Albert Camus is one of the most famous philosophers in the world, and his philosophy of absurdism has left a remarkable imprint on our society. Everyone knows of his work but what does Camus really tell us across all his writings ?
For hundreds of years, the humanity’s main preoccupation has been to find meaning in life and every philosophical current has tried to give us an answer with for each of them their own ideas. Camus’s answer is really simple, we simply can’t…
Human beings cannot find a reason to live in discovering the meanings of life because if there really is one, it would be beyond us and our understanding. Our reason can only see its limits, thus making our existence absurd. Like Sisyphus, we will never reach our goal because their is simply no goal to reach. In that sense, there is a confrontation between the human call for meaning and the silence of the world.
Camus also writes about the unending cycle of life, everything we do is just part of a cycle: we wake up, prepare, go to work, come back and sleep only to repeat the process the next day. Even when we look at the bigger picture there is still this idea of cycles, generations pass, others succeed them but the earth remains the same. Even our greatest despairs, the worst heartbreak we live are ultimately meaningless because they are also part of a cycle and, in that sense, shouldn’t be taken too seriously. This idea can be found in A Happy Death where the protagonist, Mersault, embodies the absurd being, everything that happens in his life, the lives that fade away before him, the relationships that end, and the places that he leaves behind are just a part of cycles and he doesn’t give too much importance to those things : ‘’it’s good to have had love in your life after all, to have had an unhappy passion it gives you an alibi for the vague despairs we all suffer from.’’ This quote from the book is a perfect illustration of Mersault’s way of living his life.
But if we can’t find a meaning to life and conclude that our existence itself is absurd, should we just give up on life? According to Camus, quite the opposite, for him the suicide is ‘’the only serious question in philosophy’’ and men must create their own reason to live. Absurdism is not a refusal of the world but a form of consent, consenting to live in a world that won’t ever be able to understand fully. That being who is able to find his own reasons to live, Camus calls him the absurd being, this being is not a resigned man but a creator of meaning who accepts humanity’s powerlessness to know the ‘’why’’ of things.
The absurd being is Sisypus happy and it is what humans must tend to. It is in the rebellion that we will find a meaning to life and that humanity shall find a common goal to unite around.
There is a reason why Camus remains so popular nowadays apart from his looks and the undeniable charisma emanating from him in every single picture of his. Camus writes texts that speak directly to us. His books are, for the most part pretty short, easy to read and his writings are undeniably relatable. Many first-time readers of Camus will have the reflection that it is not that deep and that they had already thought the same things before, and it is the exact reason why it’s good. It is a philosophy that speaks and will continue to speak to everyone regardless of time.
So if you want to read texts, that will put into words what you have been struggling to express for so long, I strongly recommend readind some of Camus’s work starting with The myth of Sisyphus which serves as an essential basis for a good understanding of all his philosophy and by extension, his work.
Written by Mathys Herrada
Leave a comment