![]() His origin in Algeria and his experiences there in the thirties were dominating influences in his thought and work. While it is difficult to face meaninglessness without retreating into the loving arms of religion, science, society, or even producing meaning ourselves, Camus encourages us to bravely face the absurd with a smile on our face.Albert Camus (1913-1960) was a representative of non-metropolitan French literature. Life is worth living and should be embraced as it is. We are still living here and now and have every ability to enjoy ourselves. So, what should I do today?Ĭamus recommends that you: get outside, enjoy the sunshine, go for a walk by the beach, play some football, have lunch at a café with a friend, refuse to give into despair, and embrace the meaninglessness of existence by choosing to carry on with what you enjoy doing despite the lack of meaning to your actions.Ĭan we find a meaning of life that can satisfy our need for one? Camus says no, but that this needn’t be a problem. Trying to justify this life by pointing to the next one is just another way to deny the meaninglessness of life, no matter how you phrase it. He also encourages us to reject the idea of an afterlife because it is not only unlikely but also because an attempt to live in such a way as to assure you get into the next life detracts from this one. “ We must imagine Sisyphus happy,” he tells us, for the absurd hero is able to carry out a life as meaningless as eternally rolling a boulder up a hill and find enjoyment in it anyway. Camus was a real-life example and he sighted the literary examples of Don Juan and Sisyphus for us to look to. The person who can truly know that life is absurd and get through it with a smile is an Absurd Hero. An event with ramifications that lasted the rest of their lives.Ĭamus tells us that the answer is to embrace the meaninglessness. Camus would later fall out with his former friends over their support of Soviet and later Chinese Communism. Sartre and Beauvoir sitting with Che Guevara after the Cuban revolution. The universe remains indifferent to us, random events happen, and we will again face meaninglessness. While that can bring us comfort, those systems of meaning are, themselves, doomed to failure over the long run. The absurd heroĬamus has a critique of those who try to endure the meaninglessness of life by imposing meaning on it. Just because life is meaningless doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyable! Indeed, the meaninglessness is just a background fact, like gravity, that must be reckoned with. He took great enjoyment in the little things and encourages us to do so as well. He loved sports and was a champion soccer player in his youth. What makes life worth living then?Īcross his body of work, he praises sunshine, women, the beach, kissing, dancing, and good food. While the problem of living in a world devoid of meaning is a big one, it is one to be solved like any other. He explains that to understand that life is absurd is the first step to being fully alive. However, Camus doesn’t see this meaninglessness as bad. Our lives are meaningless and will remain so. ![]() However, as the universe is cold and indifferent to this quest for meaning we will always be faced with absurd situations where our attempts to find meaning fail. ![]() Humans have a drive to find meaning in things and where it doesn’t exist we usually try to create it. The absurdĬamus’ entire philosophy is based on the idea of the absurd. ![]() He further denies that science, philosophy, society, or religion could ever create a meaning of life that would be immune to the problem of absurdity. He argues that it is impossible for us to find a satisfying answer to the question of the meaning of life, and any attempt to impose a meaning on the universe will end in disaster, as whatever meaning we pick will be sent up later. The meaning of lifeĬamus makes a rather bold claim on the meaning of life: there isn’t one and we can’t make one either. When it comes to what meaning we might find, however, he is of little help. Camus understands this and tackles the problem head-on. He concludes that suicide is of little use to us, as there can be no more meaning in death than in life, and turns to questions of what makes life worth living. ![]() For many people, a life without meaning is not a life worth living. ![]()
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