As someone who has suffered a variety of mental health issues, this philosophy helps me to feel less useless about the time I "lost" or "wasted" during difficult psychological times, because, if I understand this philosophy correctly, at least I got really close to the actual meaning of life. Makes the pain, shame and regret less of a burden for some reason.

@Tethloach1

3 жыл бұрын

This philosophy has come in many ways for me, I get that it is natural but, it is naturally absurd to me, and naturally we cannot take life too seriously that includes this way of thought.

@kennethcarter1323

2 жыл бұрын

Camus seems to deconstruct the is-ought paradox by finding some meaning in life by espousing aesthetics with a measure, a dash of measured enlightenment rationalism.

@howtorecover1358

2 жыл бұрын

Yes!!! that’s it

@anhumblemessengerofthelawo3858

Жыл бұрын

_The matrix of the spirit is the primeval dark night of the soul. Into the black depression comes the sudden fiery appearance of lightning which turns everything on its head and such do all things come into being._ _suggested reading: Dark Night of the Soul by St John of the Cross. For someone like you, it is completely essential that you understand the purpose of this purging.... And, A Course In Miracles, written by jesus, believe it or not. It deals with the two systems of thought in creation, God and the ego, which are in diametrical opposition to one another. Also, the Ra Material. Ra is the extra terrestrial who built the Giza pyramid. They live on the sun in the sixth dimension, lol. (Truth is stranger than fiction my friend). Perhaps also The emerald tablets of both the atlantean. These latter three texts were written not by humans. The reason you suffer is because you are a spiritual being and you are being called._ "The only pain you feel is the love you withhold".

@jamesbarlow6423

Жыл бұрын

Indeed. You can't go wrong with Camus. I first met him at 17, I'm 71 today, and he's bailed me out more than once for sure. Take care my friend!

What a wonderful time we live in that lectures of this quality are freely available! Thank you for this.

Once you get over the shock of ridding yourself of magical thinking, and embracing the absurdity of life, once you climb out of that deep hole religion and culture left us in, only then you can enjoy life's gift, in every moment. Thank you for the great lecture.

@tonyandradealliandro5013

2 жыл бұрын

Totally agree

@FuckYouTube1776

2 жыл бұрын

People are too stupid to live without religion. You aren’t (it doesn’t appear) and I can do without religion, and I might be dumb, but I’m nothing like ninety percent of the people in 2021, I may as well be Aristotle compared to most people today. The average person needs to stay the hell way from philosophy. Why? Look at academia, and the idiots they manufacture. Again, perhaps this guy is ok; this is my first time watching him, and he seems okay. But that fact is, I know so many people who went into college pretty smart, smarter than me, and came out with basically no sense at all. Just look around you. I hated religion, but it seems more and more that the religious make up a good part of the minority that actually have sense still. All is inverted.

@kennethcarter1323

2 жыл бұрын

The irony of Camus adopting ontological absurdity as his starting point is that he, like Nietzsche, answer ultimate questions like ethics with Don Juan aesthetics which is itself a form of philosophical suicide unresolved.

@simpsonlover100

2 жыл бұрын

@@FuckKZread1776 you have a superiority complex lol. Some of the most influential scientists and thinks believer in "magical" things. It's part of human culture and society. Do you really think you're smarter than Einstein, who was Jewish, or Mendel who was a Christian monk? I'm agnostic, but wow. Some self awareness is desperately needed in your life.

@clementpeloquin1131

2 жыл бұрын

@@simpsonlover100 I’m atheist, and i agree this guy has a complex lol

I was desperately looking for an in-depth discussion on Camus's philosophy concerning the Absurd and his book in general on YT. I couldn't be more grateful to have found your lecture video. Your deliverance of Camus's philosophy was simultaneously educative and admirably captivating. Thank you.

