Rebellion in the ‘Woke’ Society: Creating a New Camusian Meridian

• Main Author: Hernandez, Carl Jayson D
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2024
• Subjects: Arts and Humanities; Philosophy
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/philo-faculty-pubs/103; https://archium.ateneo.edu/context/philo-faculty-pubs/article/1103/viewcontent/auto_convert.pdf
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

Society continues to evolve and advance in numerous aspects. As highly specialized fields spring and new sensibilities are formed, The complex power structures and the notions of “political correctness” spur us to discuss what actions and forms of reformations are truly just. In The Rebel, Albert Camus (1956) contends that every act of rebellion is a simultaneous refusal against injustice and an affirmation of a value. However, there is always a danger of rebellion devolving into a self-defeating revolution. Thus, Albert Camus’ philosophical notion of “meridian” becomes crucial to maintaining the humane spirit of rebellious actions. In an age vastly different from the time of Camus, I intend to revisit his notion of rebellion and contextualize it to the claimed “woke culture” that garnered support in various parts of the world. Thus, I aim to grapple with this question: “Can we still rebel at the meridian given the complexity of the power structure that has been unraveled through recent studies?” I argue in the affirmative. However, this affirmation requires a modification of the Camusian notion of rebellion at the meridian. Given the brevity of this presentation, I will only focus on three parts. The first part elucidates the three types of rebellion based on Camus. The second part briefly describes wokeness and the society that claims to be woke. The third part elaborates on the limitations of Camus’ formulated rebellion at the meridian and my proposed ways to modify and enrich his philosophical concepts.