Our Journey to Pursue the Meaning of Life
In the fast-paced world we inhabit, it can be difficult to find meaning in our day-to-day trivial life. Have you ever felt that your monotonous menial routines were meaningless? Does life itself seem to be trivial? Are you comfortable with living in simplicity or do you wish to search for a purpose? Questions on the meaning of life have existed since the time of antiquity. For decades, many great philosophers and thinkers have pondered on this question, two of which were Nietzsche and Camus. In order to explore and apply the ideas of these philosophers further, it would be beneficial to apply their theories and concepts to the film Groundhog Day. The main character of this film, Phil, can be connected in many ways to the absurd hero, Sisyphus, who spent the majority of his existence attempting to complete an incompletable task. This mirrors Phil’s predicament, as he begins to relive Groundhog Day countless times where each day seemingly possesses no meaning. This film not only observes Nietzsche’s idea of eternal recurrence and Camus’ on the absurdity of life, but also advocates that human life is intrinsically valuable and should not be reduced to having instrumental value. Throughout the film, Phil battles with this concept as he goes from the high of receiving monetary gain from his actions to ultimately realizing that for him the intrinsic value of love is what gives his life meaning, which can help many individuals understand Sisyphus’ reasoning to continue his meaningless existence.
Sisyphus, punished by Zeus for his hubris, was forced to roll an immense boulder endlessly up a hill. This lead many, especially Camus, to asses that life is absurd but, may still possess meaning. The repetition and immortality that both Sisyphus and Phil endure contributes to this conclusion made by Camus as he states, “His [Sisyphus’] fate belongs to him. His rock is his thing. Likewise, the absurd man, when he contemplates his torment silences all the idols … The absurd man says yes and his effort will be henceforth be unceasing” (Camus 544). This menial task given to Sisyphus is essentially his “thing”, meaning for him it gives him a sense of purpose in his seemingly meaningless existence. However, Camus’ justification for the happiness of Sisyphus is faulty and problematic, as shown through Phil’s search for meaning. Sisyphus and Phil are both in control of their faith by choosing what gives them meaning in their lives, but Sisyphus lacks as much independence and freedom as Phil, therefore he is unable to achieve happiness. The absurd man, like Sisyphus and Phil, chooses to live a “meaningless” life by finding purpose that does not matter from a cosmic level. The worlds of both Sisyphus and Phil are extremely small, like our own. In short, the size of one’s world is relative but, should not matter when it comes to the meaning of life. Their meaning lies in their own personal existence. Their exercise of free will, or the limits of it, rather show that with this bounded freedom one can find purpose. Phil and Sisyphus choose to live their “meaningless” existences in order to search for purpose. The repetition of tasks and days is critical in order for Sisyphus and Phil to establish some sort of purpose in their existence. This Nietzschean idea of eternal recurrence is especially prominent in Groundhog Day.
In Nietzsche’s conception of eternal recurrence the individual has no memory of his previous lives. However, this is not prevalent to Phil’s position as he recalls each day perfectly. Nietzsche’s concept does apply to those whom he shares this eternal recurrence as they have no recollection of the repeating days. This means that Phil, unlike his counterparts, does not deal with the hypothetical notion that Nietzsche establishes. Instead, he is aware and conscious of what is occurring much like the absurd man’s awareness of the triviality of life. In an article from Michael Faust, he reviews Nietzsche’s ideals in correlation to Groundhog Day. He states:
So whereas in Nietzsche’s scheme every reborn world is an exact replica of the previous, in Groundhog Day each is an imperfect copy, a simulacrum. In postmodernist thought … simulacra eventually cease to resemble what they were originally a copy of: so much so that they become freestanding entities without identifiable originals. In a way, Groundhog Day traces the journey of a simulacrum. In the end, Connors’ day has become so far removed from the original day that it has turned into something else. Connors doesn’t return to ‘normality’, but has reached that mysterious transition point where the simulacrum has achieved independence from its creator. (Faust 1)
Phil Connors, in his journey through the same Groundhog Day, becomes a simulacrum of himself. Phil mirrors the day he endures and ultimately becomes a freestanding entity that ceases to resemble his original self. Groundhog Day becomes very different from its original meaning because by the end of the film, the transformed Phil begins to embrace the transformed version of Groundhog Day. Phil cannot return to “normalcy” because his predicament has changed him forever. This eternal recurrence he endures encourages him to find meaning in his life and abandon his resentment against time. This, however, only occurs when Phil contemplates his situation and existence as he circulates through the five stages of grief or Kubler-Ross Model.
