Is life meaningless? And other absurd questions - Nina Medvinskaya

Prevoditelj: Iva Vukalović Recezent: Sanda Liker

Albert Camus grew up surrounded by violence.

Albert Camus je odrastao okružen nasiljem.

His homeland of Algeria was mired in conflict between native Algerians

Njegova domovina Alžir bila je okaljana sukobom između domaćih Alžiraca

and colonizing French Europeans.

i kolonizirajućih francuskih Europljana.

He lost his father in the First World War,

Izgubio je oca u Prvom svjetskom ratu

and was deemed unfit to fight in the second.

te je smatran nepodobnim za sudjelovanje u Drugom.

Battling tuberculosis in France and confronting the war's devastation

Boreći se s tuberkulozom u Francuskoj i suočavajući se s ratnom pustoši

as a resistance journalist, Camus grew despondent.

u ulozi novinara otpora, Camus je postao malodušan.

He couldn’t fathom any meaning behind all this endless bloodshed and suffering.

Nije mogao dokučiti nikakav smisao u ovom beskrajnom krvoproliću i patnji.

He asked: if the world was meaningless,

Pitao je: ako je svijet besmislen,

could our individual lives still hold value?

imaju li naši pojedinačni životi i dalje ikakvu vrijednost?

Many of Camus’ contemporaries were exploring similar questions

Mnogi su Camusovi suvremenici istraživali slična pitanja

under the banner of a new philosophy called existentialism.

pod barjakom nove filozofije zvane egzistencijalizam.

Existentialists believed people were born as blank slates,

Egzistencijalisti su vjerovali da su ljudi rođeni kao prazne ploče,

each responsible for creating their life’s meaning amidst a chaotic world.

odgovorni za stvaranje smisla svojih vlastitih života u kaotičnom svijetu.

But Camus rejected their school of thought.

No Camus je odbio tu vrstu razmišljanja.

He argued all people were born with a shared human nature

On je tvrdio da su svi ljudi rođeni sa zajedničkom ljudskom prirodom

that bonded them toward common goals.

koja ih veže prema zajedničkim ciljevima.

One such goal was to seek out meaning despite the world’s arbitrary cruelty.

Jedan takav cilj bio je tražiti smisao unatoč proizvoljnoj okrutnosti svijeta.

Camus viewed humanity’s desire for meaning and the universe’s silent indifference

Camus je gledao na ljudsku želju za smislom i tihu ravnodušnost svemira

as two incompatible puzzle pieces,

kao dva nekompatibilna dijela slagalice

and considered trying to fit them together to be fundamentally absurd.

i smatrao da su pokušaji njihova spajanja temeljno apsurdni.

This tension became the heart of Camus’ Philosophy of the Absurd,

Ova je napetost postala srce Camusove Filozofije apsurdnog,

which argued that life is inherently futile.

koja je tvrdila da je život sam po sebi uzaludan.

Exploring how to live without meaning

Istraživanje kako živjeti bez smisla

became the guiding question behind Camus’ early work,

postalo je glavno pitanje iza Camusovih ranih djela

which he called his “cycle of the absurd.”

koje je on nazvao svojim Ciklusom apsurda.

The star of this cycle, and Camus’ first published novel,

Zvijezda ovog ciklusa, i Camusov prvi objavljen roman,

offers a rather bleak response.

daje prilično tmuran odgovor.

"The Stranger" follows Meursault, an emotionally detached young man

"Stranac" prati Meursaulta, emocionalno odvojena mladog muškarca

who doesn’t attribute much meaning to anything.

koji ničemu ne pripisuje mnogo smisla.

He doesn’t cry at his mother’s funeral,

Ne plače na sprovodu svoje majke,

he supports his neighbor’s scheme to humiliate a woman,

podržava susjedov plan da ponizi ženu,

he even commits a violent crime — but Meaursault feels no remorse.

čak i počini nasilni zločin - no Meaursault ne osjeća kajanje.

For him the world is pointless and moral judgment has no place in it.

Za njega je svijet besmislen i u njemu ne postoji mjesto za moralnu osudu.

This attitude creates hostility between Meursault

Ovaj stav stvara neprijateljstvo između Meursaulta

and the orderly society he inhabits,

i urednog društva u kojem živi,

slowly increasing his alienation until the novel’s explosive climax.

polako pojačavajući njegovo otuđenje sve do eksplozivnog vrhunca romana.

Unlike his spurned protagonist, Camus was celebrated for his honest philosophy.

Za razliku od svojeg protagonista, Camus je bio slavljen zbog svoje iskrene filozofije.