@stephenacord8094

2 жыл бұрын

It’s hard to find content like this

@medpassport

2 жыл бұрын

L mmmmmjm jmjh mal liuuiiiii miiiiiwolpaaaqq que w qq qqq qq qoqqqksss merci à Silo we la look etc

@medpassport

2 жыл бұрын

@@stephenacord8094 ms

@medpassport

2 жыл бұрын

A

@francescos7361

Жыл бұрын

Thanks I love Camus , Florenskij and he absurd , I think he was surely one of the most influential intellectuals and indipendentist man , as I think and suppose. Probably I 'm wrong .

The fact that this type of information exists on the internet for free. Thank you for sharing something powerful and meaningful with the world.

Not only does becoming an Absurd Person make the world more mysterious, I also feel that once the idea that life is meaningless fully sets in, it is hard to shake it. Even if you tried to commit philosophical suicide it would be difficult because you are constantly questioning and the thoughts would linger.

@andreahuskey3313

2 жыл бұрын

I agree somewhat, though you can go they way of secular philosophical suicide he mentioned, essentially distracting your mind. I think once you have seen The Absurd if you do not find a way to accept it you will either commit philosophical suicide of a different nature than before or risk physical suicide.

@technoblinkist6518

2 жыл бұрын

Raymond and Andrea, that has exactly been my predicament and I was constantly questioning it. But now that you have put it here, I feel validated, I mean, my thoughts are validated. The predicament isn't over though but I am feeling better.

Camus is my favorite, because I went through an existential crisis, and this explains kind of what I went through, in one way or another, and offers some kind of substantial understanding for me.

@AlohaBlade

2 ай бұрын

It’s great to begin the day with an existential crisis, defeat it and then get along with things. Repeat often.

Good reference to Fall Out 4.

@EricDodsonLectures

4 жыл бұрын

Ha ha... thanks for getting the reference. Here's another metaphor for philosophical suicide, straight from the Great Green Jewel of the Commonwealth: "Don't let the stress of life kill you... relax with some chem's... "

@jpguitaristcomposer

3 жыл бұрын

I laughed my ass off when I heard that, anyone wanna go to New Vegas?

We are afraid of life. We have no faith in ourselves or our institutions. Our civilisation is eating itself from within. We hate ourselves for all our cowardly compromises. We believe in nothing and relapse into puerile hedonism or fashionable outrage.We despise our bosses and hate our jobs. We feel our lives to be futile and senseless.We are Dostoyevsky's superfluous men. Hello to all of you out there my fellow Absurd Men! Thank you Eric for your lecture. You say difficult things in a simple way - an art in itself. Bukowski's "Hug the Dark" says it better than I do.

@eliezerribeiro7729

2 жыл бұрын

hello

hey Eric Dodson I'm some random 19 dude from Victoria BC but u changed my life man, sometimes it's hard to sit and read a book with full attentiveness and understanding but these lectures have inspired me to continue my reading of the Myth of Sisyphus and to pursue a life doesn't need meaning and to be okay with it.

Men this is such a good video, even with gaming references, I hope more people can hear this words of wisdom

@EricDodsonLectures

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Juan.... y muchas gracias por mirar mi video, y por comentar tambien. Agradecimiento. Eric D.

@smellslikeus

2 жыл бұрын

@@EricDodsonLectures dam bro you didnt have to duo lingo him based on the name

@alberteinstein2027

2 жыл бұрын

@@smellslikeus it's okay dude, people love it when others speak their language, you really can connect with people that way in ways if you spoke another language it won't just have the same affect

@DanielMendoza-st4kt

Жыл бұрын

@@smellslikeus JAJAJAJAJA

I am in my mid 20 and my philosophical knowledge carving me alive... this is like an intoxication a cheap drug... my super power is i can stare to a wall for hours

@EricDodsonLectures

4 жыл бұрын

Well, I'd say that the ability to focus on something for a long period of time *is* a kind of super-power. In any case, good luck with your journey into the terrain of philosophy. Eric D.

@tululquamar6376

3 жыл бұрын

Josh same here bro.