Objection is removed for Phil in his narrative and he is capable of changing. He has free will and is able to choose how he wants to react to this situation he inhabits. At first, Phil has a very difficult time coming to terms with his situation, much like many thinkers may when questioning if their life has meaning. This question of, “Is there meaning in life?” can cause great distress and grief to many who are aware of the gravity of this question. For example, Phil begins to become conscious of his existence as he begins to relive the same day over and over again, which symbolizes how many individuals live their lives doing the same tasks every day. This awareness causes him to be thrown into a state of grief, much like the one many individuals endure that begin to question whether their life possesses meaning or not. Thus first stage being denial as he is shocked by his predicament, then anger and bargaining as he acts violently without consequences and attempts to rationalize the world around him. Afterwards, he experiences depression and believes that there may be no way out of his trivial and “pointless” existence. In response to this, he attempts suicide multiple times. This stage in particular is pertinent to both the movie and Camus’ argument for the absurdity of life.
Camus, in his thinking, never advocated for suicide. Instead, he posed the question of why it occurred in relation to life and its purpose. Due to the relation between the meaning of life or lack thereof and suicide, it is important to analyze Phil’s suicides in relation to Camus. He states:
The truth was not worth the stake. Whether the earth or the sun revolves around the other is a matter of profound indifference. To tell the truth, it is a futile question. On the other hand, I see many people die because they judge that life is not worth living. I see others paradoxically getting killed for the ideas or illusions that give them a reason for living… I therefore conclude that the meaning of life is the most urgent of questions. (Camus 540)
Phil, like Camus observes, chooses death because he has used his free will to judge that life is not worth living to him. Without purpose and the possibility of purpose being withdraw, many individuals feel that life is not worth living and resort to suicide. In becoming conscious or aware of our meaninglessness, there are two options that Camus believes will resort. These options being suicide or recovery that follows the weariness one may experience with day to day life. Phil has the option to explore both of these outcomes mentioned by Camus. Upon realizing that suicide will not change his predicament or further his search for meaning, he attempts to learn from the absurdity of life. Camus believes that the absurdity of life may teach that all experiences are unimportant and it may also urge others towards the greatest quantity of experiences. Phil takes this latter portion of Camus’ concept and uses it to his advantage and he accepts the circumstances he receives.
Phil has many options in his search for the meaning of life provided his circumstances. He has the options of going insane in attempting to find a clear answer, being in a state of distress because of it or accept his fate and make the most of his existence. He ultimately chooses to accept fate and embraces Camus’ reasoning which states, “But again it is the absurd and its contradictory life that teaches us. For the mistake is thinking that that quantity of experiences depends on the circumstances of our life when it depends solely on us” (Camus 542). As individuals, it is up to us to dictate what will give us meaning in our lives. For Phil, he like many individuals, struggled to find meaning in his mundane existence and at first based his happiness on that of instrumental values. He often spends his time in search of monetary gains, for example, he steals money and indulges in sexual pleasure. While he may enjoy this briefly, this temporary happiness does not give Phil the meaning he craves for in his life.
Phil’s understanding that these instrumental values will bring him fulfillment and happiness is due to the fact that society and everyday life places an importance on these things. Instrumental values are only valuable because we place value on them. Typically, in order obtain something that is intrinsically valuable, using items that are instrumentally valuable will help us obtain anything with intrinsic value. In a way, Phil shows throughout this first portion of the film that many people place the meaning of life on items that are instrumentally valuable. He embodies this by first seeking material items and surface-level pleasures to establish some sort of meaning in his life. It is in these temporary comforts that Phil begins to see that he craves something more than this. However, as the film progresses he realizes that the meaning of life is intrinsically valuable. He begins seeking knowledge and love in order to create meaning in his meaningless existence. He begins to educate himself in many new fields such as medicine and music. Once he begins doing so, he realizes the foolishness of his past behavior and begins to change as a person. He becomes less resentful and superficial as he begins to help others in the town he originally despised.
His self-awareness did not ultimately force him into a state of distress but, it allowed him to create his own meaning for life that was based solely on his own experiences. This aligns with Nietzsche’s view on the importance of wisdom and knowledge that Phil expresses. He states, “What does it mean to us today to live philosophically, to be wise?... And someone who lives in that remote and simple way: it is likely that this has let him show his understanding the best way forward? Ought he not to have tried out life personally in a hundred ways, so as to have something to say about its value?” (Nietzsche 20). While it is impossible to live through the hundreds of lives that Phil endures, it is important to note that with education and wisdom comes value. While one cannot halt the aging process ourselves like Phil has, his ongoing growth throughout the movie however, mirrors our own aging process. This aging process we endure models Phil’s path of discovery throughout the movie as he continually grows and learns from his mistakes. It is difficult, however, to even claim the value of life even if we have seemingly lived through it a hundred times. Nietzsche argues here that no matter how many experiences one may have, an individual cannot answer the question, “What is the value in living?”. This question can only be answered by what is intrinsically valuable to the individual. For Phil, this meaning in life came from the love he shares with others and the self-love he now feels. Once he realized the importance of these intrinsic values, he was capable of moving forward in his life and no longer trapped by the question of, “What is the meaning of life?”. Phil understands what gives his life meaning but, Groundhog Day forces the audience to think about what makes life meaningful.
