-Sisyphus">here</a>.<br> Also, <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2012/01/09/we-know-camus-did-not-die-in-a-motorcycle-accident/" target="_blank">Wes said something wrong on the episode</a>.<br> End song: "My Friends" by <a href="http://marklint.com">Mark Lint and the Simulacra</a> (2000).<br> If you enjoy the episode, please donate at least $1:<br> <br>