The Philosophy behind Rick&Morty

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The human desire to fulfil some special existential purpose has existed through out history. There is a scene in Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland’s sci-fi cartoon Rick and Morty. That addresses this desire with what I’d call an uplifting cynicism. In it, Summer finds out that she was unwanted pregnancy. She breaks down and wonders if there is any real meaning to her life. Morty then tells her his equally unsettling experience of burying his own body from a different reality. He concludes by saying “nobody exists on purpose, nobody belongs to anywhere, everybody’s gonna die, come and watch TV?” While this may be an especially dark moment, it contains a comforting message. For some people like Summer, it’s devastating to think we weren’t created for some special purpose. For Rick and Morty, life has been that way forever. Why get depressed about the existence of the meaning when life is full of stuff to enjoy. As Morty said, like watching TV together. This struggle with the meaninglessness is the central to the show. It’s doing part to the sheer scale of Rick and Morty’s exploits. Not only is there an enormous universe, but that universe has infinite dimensions and those dimensions have infinite realities. Indeed, it shows how common, shor-lived, and fragile our existence is. But that scale is intended to cause a redirection of meaning. Once you confront the randomness of the universe, the only option is to find importance in the stuff right in front of you. Rick and Morty in particular tells us that friends, family, and doing what we enjoy are far more important than any unsolvable questions about existence. It’s a message best explained through philosopher Albert Camus. And what he called “The (Capital A) Absurd”. He said a contraction between in human’s desire to find the meaning in life and the meaninglessness of universe. To Camus, we are Sisyphus, the king from Greek Mythology condemned to repeat the same task of pushing a boulder up a mountain. Only to see it roll down again and again for the rest of his life. But Camus says one must imagine Sisyphus happy. He argues, we have to recognize the absurd meaningless background of our existence and accept it. Once we do, it frees us to find our own subjective meanings and purposes. Rick and Morty shows us where we can find meaning, primarily through Rick-C137, who we follow for most of the show. He is aware of meaningless of existence, and it no doubt bothers him. He is the most genius scientist in the muti-universe. Yet, he is an alcoholic. If he can’t find a Truth, about his own existence. What hope does anyone else have? It’s clear however that science is one of Rick’s best avenues for finding a sense of meaning in his daily life. His project allows him to go on adventures, making himself laugh and bond with his grandkids. Indeed, science doesn’t help find an existential purpose, because it doesn’t provide agreeable absolute meaning to life. And Rick knows that, he’s better of using it to experience the wonders of space around him with people he cares about. Now, Rick, at times tries to convince that he doesn’t care about his family. His relationships with them aren’t perfect, they are far from it. And I think that is the point that Harmon and Roiland are trying to make. His family relationships are terrible, and Rick is not happy. In fact, he is only happy when he fosters a good relationship with them. It’s revealed to Morty for example. That Rick’s “off use” catchphrase “Wubba Lubba Dub Dub” means “I am in great pain, please help me.” Later in the episode Rick freezes time, making sure that Summer and Morty can clean up a party before their parents get home. But they spend most of their time having fun and watching movies together. When Morty mentions Rick hasn’t said “Wubba Lubba Dub Dub” in a while. He responds with” Don’t need to, I have a new catchphrase”. This is only reiterated by the fact that he freezes time for six months just him and his grandkids. And that is just one of many examples. Here, Rick can’t wait to go to the intergalactic arcade with Morty for the day. In the episode “Rixty Minutes” he bonds with Morty in front of the TV the entire episode. Then, there is this a moment where Rick sacrifices his own life for Morty, although he ends up surviving the situation. It’s clear he found more meaning in his relationship with Morty than any special existential purpose for himself. These moments allows us to see through Rick’s hardened shell. He is man who finds meaning in almost nothing. But it’s happiest when he is with his family. Most of our lives we filter our actions through the idea that we have a “special purpose”. It’s hard to accept that our efforts would be largely pointless and quickly forgotten in our indifferent universe. That search for our big, existential purpose often blinds us from the stuff we actually enjoy and keeps us from being with people that truly matter. In this way, Rick provides some serious catharsis for the audience. We see someone who is disaffected and cynical actually gain enjoyment from being around his friends and family. It through Rick, that the show tells us to embrace life, revel in it, and ultimately……not take it too serious.—— ” The answer is don’t think about it”. You know in our modern age, religion, ideology, science and even common values don’t always provide a meaning of our existence, and it can be extremely isolating. Rick and Morty doesn’t suggest that our search for existential meaning won’t continue. It only asks if it’s a question worth answering when a meaningful life can be found through friends, family and new experiences. Indeed, the only thing more terrifying than not existing or not knowing why you exist is existing and having no one to share it with.