This idea of searching for our own meaning in life is rather subjective. With this in mind, life can be meaningful without the supernatural or objective reality if individuals are capable of giving meaning to their lives. While many subjectivists believe that meaning is relative to merely the desires, attitudes, interests and wants of the individual, Groundhog Dog argues that while it can be subjective, the most meaning occurs from intrinsic values. This also alludes to the idea that, on a cosmic level, our lives do not matter. The question itself, “What is the meaning of life?” in general is problematic. In knowing that every individual human being is different and shares different beliefs or experiences, it is impossible for there to be one universal truth or answer to what the meaning of life is. However, there are steps individuals can take in order to have maximal “meaning” in their lives such as, setting goals, cultivating healthy relationships, achieving moral goodness, and being our true authentic selves. It is in an individual’s pursuit of purpose in the world that motivates them to find meaning. This was the case for both Sisyphus and Phil. Sisyphus found purpose in his punishment of rolling the stone perpetually up the hill because this action gave his life meaning, therefore, he was able to keep existing and not falter in his will to live. While the task may be trivial and meaningless, Sisyphus created meaning and purpose from it. As Camus states:
I leave Sisyphus at the foot of the mountain! One always finds one’s burden again. But Sisyphus teaches that higher fidelity that negates the gods and raises rocks. He too concludes that all is well. This universe henceforth without a master seems to him neither sterile nor futile. Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night-filled mountain, in itself forms a world. The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. (Camus 545)
This shows that for Sisyphus, his meaning for life is not futile or free whether a master exists or not. For Sisyphus, his meaning comes from the stone he carries and his relation to it. This applies to Phil as well because though nothing matters in the day he repeats, Phil actively searches for meaning in order to keep living and finds it in the intrinsic values he pursues. It is only when he discovers his unique meaning to life through love that he is able to break free of monotony and continue his existence as a changed man. This is where Sisyphus and Phil differ however. In regards to Phil’s exercise of individual freedom and free will in his pursuit of knowledge and his relations with others, it can be argued that because Sisyphus lacks these essential freedoms that he is not genuinely happy. Camus’ claim that Sisyphus’ life is fulfilled due to his relation with the stone and the meaning it gives him is futile because Sisyphus is unable to fulfill his individual nature. He cannot exercise his freedom like Phil or enrich his mind, instead, he must be forced to find meaning in this trivial and endless task of pushing the stone. Sisyphus’ and Phil’s pursuit for the meaning of life differ drastically, in both cases it seems that only Phil finds true happiness through his freedom and capability of growth.
While there may never be a clear answer to the question, “What is the meaning of life?” that is universal, Nietzsche and Camus’ concepts applied to Groundhog Day offers one answer to this question. Phil’s quest to find this meaning not only represents his own personal struggles on the topic but, reflects the feelings of many individual who struggle to find meaning in their lives. As humans and thinking beings, it becomes clear that once we are conscious of this issue it has the ability to haunt every aspect of our thinking because of the mystery and importance it holds. While the opinion of the majority cannot merely be summarized by the claims of few, it can be argued that Groundhog Day uncovers one subjective meaning on this topic though it continues to remain ambiguous. This film reflects on the tale of Sisyphus and alludes to his attitude on the meaning of life and the purpose he feels in continuing to partake in meaningless tasks for eternity. This behavior is mirrored in Phil as he holds the same fate. Phil, however, is capable of exploring more of what he believes to be the meaning of life. At first he, like many individuals, correlates instrumental values with happiness in order to feel a temporary pleasure. He discovers shortly though that these values are not enough to account for the meaning of life. Instead, he turns to intrinsic values such as love that ultimately give him a purpose in life where he is able to accept his predicament and continue to find purpose in living.
Works Cited
Camus, Albert. “Life Is Absurd.” The Moral Life: An Introductory Reader in Ethics and Literature , edited by Louis P Pojman and Lewis Vaughn, 6th ed., Oxford University Press, 2017, pp. 539–545.
Faust, Michael. “Groundhog Day.” Philosophy Now: a Magazine of Ideas, Philosophy Now, 2012, philosophynow.org/issues/93/Groundhog_Day.
Nietzsche, Friedrich, and Kate Sturge. “Notebook 35, May-July 1885.” Nietzsche: Writings from the Late Notebooks, edited by Rudiger Bittner, Cambridge University Press, 2003, pp. 19–21.
Ramis, Harold, et al. Groundhog Day. Columbia Pictures, 1993.
