What’s Albert Camus’s philosophy? Why does he think that life is worth living\u2014despite its absurdity?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his 1942 essay The Myth of Sisyphus<\/em>, Albert Camus describes his philosophy of the absurd. In spite of life’s absurdity, he believes that we should continue to live and try to derive as much fulfillment as we can from our brief existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Continue reading for an overview of this classic work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n In his definitive philosophical essay, The Myth of Sisyphus<\/em><\/a>, Albert Camus\u2014a French Algerian philosopher and journalist\u2014argues that human existence is fundamentally absurd. That’s because the human drive for purpose and meaning is at odds with the reality that death is inevitable and humanity is cosmically insignificant. Despite this absurdity and the anguish that many people feel when confronted with it, Camus believes that life is still worth living and that going through life with full knowledge of the absurd is the only way to live honestly<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Shortform note: Camus studied philosophy in the 1930s<\/a>, and The Myth of Sisyphus<\/em> is built on the philosophical theories of existentialism, metaphysics, and phenomenology. Some scholars have suggested that the Nazi occupation of France from 1940-44<\/a>, which began shortly after Camus moved to Paris, was also a major influence on the text. Biographer Robert Zaretsky claims that Camus was reacting to a world defined by violence, nihilism, and meaninglessness, but that The Myth of Sisyphus<\/em> nevertheless argues that life is worth the struggle<\/a>. Camus\u2019s decision to join the French Resistance in 1943<\/a> can be seen as his expression of this argument.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Camus takes Sisyphus\u2014a Greek mythological figure who was condemned to spend eternity rolling a boulder up a hill\u2014as the quintessential symbol of life\u2019s absurdity. Sisyphus is dedicated to a futile, meaningless task, but Camus believes that he is happy just to be alive. Life is worth any suffering, and living honestly requires embracing the absurd<\/a>: living even knowing that life is just a series of experiences that will inevitably end, with no guarantee of an afterlife or deeper meaning. Some people avoid acknowledging these aspects through religious belief or reject life entirely through suicide, but Camus argues that these attempts to flee the absurd are motivated by fear and are ultimately less fulfilling than living an absurd life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ll split Camus\u2019s argument into three parts: Defining the Absurd<\/strong>, which describes Camus\u2019s theory of existence; Negative Responses to the Absurd<\/strong>, which covers Camus\u2019s critiques of other existentialist writers and his argument against suicide; and finally, Living an Absurd Life<\/strong>, in which Camus explains how to live with the knowledge of the absurd and provides examples of absurdist characters in literature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Camus begins his argument with the claim that both the universe and death are unknowable. Theories of existence\u2014such as the belief that God provides life and an afterlife, that there\u2019s a cosmic purpose to human existence which we may realize through our actions, or that death is the end of consciousness and life has no inherent meaning\u2014are just theories, unprovable within the limits of human experience. Despite this, Camus argues that humans have an innate need to believe that our lives have purpose and that there\u2019s continued existence after death, to the point that our inability to definitively answer these questions torments us. This contradiction between our needs and our reality is what Camus calls the absurd.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Many people become aware of the absurd nature of their existence during their lives. <\/strong>Camus describes this as the sense of dread, terror, and frustration people may feel once they realize that someday they\u2019ll die and be forgotten by others\u2014if not immediately, then on the massive timescale of the universe. Faced with the inevitability of this oblivion, people wake up to the ridiculousness of their everyday routines and become alienated from their old belief systems<\/a>. Everything in their lives\u2014relationships, personal or career achievements, religion, and so on\u2014suddenly seems irrelevant in the face of the absurd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Camus, there are three possible responses to being confronted with the absurd. <\/strong>The first is to deny it by seeking philosophical or religious justifications for living that promise either an afterlife or a sense of purpose<\/a>; Camus considers this philosophical rejection to be self-delusion. The second response is to commit suicide, escaping the suffering of an absurd existence by rejecting life itself. The third response, which is the only one Camus supports, is to commit to living an absurd life.