@maryadelemehan1426

3 жыл бұрын

...And feel like I was busy as fuck and need to sleep like I worked construction all day. I get it.

@nolongerhuman13

2 жыл бұрын

I have the new ability to not sleep and sit as still as a rock. I can make 30 minute brownies in 20 minutes. I can take out a spider , w a triscut at about 20 yards , tho I wouldn’t. None of these things bring any satisfaction at this point.

This has to be one of the most engaging lectures I've ever found on youtube. Thank you !

Thank you so much for making your lectures public - they are incredibly valuable.

Remarkably explained. This lecture deserves 1 million likes.

@jabel6434

2 жыл бұрын

Abid Wani, But why does he take 20 minutes to say what he thinks before telling me what Camus is saying about constructive responses to life's absurdity?

@contemplativepursuits

2 жыл бұрын

@@jabel6434 Because he's not just quoting Camus verbatim, he's giving his own interpretation as well.

Best lecture on existentialism / Camus I've ever heard. Very succinct and accessible. Cleared up and put in order many ongoing gaps in my understanding, all in in 35 minutes. Kudos to Prof Dodson and West Georgia University from Kansas. I also appreciated the summary as it reinforced a position I had tentatively arrived at.

thank you for making these and providing them free to everyone. there are very few videos doing deep-dives longer than 15-minute synopses of Camus.

My boy had my curiosity and then he busted out Fallout references and had my attention. Amazing lecture.

Thank you for this remarkably presented lecture. I personally find your lectures to be profoundly much more than meaningful. Your method of explanation clearly displays your deeply invested interest in the topic. I leaned a lot from this. I just finished the Myth of Sisyphus, and it wasn't easy to finish. Not due to its commonly perceived "grim" (perhaps) nature - I found this comforting indeed - but because it truly was heavy reading. I sincerely look forward to watching all your videos.

Loved this series.. I hadn’t realized as an Absurd Man I often fall into the trap of validating The Absurd by suffering. You helped me see I hadn’t gone as far as Caymus, that is defiance by joy and happiness in the endless struggle and brutal insignificance may be the best use of our absurd middle fingers. Many thanks 🙏.

Brillant! Thank you so much sir. This has clarified so much for me. I've been trying to understand Camus's Philosphy for a long time and this is giving the best indication of it I have ever understood. From here we build up. Thank you.

I go to Northern Kentucky University and I found this video just scrolling through KZread researching Camus but I would just like to say I really enjoyed your lecture! Your students must be lucky to have you as a teacher.

Like others here I ,must thank you for your clear, sensible and non-pretentious way of dealing with these issues. I watch these videos every now and then just to get a grip on life. Thank you very much.

This is one of my Dr.D favorites.....it reminds me that I haven't seen much of your stuff on Utube of late....I hope this indicates that you are enjoying retirement and pursuing other interests....The Absurd is just out there....we don't have to play....cheers

This is a wonderful thing to listen to while drawing, thank you!

Excellent lecture, Eric. Thanks for all your efforts.

One of the unfortunate side effects of education is it demystifies the world. A tree is "just" a tree. Everything is defined and labeled and we lose at an early age the ability to experience the world as mysterious and magical. It's kind of disturbing that the human brain takes so easily to this demystification of reality.

@kshproductions7996

3 жыл бұрын

--this is furthered by our economic system which commodofies everything into mere objects, commodities to be bought and sold. Things we originally couldn't have even imagined putting a price tag on now have a value set so arbitrarily yet instills to the rest of society that that value is what is the natural state of the world, that it is truth. This extends to our labor, our lives, and nature. It extends into the environment being seen as nothing more than dead weight for us to carve and extract resources from, fossil fuels to burn, sees human relationships outside of your basic circle as nothing more than relationships to further your ends economically, alienating oneself from themselves, the rest of society, and from nature. The value was once set by something as insignificant as paper money which due to being the measurement of value, became our god. Yet even from there it has gotten to the point where not even the material is the measure of it anymore, and money itself can be completely digital without needing to actually take any material shape

@flowerbomb1992

3 жыл бұрын

It should be quite the opposite, honestly, so I think you're looking at things the wrong way. The more education you receive, the less ordinary things are in your eyes, since you partialy understand the complexity of everything that exists. True magic begins with knowledge.