"The Stranger" catapulted him to fame, and Camus continued producing works

"Stranac" ga je pogurao do slave i Camus je nastavio stvarati djela

that explored the value of life amidst absurdity

koja su tražila vrijednost života među apsurdom

many of which circled back to the same philosophical question:

te od kojih su se mnoga vraćala istom filozofskom pitanju:

if life is truly meaningless,

ako je život zaista besmislen,

is committing suicide the only rational response?

je li čin samoubojstva jedini racionalni odgovor?

Camus’ answer was an emphatic “no.”

Camusov odgovor bio je naglašen "ne".

There may not be any explanation for our unjust world,

Možda ne postoji nikakvo objašnjenje za naš nepravedni svijet,

but choosing to live regardless is the deepest expression

ali odluka da živimo unatoč tome jest najdublji izraz

of our genuine freedom.

naše stvarne slobode.

Camus explains this in one of his most famous essays

Camus to objašnjava u jednom od svojih najpoznatijih eseja

which centers on the Greek myth of Sisyphus.

koji se koncentrira na grčki mit o Sizifu.

Sisyphus was a king who cheated the gods,

Sizif je bio kralj koji je prevario bogove

and was condemned to endlessly roll a boulder up a hill.

te je bio prognan da beskrajno gura kamen uzbrdo.

The cruelty of his punishment lies in its singular futility,

Okrutnost ove kazne leži u njezinoj uzaludnosti,

but Camus argues all of humanity is in the same position.

ali Camus tvrdi da je cijelo čovječanstvo u istom položaju.

And only when we accept the meaninglessness of our lives

Pa tek kad prihvatimo besmislenost naših života

can we face the absurd with our heads held high.

možemo se sučiti s apsurdom uzdignutih glava.

As Camus says, when the king chooses to begin his relentless task once more,

Prema Camusu, kad kralj odluči opet započeti svoj neumoljiv zadatak,

“One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”

"Ljudi moraju zamisliti Sizifa sretnim."

Camus’ contemporaries weren’t so accepting of futility.

Camusovi suvremenici nisu tako lako prihvaćali uzaludnost.

Many existentialists advocated for violent revolution

Mnogi su se egzistencijalisti borili za burnu revoluciju

to upend systems they believed were depriving people of agency and purpose.

da maknu sustave za koje su vjerovali da lišavaju ljude akcije i svrhe.

Camus responded with his second set of work: the cycle of revolt.

Camus je odgovorio svojom drugom zbirkom djela: Ciklusom pobune.

In "The Rebel," he explored rebellion as a creative act,

U "Pobunjenom čovjeku" istražio je pobunu kao kreativni čin,

rather than a destructive one.

za razliku od onog destruktivnog.

Camus believed that inverting power dynamics

Camus je vjerovao da izvrtanje dinamika moći

only led to an endless cycle of violence.

dovodi samo do beskrajnog ciklusa nasilja.

Instead, the way to avoid needless bloodshed

Umjesto toga, način na koji bi se trebalo izbjeći krvoproliće

is to establish a public understanding of our shared human nature.

jest uspostavljanje javnog razumijevanja naše zajedničke ljudske prirode.

Ironically, it was this cycle of relatively peaceful ideas

Ironično je to da je ovaj ciklus relativno mirnih ideja

that triggered his fallout with many fellow writers and philosophers.

pokrenuo njegovo otuđenje od mnogih kolega književnika i filozofa.

Despite the controversy,

Unatoč ove polemike,

Camus began work on his most lengthy and personal novel yet:

Camus je započeo svoj najdulji i najosobniji roman do tada:

an autobiographical work entitled "The First Man."

autobiografsko djelo nazvano "Prvi čovjek".

The novel was intended to be the first piece in a hopeful new direction:

Roman je trebao biti prvo djelo u novom pravcu punom nade:

the cycle of love.

Ciklusu ljubavi.

But in 1960, Camus suddenly died in a car accident

No 1960. Camus je iznenadno umro u prometnoj nesreći

that can only be described as meaningless and absurd.

koja se jedino može opisati kao besmislena i apsurdna.

While the world never saw his cycle of love,

Iako svijet nikada nije vidio njegov Ciklus ljubavi,

his cycles of revolt and absurdity continue to resonate with readers today.

njegovi ciklusi pobune i apsurda i danas imaju svoje poklonike među čitateljima.

His concept of absurdity has become a part of world literature,

Njegov koncept apsurda je postao dijelom svjetske književnosti,

20th century philosophy, and even pop culture.

filozofije 20. stoljeća, čak i pop kulture.

Today, Camus remains a trusted guide for moments of uncertainty;

Danas Camus ostaje pouzdani vodič u trenucima nesigurnosti;

his ideas defiantly imbuing a senseless world with inspiration

njegove ideje prkosno prožimaju besmislen svijet inspiracijom

rather than defeat.

umjesto porazom.