The Myth of Sisyphus: A Therapeutic Examination
Written by Camus in the mid 20th century, The Myth of Sisyphus is an enduring work of absurdist philosophy. In this essay Camus presents his theory of the absurd utilizing the mythological story of Sisyphus as a framework for the question he deems to be the only important one in philosophy, does the realization of the meaninglessness and absurdity of life necessarily require suicide? Like previous philosophers who have attempted to answer this question, Camus presents his thesis of the absurd as a complex and possibly unanswerable question.
For us as practitioners of mental health this question remains salient today. When faced with a client who is experiencing symptoms of depression the worry remains that suicide can become a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Yet Camus would argue that the absurdity and meaninglessness of the world will never actually allow one to move past this realization. Once accepted, it becomes an inherent condition, one that must be confronted every day. In this sense, Camus presents to us the readers the mythological story of Sisyphus. Sisyphus is a man who fears death beyond anything else, going so far as to chain the god of death, therefore escaping its clutches. Eventually death is freed and Sisyphus dies. Once again though Sisyphus defies the gods and escapes the underworld. To punish him for this the gods choose an eternal punishment, for Sisyphus is fated to roll a boulder up a hill only to see it fall down the hill after each success.
Sisyphus thus exists in a perpetual cycle of toil and struggle. Faced with this concept, Camus draws parallels to modern society and the modern worker. Under a capitalistic society we face a similar set of toils where every day comes to pass the same. Camus claims “"The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is tragic only at the rare moments when it becomes conscious." Now what exactly does this metaphor have in common with our modern understanding of depression? Well, as a psychotherapist we often see client’s express disinterest in activities once found pleasurable, a concept known as anhedonia. This feature of depression is a hallmark symptom of the condition and is often one of the more distressing states.
What is the solution presented then according to Camus? Certainly not suicide as that is the point of this discussion. Instead he presents the idea of the “absurd man”, an individual who embraces the uncertainty and meaninglessness of the merging of human condition with an uncaring world but continues to push forward despite this realization. But how does one push forward when this realization weighs heavy like the stone our hero must roll up the hill day in and day out. Camus would say ultimately it is not the world that is absurd, nor the individual, but instead when the individual meets the unreasonable world, when the "appetite for the absolute and for unity" meets "the impossibility of reducing this world to a rational and reasonable principle." For Camus it is not the question of living the best life but instead living the most life.
In therapy we often find ourselves trapped by this question. We have no universal yardstick for what qualifies as the best life, instead we too embrace the concept of living the most life. For any one client this will always look different than the previous one. With endless possibilities one is confronted with the idea of living a life despite its absurdity. With finite time, resources, and ability we must choose from an endless sea of opportunities to make meaningful choices in our lives. As a therapist it is our duty to guide a client in finding what meaning they want to make of it all. And with the limitations set before us presented by an uncaring universe we too must confront our own fabrications of what makes the “best life.” For life cannot be the best as there is again no universal yardstick for this question.
So why make meaning if things are so meaningless? That depends on the individual. Meaning-making is a powerful tool in the human arsenal of coping skills. To find meaning, to find purpose is to define something inherently undefinable. We must look to this task with equal measures awe and wonder. For as Camus quotes "...integrity has no need of rules... 'Everything is permitted,'... is not an outburst of relief or of joy, but rather a bitter acknowledgement of a fact." With undeniable curiosity we must continue to seek meaning to live the most life we can. Rather than give in to despair we must do as Camus proclaims, "one must imagine Sisyphus happy."