0:00 Introductory quote by Camus 2:29 Responding to Absurdity of Life 3:30 Philosophical Killing off of inquiry 🧐 4:15 Belief in God 5:14 Life doesn’t provide or tell answers to our human destiny 9:10 Christian Worldview: Virtue, Redemption of sin, recognition of God 11:00 All Religions provide this worldview ‘12:42 Just Deserves or Just Desserts

@francescos7361

Жыл бұрын

Teological redemption is important according to me as trascendence and other interesting not so much cause I m not a mystic but interested in Eliade studies and De Martino . Thanks to prof. Peterson he is a great researcher in this topics.

I've been working on something related to Camus's Myth of Sysiphus recently and this is by far the most informative video I've found yet. Very very well explained. Also thanks for introducing me to "enchanted agnosticism".

I realised why it is that when professors themselves explain what they understand about an assigned readings, for the lack of better words, it just hits different. And even without a class to accompany them, this lecturer knocked it out of the park in putting a little vigour and colour to the black letter. It was really fun!

Albert Camus Philosophy of the absurd is the most accurate description of life I've ever encountered I'm reluctant to use the word respect for anyone but I will for him

This is phenomenal, much appreciated

your lecture was very educating and fun to listen to. it helped clarify many things about camus. but what encouraged me to SMASH THAT LIKE BUTTON was the Fallout 4 reference! YESSS!!

I liked how you came with examples. It made it easier to get a good view on how to use this philosphical way of thinking in my own 'real' life. Great video

Thanks for making this easily understood and available to us all.

You put it down so well I can’t think of a better explanation.

I listened to the audio version of Caamus' book (essay). I understood most of but your commentary on it makes it even clearer. Thanks for this. I just discovered your channel and subscribed it. Will try and watch some of your videos.

@johndawson680

3 жыл бұрын

Where did you get an audio version from? I can't find one anywhere.

I enjoyed your lecture and ability to break down the logic behind his work. Thank you.

This is brilliant. I really needed to hear this today. Thank you so much!

BEST youtube channel for me so far

Reading Sisyphus definitely gave me a headache not only for those glossing vocabulary but also the vague statement especially in the first 3 chapters(in a Chinese learned English by myself), though it kept me going on as if I truly observed something significant in his wisdom till this video brings the essence to a conscious level in a rather simple,understandable language and that’s what a really good teacher is like. Thank you Professor.

Thanks for drawing the distinction between meaninglessness and suffering I realize now I was in a strange way kind of jumbling the two together. We often feel distressed in a lack of meaning, but the two are not the same.

Thanks for the amazing lecture, professor! My two cents: most KZreadrs can't read their script without making mistakes. They just cut it and continue from where they stopped and *no one ever notices or cares.* Everyone is used to this editing style. Awesome lecture anyway! Edit: I figure most of us are a bit like that when it comes to "being atheist". I honestly see myself as more of an agnostic, but I usually go to the atheist brat mode when talking about my world view specifically to religious people, just to provoke.

i would love to be able to listen to these on spotify as a podcast, really interesting stuff, Eric

Your explanation is very very clear, plus I like your conclusion on the appealing part of Albert Camus' ideas, mystery is what makes life interesting and poetic to me.

