Absurdism
Absurdism, as articulated by Albert Camus, holds that human beings are driven by a deep need for meaning, clarity, and purpose, yet inhabit a universe that offers none — a conflict Camus calls "the absurd." The appropriate response is neither suicide nor a leap of faith but revolt: living fully in the face of meaninglessness. Other people share the absurd condition, though each confronts it alone.
I. Time
| Extent | Finite |
| Ontological Status | Emergent |
| Grain | Continuous |
| Freedom | Non-Deterministic |
| Traversability | Linear |
| Dimensionality | One |
| Direction | Uni-directional |
Time is emergent and finite — it is the medium of human mortality and the horizon against which the absurd becomes visible. Time flows continuously and linearly toward death, the ultimate absurdity. Each unrepeatable moment is an occasion for revolt against meaninglessness. The absurdist does not seek to transcend time but to live fully within its relentless, indifferent passage.
II. Space
| Extent | Finite |
| Ontological Status | Emergent |
| Curvature | Flat |
| Dimensionality | Three |
| Locality | Local |
Space is emergent and finite — it is the concrete, indifferent setting in which the absurd individual acts. Space is flat, local, and three-dimensional: the ordinary physical world that offers no metaphysical consolation. The absurdist inhabits space without expecting it to yield meaning or purpose.
III. Matter
| Extent | Finite |
| Ontological Status | Emergent |
| Conservation | Conserved |
| Dimensionality | Three |
| Locality | Local |
Matter is emergent and finite — it is the brute, meaningless stuff of a universe indifferent to human concerns. Matter is conserved and local: the physical world persists regardless of human meaning-making. The absurdist accepts matter as factually real while denying it any inherent significance.
IV. Observer
| Time Instance | Single |
| Space Instance | Single |
| Extent of Knowledge | Immediate |
| Retainment of Knowledge | Immediate |
| Physicality | Embodied |
| Agency | Active |
| Number | Plural |
V. Energy
Energy is emergent and finite — it is a physical quantity in an indifferent universe. Conservation holds as a natural regularity without metaphysical significance. Dispersibility is irreversible, mirroring the absurdist's acceptance that existence winds down toward heat death without purpose.
VI. Information
The universe is informationally opaque — whatever information it contains is not organized for human comprehension. The meanings humans create are fragile, absurd, and doomed to dissolution.