Recommended books for finding a purpose in life without God?

unironically nietzsche

Ethics of Ambiguity - Simone de Beauvoir

The Myth of Sisyphus explores man's futile search for meaning and if he should just kill himself since its all so absurd. He compares life to Sisyphus who was doomed to drag a boulder up a mountain for the rest of time only to have it roll back to the bottom.

In the last chapter, Camus outlines the legend of Sisyphus who defied the gods and put Death in chains so that no human needed to die. When Death was eventually liberated and it came time for Sisyphus himself to die, he concocted a deceit which let him escape from the underworld. Finally captured, the gods decided on his punishment for all eternity. He would have to push a rock up a mountain; upon reaching the top, the rock would roll down again, leaving Sisyphus to start over. Camus sees Sisyphus as the absurd hero who lives life to the fullest, hates death, and is condemned to a meaningless task.

Camus is interested in Sisyphus' thoughts when marching down the mountain, to start anew. After the stone falls back down the mountain Camus states that "It is during that return, that pause, that Sisyphus interests me. A face that toils so close to stones is already stone itself! I see that man going back down with a heavy yet measured step toward the torment of which he will never know the end." This is the truly tragic moment, when the hero becomes conscious of his wretched condition. He does not have hope, but "there is no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn." Acknowledging the truth will conquer it; Sisyphus, just like the absurd man, keeps pushing. Camus claims that when Sisyphus acknowledges the futility of his task and the certainty of his fate, he is freed to realize the absurdity of his situation and to reach a state of contented acceptance. With a nod to the similarly cursed Greek hero Oedipus, Camus concludes that "all is well," indeed, that "one must imagine Sisyphus happy."
Anyway don't be like Camus. Life in itself is meaningful. I suggest studying the Stoics, like epictetus, Seneca or Marcus Aurelius.

Also I'm reminded by a story of the cynic Diogenes. Diogenes lived in a old shitty barrel on the side of the road and wore rags. He was a famous philosopher none the less and peaople came from far to see him. Well one day ALexander the great came to him and thanked him for all his insights. He asked diogenes that if he wanted anything in the world that Alexander could do for him it was his, So diogenes asked if he would move because he was blocking his sunlight.

Peace Corps volunteer

Isn't that pic fucking marvelous?

I came here to post this

Existentialism is a Humanism. Get what you can from it and then move on to Sartre's more serious works; EiaH is basically an inaccurate primer. It's like what the Communist Manifesto is to the other works of Marx and Engels. Then move on to Beauvoir's Ethics of Ambiguity.
Then once you're done with that. I assume that by this time you will have read quite a bit of other philosophy in order to prepare yourself for the slog through Sartre's ontology. You have probably read most Socratic dialogues and are familiar with Kant at least on an elementary level.
After all this you'll wanna loop back on the Existentialism timeline to Kierkegaard and dialectically consider with his arguments for religious faith.
Then, after paltry satisfaction with the above listed process, you're gonna wanna move to Mount Athos, live the hermit life, learn the prayer of St. Nilus to cultivate divine austerity and asceticism.
If you don't see a divine apparition of light, are not struck blind like Paul on the road to Damascus, you might already be equipped to tell us something about the mystical experience or lack thereof, thereafter equipping yourself with the tools to winnow out the rest of the lit.

alcohol.
you're welcome

I can say with absolute certainty that you don't actually care. People who care have already found an answer.

You are god, nothing in your life happens without you.

Spinoza, Nietzsche, Deleuze...

There isn't one. If I didn't believe in God I would commit welfare fraud and fuck as many broads as possible.

Take the Leap of Faith user, the grass is legitimately greener on this side. If you believe in God you will come to know him more fully.

Well, he addressed the op and didn't call him a faggot so it'd say it's possible he has altruistic intent.

This but read The Stranger first

>Take the Leap of Faith user, the grass is legitimately greener on this side. If you believe in God you will come to know him more fully.
Not OP but I am legitimately incable of believing is god, I could read all of the religious texts in the world and not believe in any of them.
I do recognize the possibility of their being a being higher than us that possibly created us but the likelihood of any religion on earth being "correct" seems fucking stupid to me.
Of course, I can still learn things from religion when it comes to values and the like but I was forced into church at a young age and the people around me are Christian.
Unless God wants to come down to me personally and slap me in the face with his holy cock, I'm not believing, Me having a few drug trips where I think I am speaking to god hasn't convinced me either, It just reinforces my belief that in life, the only person I should consider god is myself

>the only person I should consider god is myself
You don't even know what "myself" is.

