Ignoble Existence
“Music helps us forget all that is murky and ignoble in our existence.”
-Albert Camus, “Essay on Music” in Cahiers Albert Camus II: Youthful Writings
I must admit, I am not the biggest “music person.” I like music, don’t get me wrong, and I listen to it in some form daily. But I never was one to know ALL the names of ALL the band members, or keep up with latest trends. I have some embarrassing past listening habits from the 1980 and 90’s (who doesn’t really?) but much of this has seen a renewal, and although I find it shocking to hear Nirvana on a “classic” rock station, here we are. My most current habits tend more to heavy metal of the Iron Maiden variety, with deviations into other metal depending on the mood. There’s a metal for every mood, trust me. I find metal much more engaging than pop or country which although catchy, is boring and repetitive, or just plain annoying. I more often listen to audiobooks and as of late podcasts (like everyone else) unless in gym training scenarios or when needed for driving. I do like Jazz when chilling at home or cooking especially (appalling to some) and even stuff like Thievery Corporation when situation offers. My Pandora stations are pretty eclectic I think. All that to say this, I don’t use music for escape like I used to, but I understand this principle well, and know people that do this a LOT. I do think it can be important for daily life of an Absurdist, which is why I’m addressing it here.
In his essay, Camus goes into philosophical underpinnings of art and music (including some bold attempts at defining these things). He focuses on Schopenhauer’s and Nietzsche’s ideas, with emphasis on the latter. After briefly explaining their general philosophical standpoints and how Nietzsche builds on Schopenhauer’s ideas, he then dives deeper into the Dionysian and Apollonian aspects of Nietzsche’s philosophy as it applies to music. I’ll not recap all the details here, but my reading is that it all builds to the idea that man needs an escape from reality, and music fills this need. Greek tragedy and Wagnerian opera were great examples escapism (even if N breaks with W), and music especially helps express the inexpressible or create or shape new reality out of nothing.
In my current reading, for an Absurdist, these things can be centrally important to daily life. For someone who has left all meaning behind, and decides not to go looking for it anywhere, things can get murky and ignoble really fast. Reality can be unbearable, if you haven’t found your Sisyphean groove. In previous posts I discussed escapism, and music offers an escape that doesn’t result in mental illness, or immersion in a drug or other vice.
To quote him further, “…Music does more: it allows us to create an entirely original world that we construct within ourselves using images and feelings evoked as raw materials. In this way we create something new with something unknown.”
Don’t be confused, this isn’t some existentialist approach to life, creating meaning etc. on your own. This is creating your own escapist reality for you to live in while facing the bleak unknown. Camus affirms that “…Music is the expression of an unknowable reality.” This unknowable reality is at the core of accepting Absurdism. We can’t know everything about reality or meaning in life, but we can create and listen to music.
Cahiers II Albert Camus Youthful Writings https://amzn.to/2CXuqO1
