{"product_id":"metaphysics-and-absurdity-9780761860235","title":"Metaphysics and Absurdity","description":"The central concern of absurdist writers is the metaphysical distancing of word and object, thought and reality, essence and existence. In this book, Blocker argues that the literary problem of absurdity is basically a metaphysical problem of being, focusing on the metaphysical distinction of being as essence and being as existence. Each of the four central chapters of the book compares philosophical prose with the fiction writing of four major absurdist writers--Camus, Sartre, Ionesco, and Beckett. The book contrasts what Ionesco described as the \"heavy\" and \"light\" aspects of absurdity. This opposition is parallel to the contrast between the negative, pessimistic reading of Western writers--with their emphasis on \"existence\"--and the positive, optimistic view of Eastern, especially Buddhist authors, with their emphasis on \"essence.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e H. Gene Blocker\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of America\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/16\/2012\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 212\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.57lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.20h x 6.00w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780761860235\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRevised Edition\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"University Press of America","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46761349349513,"sku":"9780761860235","price":48.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_b7cd7d74-3acb-4029-ac3f-5340e94ec29f.jpg?v=1779166428","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/metaphysics-and-absurdity-9780761860235","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}