The Truth is out there. God is always waiting for you. I reassure my faith by looking at the art and literature of past Christians. They labored away for these masterpieces, so it must be real. God also does amazing things that I never notice for my family and I am eternally grateful. Just keep asking Him to come in and He will.

Rick and Morty

The Ego and Its Own by Max Stirner. Just be your own god.

So THIS is the power of freshman year....

The Truth is out there. Allah is always waiting for you. I reassure my faith by looking at the art and literature of past Muslims. They labored away for these masterpieces, so it must be real. Allah also does amazing things that I never notice for my family and I am eternally grateful. Just keep asking Him to come in and He will.

print out the Shrek script and read it

You can't believe in God if you're religious.

just read escapist fantasy and sci fi

This.

Then maps of meaning.

>>>reddit

There's no such book; read Catholicism edited by George Brantl. It's a collection of Catholic writings explaining the faith along with commentary by Brantl. It's a great book. You can find it on Amazon bud.

accept that there is none or kill yourself now

>life is absurd because it has no meaning
>lol jk if you realize life is meaningless, it suddenly magically becomes meaningful

camus is a fucking meme for angsty teenagers

stop

sorry man, but you're clinically retarded.

Sorry to burst your bubble buddy; I just want to free you from your chains of face value

"If we said what we felt, we should say, 'So you are the Creator and Redeemer of the world: but what a small world it must be! What a little heaven you must inhabit, with angels no bigger than butterflies! How sad it must be to be God; and an inadequate God! Is there really no life fuller and no love more marvellous than yours; and is it really in your small and painful pity that all flesh must put its faith? How much happier you would be, how much more of you there would be, if the hammer of a higher God could smash your small cosmos, scattering the stars like spangles, and leave you in the open, free like other men to look up as well as down!'" (Orthodoxy, The Maniac, 4)

Sorry try again!

Study hinduism OP, it's the based religion.

retarded:
not believing in *insert religion here* based generally on indoctrination and geography. Disregarding the fact that there is no evidence for *insert religion here* and hence taking a leap of faith

yes, yes i see, he is the retarded one

Is there a special secluded place we can let you guys just roam free

>I do recognize the possibility of their being a being higher than us that possibly created us but the likelihood of any religion on earth being "correct" seems fucking stupid to me.
>the only person I should consider god is myself
you're both cringelords

Man, I try not to like Chesterton because of the way some turn him into a quote machine, but that is devastating.

when you essentially have no argument besides
>plebbit
>bait
>ad hominem
that's when you get a sticker

and
>the only person I should consider god is myself
is relevant to pantheism and was espoused by many great thinkers - spinoza, watts, einstein (or cringelords as you call them) as well as being a major element to the hindu faith

I know what you mean buddy. I hope the bigger chunk of Orthodoxy was more satisfying

Thus Spoke Zarathustra

It's a pathetic attempt but the best out there

Your options are:

>Find that there is innate purpose in life and pursue it
>Find that you can make meaning and pursue desire/power

>literally the give up and wallow in it option

you're evidently not a serious thinker, so you won't get serious arguments.

My consciousness? I don't have to completely understand what I am to believe that it is my "god". It makes my decisions and ultimately rules over my life. But with this thought, I am the god of myself and others are their own god but nothing more beyond that
kek

>others are their own god
That mistake is why it's important to know what "yourself" is. Why would there be more than one? Can you even imagine knowing one that isn't your own?

your all powerful god can't decide whether to watch anime, jack off, or jack off to anime.

your conscience and you are definitely not god

If you exclude the afterlife, then there is no purpose in life, other than to get whatever you can from it.

But we know that's a farce.

bump n grind

If you had managed to make it to the bottom of my post you would have seen I said, Don't be like camus. Read the Stoics.

They are the antidote to existentialism