A Sisyphean Irasshaimase in the Middle of Japanese Konbini
Keiko Furukura’s Existence Between Authenticity and Absurd
Keywords:
Comparative Philosophy, Existentialism, Japanese Thought, Literary Criticism, NovelAbstract
In existentialist philosophy, especially in names like Kierkegaard, Camus, Sartre, Heidegger and Jaspers, the problem of inherent meaninglessness of existence and notion of authenticity are related to each other. This relation is generally constructed through the awareness of the human condition of being thrown into the meaningless world (geworfenheit). Being conscious about the phenomenological difference between human (as the element which can create meanings and values by itself) and world (as the element without any meaning by itself) is being conscious about the absurd this is the source of the possibility of authenticity. Without being aware of the absurd, one can’t even begin to be authentic. Even though the relation between absurd and authenticity is obviously there, its phenomenological layers are not examined enough in a way that uncovers this relation’s different variations occurring in experience. In this article, we will focus on, through a literary criticism, the main character of a novel. First, we aimed to set a questioning environment with a short recap of how Camus thought of the absurd through an interpretation of the myth of Sisyphus. Then with grounding our investigation in this existential sense of absurd, we explored the relation between authenticity and absurd [...]
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