Thank you for making this, I had a hard time reading the essay so I was looking for some analysis videos. I'm still finishing up the essay so I'll come back to this video :)

Camus is one of the philosophers that hooked me on this kind of discourse. I am now an incoming college student in philosophy. Your video is really informative and in-depth video. Will watch more, thank you. ^_^

Good point on narcotization of commodities and entertainment. Very informative, keep up the good work brother !!

albert camus is a strong man! so many unanswered questions and such restlessness states that some might call depersonalization are probably a way of life explaining itself as such a bizarre thing. I’d like to think of life as a box in which things have been put in, and closed up so only we know what goes inside but “life” i.e the box itself has no answers on who put such stuff in. I’m glad i came across this video, somehow i've become less anxious knowing that life feels the same way as most of us 😭

wow sir, i am super super impressed, i wish i could just keep watching your videos in this mystical universe foreverrrrrrr

Thank you for your lucid presentation. I've become more clear on my reading and internal dialogue with "The Rebel"...

It seemed like that to me when I was younger - that bad people get away with things. Life has taught me that no one ever gets away with anything. I also realized that when you truly deeply study any religion ( the mystic ) , they teach us to come out of the paradigm of good and bad. To be stuck in these dualities is what keeps us stuck. Freedom comes when we are able to see things just the way they are. To be able to realise how absurd life is , is a tremendous gift. Nothing is so important as to let it affect our happiness. The world will tell us otherwise. 😊

Refreshing and clearly explained. Nice audio quality too. Well done.

@Crashed2023

3 жыл бұрын

I must be listening to a different video as this audio sucks... Literally, listen to the sound of the smacking, lip kissin, swalling and at once it can't be ignored. The gerenrral background noise that rises and falls within the initiation does nothing much to distract. Am I unfocused.. Uhmmm maybe!

Hi professer, from Nepal. I am reading The Myth of Sisyphus and listening to your lectures. It has helped me understand it a lot . Thanks.

I'm thankful for making video, I recently discovered your channel

Thank you for this video. I just discovered you today and subscribed. Excellent content and presentation.

Camus is the only philosopher I have ever needed.

Thank you for providing enriching content on your channel.

What an amazing video. Thanks for the insights on Camus phylosophy, I really want to ingrain the absurd into my everyday life!

This is a great analysis. I read The Myth of Sisyphus (the book, not the essay) in my late 20s but took a few more years of mulling on it began to understand. The video can help skip you a few years of being lost in some his words!

Hello! I'm a fan from Finland and love your channel! Do you think it would be wise to watch your playlist on Existential Psychology: Getting Started, before continuing to these Camus lectures?

Honest and insightful. Thank you

Good job Eric you made my day, I think the absurd it's part of the life or perhaps the life itself, I don't know, thanks for sharing.

My favorite of the existentialists... thanks for this. I needed someone to walk me through it. This is a godsend!

@rogercarroll2551

3 жыл бұрын

Camus did not like being termed an existentialist.

@shaggystone6397

3 жыл бұрын

@@rogercarroll2551 nor would he appreciate being associated with the word " god send"

@JohnMark-vl7fp

3 жыл бұрын

@@shaggystone6397 I was being funny.

@JohnMark-vl7fp

3 жыл бұрын

@@rogercarroll2551 I recant. Would it be more appropriate to say 'examiner of existentialism'?

Thank you for putting this video on youtube

Great lecture. Great tangent too. "Buy more stuff and be happier"

Last two minutes of this video are fantastic, thanks

Absolutely brilliant video!

it's really hard not to suicide philosophically. thanks for this amazing lecture.

Love so much Camus and Eliade. They are both one of my favourites intellectuals of a modern age I think to be more near to modern age as I think then this age .

The first time I read the Myth of S was on a beach in India. My first existential crisis showed up there in my late teens and somehow the Camus essay had stumbled my way in ways that I can no longer remember. 45 years is just long enough to forget some details but the book’s impact changed me significantly and for a good long while. Now that I am older and the crisis has deepened in a way that is natural to aging, I am curious how another reading will impact my shortening life. Thank you for this lecture.

Your channel is a treasure 😍 Thanks 🌹

Amazing video! Thank you for sharing this!

this is so informative and simple to understand, thank you Sir.

