absurd

From Latin absurdus, the term absurd refers to what Meaningless or that it is opposite or inverse of the reason. The concept also refers to the strange, weird, insane, illogical, or insane.

In the logic, the absurd appears when a series of propositions inevitably leads to the denial or refutation of each one of them.

The philosophy of the absurd or absurdism is based on the non-existence of the predetermined meaning and absolute of the universe with respect to man; Every effort by human beings to know the origin of the Universe and of those absolute questions is in vain since there is no answer to these questions that can be understood by our nature. It is characterized by its skeptical condition towards the principles of life and the creation of the world, ensuring that existence does not have a meaning and that there is no marked destiny, so that all human beings have the right to freedom and to trace our own way.

Absurdism is linked to existentialism, although they are not identical movements. The French philosopher and writer Albert camus He was the promoter of absurdism after moving away from the existentialist movement. The foundations of this philosophical theory can be found in some of his works, such as «Abroad«, Where the author affirms that all life is insignificant and that its value it depends exclusively on what human beings give it. In this way, existence is a constant cycle that repeats itself. uselessly, moved by tradition rather than something authentic and absolutely different from what is known.

This theory became popular after World War II, and many existentialist philosophers relied on it; possibly the reason for this is that the sadness that the war left in its wake, generated great skepticism around people's lives, and the only way to continue living was by taking a position of the ephemeral to prevent that uneasiness from becoming even more intense.

Various cultural movements have appealed to the absurd, such as the pataphysics, which emerged in the middle of twentieth century. It is a kind of science parodic that studies imaginary solutions and the laws that regulate exceptions.

The absurd humor it is a kind of comedy that appeals to crazy facts to get the audience to laugh. The english group Monty Python, who acted between 1969 Y 1983, is one of the most famous exponents.

The theater of the absurd is a concept that is used to name the works created by some playwrights in the decades of 1940, 1950 Y 1960.

On literature they speak of the absurd to refer to a technique or style which consists of appealing to components that do not have coherence within a context with logical predictability. This is quite common in parody and in the humor. In any case, it is necessary to clarify that for a text to be considered absurd it does not necessarily have to have humorous or illogical elements, nor do it have characters who do not have a good command of reason.

What makes a text absurd is the perspective of reasoning that the author imposes; that is, when the irrational nature of life is recorded, the lack of coherence in our existence and other issues that touch more on the philosophical than on the fictional. Therefore, we can say that an absolutely sane story that has an undercurrent of irrationality can be considered absurd. In order to decide if a text is absurd, in short, it is enough to analyze the reflection that the text offers: if it is contradictory or even ridiculous, then we cannot have doubts about it.