荒诞源于人对意义的追问Absurdity Arises from Men’s Hunt for Meaning

陈行之

加缪在《西西弗的神话》中表述了这样一个观点：荒诞之所以产生，是因为世界未能满足我们对意义的要求。这个表述精准地表述了人类的某种精神处境，然而它同时还会使人以为，世界如果不是出现在我们眼前的这个样子，而是呈现出另一种可爱得多的品貌，那么它是有可能满足我们那些要求的，于是人们就产生出了强烈的改造世界的冲动，试图使世界至少在我们的生存领域3变得不那么难于忍受，甚或达到某种理想的恬适状态。所有的社会革命、群体冲突、个人事件都是在这种情况下发生的。

不能说加缪的论断有什么问题，世界的确远非我们想象的那样完美，无论在政治、经济与文化领域，还是在琐碎的日常生活里，我们的确经常陷入到种种难于解脱的人生困局当中。我们当然想改变这种状况，为了追求完美和幸福，我们做过很多的努力，我们几乎精疲力竭了4。然而我们能不能据此就把荒诞全部解释为由于世界与个体的紧张关系才导致出现一系列人生困局的唯一缘由呢？我认为不能，我们不能这样解释，这样的解释是肤浅的、不全面的，如果仔细读过《西西弗的神话》，你会发现，作为哲学家的加缪的本意也并不在这里。

是的，我们的确做过很大努力来消解荒诞，譬如選择一项为之献身的事业，为某一部分人群或者某一个人担负起道义的责任，在推动社会进步中确认自我的价值6，等等。即便是这样，在某些瞬间，我们仍然会感觉到荒诞的存在，它就在那里——掩藏在一国最高会议的庄严帷幕后边，跳跃在亲朋好友开怀畅饮的杯盏之间，甚至在海枯石烂的爱情表白中，也可以看到它俏皮地跳来跳去;在令人敬仰的利他主义行为深处，我们也能够看到它匆忙的身影;它就在我们目力所及的地方，用略带讥诮的眼神看着我们，意思是说：“我全知道，我全都知道了。”这时候我们往往会觉得虚弱不堪，觉得所有有形的东西都在消解为无形，世间万物——一切有形的东西——都在离我而去，荒诞甚至会解构支撑我们站立的历史感和庄严感，让我们看到滑稽，看到虚无，让我们在空虚与无聊中感觉到脚下的土地正在松动……这又是为什么呢？

我的见解是：荒诞早在人性诞生之际就随之产生了，因为具有精神形态的人（恰恰是这一点把他从动物界分离出来了）的存在方式，是一种用意义维系的方式，非如此他将不在。荒诞既是人性之因，又是人性之果。人类之所以无论做怎样的努力都难以摆脱和战胜荒诞，就是因为它深深地扎根于我们的灵魂世界，它与我们须臾不可相离。它简直就是我们自身，战胜了它，我们自身仿佛也就不存在了。换一句话说，在我们对意义的求索中，我们的对象不仅仅是世界，更是我们自己，是隐藏在沉重肉身里面的那个被称之为灵魂的东西。我们所有的纠结，所有的困窘，所有的惶惑，都源自我们敏感的心灵对意义的追索，正是这个东西造成了我们灵魂世界的动荡不安。

所以，与其把荒诞解释成为我们与世界的冲突，毋宁解释为我们内心的冲突;荒诞不仅仅是世界的特征，更是我们灵魂的特征。如果对其做动态表述，那么我们可以认为：它无休无止，无始无终，它就像是一条烟波浩渺的江河，我们只能徒然地被它裹挟着前行，我们根本不知道我们最终要到达什么地方。这对谁都一样。

Absurdity results when the world fails to satisfy our thirst for meaning， said Albert Camus in his collection of philosophical essays， Le Mythe de Sisyphe. This statement reflects a spiritual plight of humankind as a whole. However， it also prompts us to think that， if the world were not like this but instead presented a far more enchanting scenario， it might have met that demand of ours. Hence our strong， inner urge to reform the world—an attempt to make the immediate circumstances of our life more tolerable or even somewhat lyrically pleasant. Social revolutions， factional conflicts， or incidents involving one individual or another， all happen under such conditions.

What Camus said is hardly refutable： the world does fall below our expectations. Whether in the political， economic or cultural field， or when dealing with trivialities of everyday life， we do encounter many a thorny problem. Of course， we want to improve this state of affairs. To attain perfection and happiness， we have struggled to the point of exhausting ourselves. But can we thus attribute absurdity， namely that whole series of troubles forced onto us by life itself5， only to the tension between the world and individuals therein？ Probably not， for such an explanation is shallow and incomplete. A closer reading of Le Mythe de Sisyph would reveal that Camus the philosopher cannot have meant only this.

True， we have tried to wipe out absurdity altogether. For example， we may have devoted ourselves to a worthy cause， working selflessly for the good of one or many fellow humans， or proving one’s personal worth in promoting social progress. Even so， we are on occasion still gripped with a sense of absurdity. It is right there， hidden behind the majestic curtains shielding a country’s highest-profile meeting， lurking among clinking glasses at a friends’ gathering， or even popping up when vows of undying love are being exchanged. We can see its sneaky form beyond the façade of an “admirably altruistic” act; it is within our sight， looking half-mockingly at us as if to say， “I knew. I knew it all.” At such moments， we might feel weak and helpless， believing that all apparently existent things are being reduced to naught， forever falling away from us. Absurdity even goes so far as to shatter that sense of history and sublimity that used to hold us together. It makes us see the ludicrousness and emptiness in everything and feel the solid earth under our feet giving way…. But why has all this happened？

My belief is that absurdity was born at the dawn of humanity， for spiritual being， which alone lifts man from beast-hood， is a form of existence sustained by meaning. Otherwise， he will simply cease to exist. Absurdity is both the cause and effect of humanity. Man hardly has a chance of getting rid of or prevailing over absurdity， because it is deep-rooted in his spiritual world， not for an instant separable from him. It has become part of him. To defeat it is to render him irrelevant7. In other words， in his quest for meaning， man grapples not only with the external world but with himself as well. Here， the word “himself” refers to that heavy body of flesh trapped inside what is known as “the soul.” All his perplexities， fears and pain stem from his sensitive， inner self’s search for meaning. This leaves his spiritual world in a perpetually turbulent8 state.

So， absurdity should not be interpreted simply as our conflict with the outer world; it is， rather， a war raging deep within9. Absurdity is not only a distinguishing feature of the world; it is also the essence of our souls. If described more vividly， absurdity resembles an ever-flowing river， misty and mystical10， without a beginning or an end. We can only let it carry us along， not knowing where we are heading for. This is true for everybody.