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For Camus, It Was Always Personal

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Re: For Camus, It Was Always Personal

#21

“ This maternal silence, which soon came to assume a metaphysical presence, became the center of his work. ” I have loved delving deep into Camus during this dark period of modern human society. Existentialism has become such an intriguing set of beliefs that I stumbled upon in reading “Ecclesiastes” and that I will probably continue to dive deeper into all of my life. Has anyone read Soren Kirkegaard? He’s next on t…

I just finished "The Denial of Death" (Becker) that contains a lot about Kierkegaard in his role as a kind of early psychoanalyst. I recommend this book if you want to know a bit more about Freud, Jung and Kierkeegard. (And about being human I suppose.) Also isn't "Ecclesiastes" a book of the Bible? What's a good resource to find out more? Any good introductions or commentary?

I would highly recommend downloading the ESV Bible app (or reading it in browser https://www.esv.org/Ecclesiastes+1/).

The book is a relatively short read and I find it to be fascinating. “Koholeth” is about 1300 years ahead of the existentialist but like Kieregaard he ultimately makes some decisions on what the meaning of existence may be.

Old Hebrew Scholar, Robert Alter, called the book “the most peculiar” of all the books in the Old Testament. I hope you enjoy :)

Re: For Camus, It Was Always Personal

#22
post #15

“ This maternal silence, which soon came to assume a metaphysical presence, became the center of his work. ” I have loved delving deep into Camus during this dark period of modern human society. Existentialism has become such an intriguing set of beliefs that I stumbled upon in reading “Ecclesiastes” and that I will probably continue to dive deeper into all of my life. Has anyone read Soren Kirkegaard? He’s next on t…

Ecclesiastes is one of the finest existential works ever. It’s so heavy and emotional to get through. A lot of Kafkas work generated the same emotions in me the first time I read them, despite being more ironic.

Same here. I read the Trial this summer too. It felt much in the same vein as Ecclesiastes did.

Vanity of vanities.

Re: For Camus, It Was Always Personal

#23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I mentioned in the original comment, it’s often hard to tell what Kierkegaard actually believed if you’re not well versed in all his work, but I’m fairly certain that quote is a bit facetious. I added it as an example of his playful style of writing in Either/Or. He’s mocking Hegelian dialectical thought, but I think also making a point that those conclusions are easy to make, but ultimately unhelpful. From Wikipe…

Thank you for writing this comment, and especially the Buddha quote. I hadn't read that before, and it's very thought-provoking.

No, thank you for reading my rambling. I’m glad you got something out of it!

Re: For Camus, It Was Always Personal

#24
post #15

“ This maternal silence, which soon came to assume a metaphysical presence, became the center of his work. ” I have loved delving deep into Camus during this dark period of modern human society. Existentialism has become such an intriguing set of beliefs that I stumbled upon in reading “Ecclesiastes” and that I will probably continue to dive deeper into all of my life. Has anyone read Soren Kirkegaard? He’s next on t…

Ecclesiastes is one of the finest existential works ever. It’s so heavy and emotional to get through. A lot of Kafkas work generated the same emotions in me the first time I read them, despite being more ironic.

> Ecclesiastes is one of the finest existential works ever

Absolutely agree with that. Ever by Flipper is up there too.

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