Albert Camus
(1913 – 1960)
Algerian philosopher, literary writer and journalist. His philosophy is usually categorised as existentialism (even though he rejected the term), though more appropriately it can be called absurdism. He expressed his philosophy in literary works, for which he was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Absurdism is the philosophical theory that existence is absurd. Camus introduces the philosophy of the absurd in one of his well-known earlier essays, The Myth of Sisyphus (1942).
— For Camus, the absurdity of existence lies in the conflict between the fundamental human need to see values and meaning in life, and the complete lack of those in reality – or, as he called it, the “unreasonable silence of the world”. Hence, it is not the world, nor the human, who is absurd, rather, the absurdity arises when the human need to understand and see meaning meets the meaninglessness of the world.
— He compares the absurdity of human life with the situation of Sisyphus, a figure of Greek mythology, who is condemned to repeat the same absurd task every day for eternity – roll a huge boulder up a steep hill, only for it to always roll down close to the top.
— Camus presents Sisyphus’s pointless act as a metaphor for the modern lives of humans, which are spent working futile jobs at factories and offices.
In the essay, he attempts to answer what he terms “the only question of philosophy that matters”, that is: Does the realisation of the meaningless and absurdity of life necessarily require suicide?
—> For Camus, suicide is the rejection of freedom. Instead of fleeing the absurdity and meaninglessness of life, he maintains we should embrace life passionately and be content with the absurdity – as if Sisyphus was happy and content with his fate.
His novel The Plague (1947) similarly explores the helpless condition of man against the condition of the world. The novel tells the story of a plague epidemic in the Algerian city of Oran and how the citizens are grappling with the situation, each in their own ways. The novel explores many existential threads such as:
— The irrational, inexplicable conditions of life, and the absurdity of a death sentence: the plague epidemic merely brings out/highlights these conditions of life. It forces people to accept death.
— Freedom: when the city falls under total quarantine, the citizens become prisoners, though it is questionable whether they were free to begin with. The novel shows how people are still able to exercise their free will within the constraints of the city-lockdown.
— Rebellion against death and suffering: though ultimately futile, the novel declares rebellion a noble and meaningful struggle, even it means facing a never-ending defeat. Anybody can catch the plague at any time, and while the choice to act (rebel) or do nothing (hide at home) is seemingly a meaningless one – a choice between death or death – to act and fight for themselves and their community becomes the most meaningful choice.
— Profoundly humanist problems, such as love, goodness, small acts of heroism, happiness and mutual connection