Pointlessly Continuing The Trend of Long Titles and Examining Whether Regarding Things as Pointless is Actually Beneficial

     Often regarded as a panacea for edgy teenagers and small children, the realization that caring about things is one's own choice is promoted in philosophies such as Stoicism and nihilism, and it is obvious that Meursault has made this choice in The Stranger. Although I initially mistook Meursault's emotional numbness for psychopathy, it is clear that his advanced emotional numbness is a result of his own choices. Meursault says that he has "lost the habit of noting [his]" feelings, which implies that there was a time where he did in fact care about his life.  

I was this guy in middle school

    Personally, I use Stoicism to cope with life. I even wrote a college essay about it. So clearly, I am going to be biased towards types of philosophy that support willful disengagement with sections of reality and rejection of life's inherent purpose. I believe that although Meursault is not aware of them, he does in fact feel emotions. Right before he shoots the Arab. Meursault is tormented by the sun, which was "the same it had been the day I'd buried Maman," and his forehead began to hurt, causing him to "move forward." I would hypothesize that Meursault's physical discomfort is a metaphor for subconscious emotional pain. Interestingly, the brain doesn't distinguish much between different types of pain.

Fun fact: the brain itself doesn't have pain receptors, so 

patients are kept awake during brain surgery so that the surgeons can quickly tell if they made a mistake

We have established that Meursault's apparent nihilism is a conscious choice. However, does it benefit him? The answer is probably more nuanced than your initial reaction. After all, benefit is subjective. If someone delivered an Audeze LCD-4 to my doorstep, I would be ecstatic with joy. However, you probably lack sufficient amplification to drive them and very little understanding of what good sound is, so your reaction may be different. Meursault doesn't seem to value much, so if he values nothing in life, is death really a tragedy for him? His nihilism caused him to shoot the Arab indirectly because of the emotional pain he suppresses, but Meursault does admit in prison that he misses his freedom. In that regard, his nihilism did not benefit him. Meursault is not a nihilist because a true nihilist would have allowed the Arab to kill them due to not valuing their lives. He is also not a full existentialist because he fails to find a purpose to direct his life towards. I don't interpret Meursault's character as a critique of nihilism or existentialism, but rather as a cautionary tale about failing to understand oneself.