ABSTRACT
While Albert Camus and Thomas Nagel are among the most noted for their views of the absurd, Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialist understanding of self-consciousness and its consequence on identity give the strongest justification for absurdism. A definition of the absurd is given that Camus, Nagel, and Sartre can all accept, but then I argue that Camus’ support for the absurd is inadequate, Nagel’s support is weak, and Sartre’s support is just the kind needed to keep us firmly sitting in the paradox of our existence. In addition, while Sartre’s philosophy will not erase the uncanny feeling of the absurd, I suggest that there is a healthy way to respond to it.