I read The Stranger in my young teens and it has haunted me in a beautiful way ever since

I wish you continue to do the lectures here even after the pandemic. I miss learning about philosophy here

You are right on target nicely done that's why most people stay busy it stops them from thinking about reality

Great video. Superb explanation. Great point about narcotizing ourselves through entertainment culture. Very much in line with Brave New World/Amusing Ourselves to Death.

I'm 60 my awakening came when I became disabled 2 spinal fusion and a host of other ailments after being healthy all my life .now I have lots of time to think and knowing my pain and suffering is only gonna get worse is very sobering

@lynnfisher3037

13 күн бұрын

Sorry you are experiencing that. How do you maintain your desire to keep living? By asking that I'm not suggesting that you end your life. I hope you can maintain that. Do you have a religious faith? What drives you?

Just discovered your channel, thank you for this!

thank you a lot, you re providing really good content and i loved the way you explain in clear way

@abbashali01

2 жыл бұрын

You can find the essay on google. Its called Myth of Sisyphus (essay). Essay not the book.

That ending earned you a subscriber, good sir.

thank you for this! i'm trying to explore philosophy more and it really helps to be able to access free lectures like this :)

Enjoyed your lecture! Thank you 🙏

Love the painting in the background.

The absurd makes life miraculous and mysterious and should be celebrated for its ridiculousness rather than running from reality and trying to define precise answers to understand it. This is what I learned from your video, so thank you very much. I do think there is something to the idea of us being reincarnated in this life (not an afterlife) and that this happens through cycles that repeat themselves over the course of our lives where we find ourselves faced with curiously similar challenges but in different settings as a means to test us and help us refine ourselves. I don't totally believe this but have experienced things that would support it, at least as a possible theory.

@eliezerribeiro7729

2 жыл бұрын

great inquiry

This right here is quality content

Enjoyed this very much, thank you!

Hey from Alabama. Miss your lectures in class

My respect for you rise another level just for refering Fall Out 4 in the middle of a philisophic lecture! 😎👍

Thank You Prof helped me a lot in understanding Ionesco's Rhinoceros. Thanks from India.

Great video. Entertaining and informative. Thanks very much

This was really interesting, thank you! I’ve always considered myself a realist as in I see the world for what it is, whilst everyone around me sees me as a pessimist; I’ve never studied philosophy or frankly even read a book by a philosopher, so I’ve been trying to find a theory which explains how I feel about life. I think I’m on the right track with absurdism! This was a great insight, I will definitely check out Camus’ work! Also - if anyone has any beginner friendly book recommendations for someone interested in absurdism, existentialism, nihilism (and anything else in that “category” - in terms of art I love surrealism and dadaism) then I’d be more than happy to receive them! Thanks again!

@khubaibmujtaba1478

2 жыл бұрын

Well, you can start with The Stranger by Camus and then read philosophers like Neitzsche, Soren Kierkegaard and Sartre. Moreover, Dostoevsky will also help in psychological issues(Crime and Punishment).

Wonderful lecture, learned a lot!

The great thing about that opening line is how superior it makes the suicidal reader feel.

Wow thanks so much for this lecture!

My man really whipped out the Fallout reference, hell yeah. Love this

I was a practitioner of Camus's worldview before I knew it. I don't know if everyone can live this way, but I have noticed that being born into suffering made this view possible for me. I was born with a condition requiring a liver transplant when I was ten months old, so I started with the premise that life is irrational, unfair, and unjust. When I was fifteen, I had that belief reinforced when I needed a second transplant. From here, I went down many paths of philosophical suicide and then, having done that, rejected them. What I came to independently was this, life is meaningless, and within this truth lies something incredibly liberating. If life is meaningless and devoid of purpose, I cannot possibly get it wrong. What's more, contextualizing my suffering in a narrative of philosophical suicide, I became depressed. If suffering is a byproduct of a diety with a plan, then that is unforgivable, but I can deal with it if it is random.

Excellent! Bravo!

Thank you for this!