R.I.P.: A Further Discussion

“There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide.”

Some philosophers tend to seek meaning in life, but Albert Camus wrote this with an absurdist perspective, arguing that although life is inherently meaningless, that idea alone is what propels people to find and create meaning in their lives. Moreover, he made the case that simple things in life matter: friendship, love, art, and so on. An appreciation for these things may offset the existential turmoil that many of us experience.

“Death is simultaneously the most common and the least understood aspect of life.”

Casket mentions this in his “R.I.P” piece, and this statement is closely related Camus’s point.

Unlike Camus and Casket, I’m not claiming that life is meaningless, nor am I purporting to understand the meaning of life, if there is one. What I will say is that, perhaps the greatest display of one’s appreciation for life, or for knowledge, is to commit suicide.

Death is part of life—life and death are two sides of the same coin. It’s no secret that we’re currently unequipped to answer certain metaphysical questions. Science and technology might get there one day, but we’re not there. In a twisted, convoluted sense, an overzealous existential philosopher who would want to display their indebtedness to their field may find it noble to commit suicide, and may gain a clearer view of life if they indeed did. The catch-22 being that the “knowledge” gained by their venture into that unknown realm would be hard to convey back to the living. Is there bliss or cessation of suffering when we die? Not sure, but the notion that death is automatically something horrible is myopic. Dying out of curiosity, and not as a result of suffering, i.e. being a martyr for knowledge, may be the noblest thing an existential philosopher can do.

:)