<\/strong> This means continuing to live even with the pain of knowing that life is finite and possibly meaningless. Camus describes this as both living without hope and living in a state of permanent rebellion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recognizing the absurd is frightening and upsetting, and Camus argues that both negative responses to it\u2014philosophical rejection and suicide\u2014attempt to escape these emotions by providing answers for what\u2019s unknowable and breaking down the contradictory relationship at the absurd\u2019s heart. Philosophical rejection denies the premise that life is finite and possibly meaningless, while suicide denies the premise that the human desire for eternity and meaning is innate. Camus believes that both responses are a form of self-delusion that fail to offer a convincing alternative\u2014logically or emotionally\u2014to the truth of the absurd. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When giving examples of thinkers who recognized the absurd only to run from it, Camus points to two existentialists he admires, novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky and philosopher S\u00f8ren Kierkegaard. Both men ultimately turned to Christianity to satisfy their need for meaning and emotional catharsis, and Camus argues that, in doing so, they compromised their rationality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dostoyevsky\u2019s fiction frequently deals with amoral characters and pointless suffering, and Camus draws attention to one particular character, Kirilov, who commits suicide after declaring that there\u2019s no God and that a life without God isn\u2019t worth living. However, many of Dostoyevsky\u2019s novels end with his protagonists being redeemed by faith, finding that their mental and physical suffering is alleviated once they accept Christian forgiveness and the promise of life after death. In his nonfiction work Diary of a Writer<\/em>, Dostoyevsky argues that humanity\u2019s need for God in order to be happy demonstrates that faith is essential to existence, and thus God must exist. Camus dismisses this as circular logic.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kierkegaard similarly treats Christianity as the answer to life\u2019s suffering and argues that it requires a leap of faith, in which people abandon their rationality in order to embrace the personal, emotional truth of God. Without making this leap, people are doomed to the anxiety and angst (in Kierkegaard\u2019s words) brought on by recognition of the absurd. Camus claims that this argument tries to diminish the absurd\u2019s power by equating irrationality with God.<\/strong> Kierkegaard\u2019s framing suggests that while God is unknowable, he is also benevolent, meaning that mortality and death shouldn\u2019t be feared even if they can\u2019t be understood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Camus speaks more positively about the work of existentialist philosophers like Martin Heidegger and Friedrich Nietzsche, whom he believes accurately describe aspects of the absurd without proposing \u201csolutions\u201d for it. While Heidegger describes the pain of living in a world where death is inevitable, Nietzsche describes the pleasure that comes from living even in a world with no obvious purpose or meaning. However, Camus argues that both descriptions are merely starting points in the development of an absurd philosophy<\/strong> since they don\u2019t address the question of how to live an absurd life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Camus notes that suicide is a much less common response to the absurd than philosophical rejection. He argues that this isn\u2019t because there\u2019s no rational argument to be made for suicide, but because most people value their lives too highly to give them up, even in the face of life\u2019s meaninglessness. The desire to live is itself absurd since everyone will eventually die no matter what they do, but it\u2019s also an undeniably powerful motivator\u2014people will make almost any sacrifice, even denouncing their own deeply held beliefs, in order to continue living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Camus observes that, while many philosophers have considered the question of whether life is worth living and some even defended suicide as a valid answer, almost none followed their logic to the point of death. Though suicides can be ideologically motivated, as in the case of political or protest suicides, most are emotionally motivated\u2014the person is overwhelmed by feelings of despair or hopelessness, which can have any number of causes. For his part, Camus considers whether suicide is an appropriate reaction to the absurd, but ultimately concludes that it isn\u2019t,<\/strong> as it\u2019s another attempt to escape the absurd rather than cope with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though Camus dismisses attempts to define the meaning of life<\/a>, particularly religious ones, he also believes that life is the only thing that matters, as it\u2019s the means by which you experience consciousness, pleasure, and growth.<\/strong> Life may be given by a benevolent God, or it may lack any deeper meaning; either way, you should attempt to get as much out of it as you can before your inevitable death. Camus describes this as an eternal struggle for freedom, with every person rebelling against the unknowability of the universe. Though this rebellion will fail, he argues that it makes you stronger, more intelligent, and more appreciative of your experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOverview of The Myth of Sisyphus<\/em> by Albert Camus<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Defining the Absurd<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Negative Responses to the Absurd<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Philosophical Rejection<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Suicide<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Living an Absurd Life<\/h3>\n\n\n\n