posted
I believe that Sisyphus believed, everytime, that he was going to make it up the hill, and because of Sisyphus' belief, at the time of the action, his labors were not meaningless. You can argue that his travail was feckless. But still, since we talk about the myth today, it doesn't seem that Sisyphus' belief or actions were without effect.
Posts: 5600 | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
The myth of Sisyphus does not, for me, fully address the question of whether people are perfectable. What if, finally, Sissy really did manage to complete the task and get that rock up the hill? Does that mean that he has perfected himself? He has no other tasks to complete, nothing else he can do? And how, for that matter, did parking the rock at the top of the hill help anything, anyway?
How could Sis improve his lot? By abandoning his pointless task and engaging in something productive. I mean, you can't blame him enitrely for his plight, the Olympus crowd being so moody and snitty and all, but I certainly wouldn't take him as a role model.
I tend not to base my world view and philosophy on a bunch of Greek myths, anyway. That theology and world view is certainly not my own. I believe that we lead meaningful lives through our deeds. By doing the right thing, as much as possible, we improve the sum total of good in the world. And that has meaning.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
