1 The point of any living things life is, evidently, nothing but life itself, says Richard Taylor.

By comparing The Myth of Sisyphus, an essay written by Albert Camus, to the life of non-human biological animals, Taylor explains what his conclusion is to the meaning of life and how he arrives there. Camus idea of the meaning of life is comparable to Taylors on logical terms as well as psychological. According to Richard Taylor, the very purpose for human existence can directly relate with that of the non-human biological world. Taylor relates non-human biological creatures to The Myth of Sisyphus; a philosophical essay written by Albert Camus (Klemke 2007) In this essay, Albert explains the myth in terms of having a meaningless existence. Sisyphus was sentenced by the Gods to roll a stone to the top of a hill, where it would immediately roll back down, again to be pushed back to the top. (Klemke 2007) This repetitive task is meaningless; nothing comes out of what he is doing, except simply more of the same. The enormous amount of effort he puts into rolling the stone uphill to the top, all to see it roll back down is without any meaning. This goes on forever and his sole existence is never redeemed. Taylor remarks that this punishment was a pointless toil of a meaningless existence. Death was not granted to Sisyphus, for it would bring this on-going cycle to a stop. Taylor relates the concept of having a meaningless existence in The Myth of Sisyphus to the non-human biological world. He compares the worm that lives in the dark caves of New Zealand that attracts insects from its surroundings with its luminous tail. Just like Sisyphus rolls the stone up the hill just to watch it fall back down, the worm waits for its prey and captures it with its sticky thread. (Klemke 2007) This goes on for as long as the worm lives, but it is lucky enough to be granted death, whereas Sisyphus is not. Even when these Larvas grow into adults, they dont have mouths to feed from and only survive a handful of days. Or when they have mated and laid eggs, they get caught in their own sticky

2 thread and die. They work so hard to trap their prey and fledge into adults to accomplish what? The cycle of the same events is also compared with Larva of a certain cicada, which resides in darkness for approximately seventeen years, until they finally come out in daylight for a brief period of time to lay their eggs and die. (Klemke 2007) Taylor also adds that birds circle half the globe every year and return to their origins to ensure that others follow the same path. This ongoing repetitive cycle comes in the form of life and is granted to every living thing. Every living species is born, they reproduce and die. The lack of meaning in their life can be directly related to the lack of meaning Sisyphus life had. (Klemke 2007) The point of any living things life is, evidently, nothing but life itself. That is Taylors solution to the meaning of life. (Klemke 2007) In regards to The Myth of Sisyphus, Taylor suggested that if Sisyphus really believed that his enormous labor and great struggle had some sort of significance to himself, then his life did hold meaning, for him at least. Sisyphus was content with his task of rolling a stone up a hill forever, and since he had accepted his fate, so his life had meaning for him. This applies to us humans alike. Things that hold significance to humans are the goals that we want to accomplish. Taylor pointed out that we work hard to achieve the goal we set and once its achieved we move on to our next goal. Most of our efforts and hard work are put into work and raising a family and kids. Taylor concludes that therefore everyones life resembles that of Sisyphus life. Our life reflects on one of Sisyphus climb to the top, and each day as every step. Camus solution is similar to that of Taylors. He claims that much of our lives are built for a tomorrow, but gradually we are heading towards death. Camus refers to the myth of Sisyphus by implying that this myth is a representation of our lives today. We are swamped with endless tasks to complete and get by day by day, but death has to come sooner or later. (Klemke

3 2007) We lead a mechanical life and this will eventually cause us to wonder why we do what we do. Why we choose to go after these goals, only to go after new ones later. Why we reproduce only to see our children live the same life we did and eventually die. Our drive is the money, only to feed the family and pay the bills. This, according to Camus is useless and without meaning. This lead to Camus solution to the meaning of life, which was that life, is meaningless and that it is absurd. (Klemke 2007) Camus also explains that we should despise God, or whoever created us for placing us in this universe with full knowledge and consciousness that our lives would be meaningless. I believe that Taylors perception and his solution to the meaning of life is logical. In connection to The Myth of Sisyphus, it makes sense when he claims that one of Sisyphus climb to the summit is our life and the steps that he takes are our days. We consume ourselves with work, tasks, raising and taking care of a family. We work to get money and to pay our taxes, feed our children, etc. Who hasnt gotten happy on a payday? We feel good and accomplished knowing that we worked hard for that money and we are essentially either providing for ourselves or for our family. Our jobs, whether were an engineer, lawyer, or doctor, we are still helping people and contributing to the good and wellness of human existence itself. Personally I would feel very content with myself if I knew that I helped better someones life, or I contributed to making someone happier. Even providing care for our families is enough to make us feel accomplished now days. Although we struggle through our journey in life, as Sisyphus did in rolling the stone to the summit, if we believe that what we are aiming for is worth it then our life essentially does have meaning. This applies to all humans alike. Take an undergraduate student for example. First working hard to get into university, then working hard and spending countless hours studying for dozens of exams throughout four years just to get an undergraduate degree.

4 Like a piece of paper will really tell you what you are worth. Then applying to graduate school or going out in the real world and trying to find a decent job. Applying so much effort because we believe that the outcome will be rewarding and in our favor. Psychologically, I believe that humans are not capable of not wanting self-satisfaction. I believe that everyone wants to strive to do their absolute best and reward him or herself. In terms of Taylors conclusion to the meaning of life, we mentally think that our goals and what we strive for will better us, or our lifestyle somehow. This is important because if we believe that what we are doing is significant and enjoy ourselves, then our life has meaning. In conclusion, the way that Taylor remarks that the meaning of life is nothing but life itself with comparison to The Myth of Sisyphus and the non-human biological world is more fitting, logically and psychologically.

cReferences Klemke, E. D. (2007). The meaning of life (3nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.