Questions tagged [camus]
Albert Camus (1913-1960) was a French author who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957. He is associated with existentialism and absurdism.
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Is atheism a requirement for a consistent existentialist philosophy?
Søren Kierkegaard is generally considered to be the "father of existentialism". This always bothered me, since to me Sartre and Camus are the defining figures of the movement, and it seems that there ...
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Was the European Left confined in a false dichotomy between capitalism and communism?
In the 2004 book "Camus and Sartre: The Story of a Friendship and the Quarrel That Ended It" (link to a brief review/synopsis), the author portrays two of the leading members of the literary class' ...
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Why and how is Camus "against nihilism"?
I see in several sources that Camus is "against nihilism"(though there are also a few that state he utilizes elements of nihilism), however,
(Sorry for referring to Wikipedia. Didn't have ...
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What is "the Nietzschean criterion" in Camus' "The Myth of Sisyphus"?
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It seems there are but two philosophical solutions [regarding killing oneself], either yes or no. This would be too easy. But allowance must be made for those who, without concluding, ...
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Why does Camus consider an absurd life better than suicide?
Source: pp 200-201, A Little History of Philosophy (2011 ed; not 2012 Reprint ed.) by Nigel Warburton PhD in Philosophy.
A novice, I am still easing into philosophy with introductions and do not feel ...
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Is Sisyphus actually happy or is he content?
I am having trouble understanding what Camus meant when he says "One must imagine Sisyphus is happy" in the essay The Myth of Sisyphus. What does Camus mean by happiness, and how can Sisyphus be happy ...
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What does Albert Camus mean by two methods of thought, "of La Palisse and Don Quixote"?
In The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus says that there are two methods of thought to conclude that the meaning of life is the most urgent of questions: those of La Palisse and Don Quixote:
Whether the earth ...
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What are some book suggestions for further reading about Camus and the absurd, after reading the Stranger and Myth of Sisyphus?
I read The Stranger a long time ago, but I'm sure I missed a lot. More recently I've read a bit of Kierkegaard and now I'm making my way through The Myth of Sisyphus (and am more inclined to agree ...
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Is existentialism the "practical" nihilism?
Nihilism states that no matter what you do, it's meaningless. But how do you decide then, what to do?
A few years back I read "The Myth of Sisyphus" by Camus, in which he tackles the question, if ...
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What did Camus mean when he wrote "All thoughts are anthropomorphic"?
I am currently reading the Myth of Sisyphus and I came across the following:
All thoughts are anthropomorphic
My Interpretation
Prior to reading this, I had no idea what "anthropomorphic" meant....
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What does this quote from Albert Camus mean?
“To be born to create, to love, to win at games is to be born to live
in time of peace. But war teaches us to lose everything and become
what we were not. it all becomes a question of style.”
— ...
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Why should we care about anyone?
If we take the World as absurd - without any meaning or end result, and believe in no such thing as God or afterlife (taking Camus' stance in Myth of Sisyphus), why should anyone, fundamentally, care ...
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Did Camus ever really write "Should I kill myself or have a cup of coffee"?
I think it's so wonderfully and beautifully put, but can't find the source, and am curious as to whether or not it's a genuine quotation.
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What to know before reading The Myth of Sisyphus?
Does one need a solid knowledge on anything in particular before tackling this essay? He mentions quite a lot of writers and philosophers (Nietzsche, Lequier, Jaspers, Chestov, Kierkegaard and, in ...
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Is Camus 'Outsider' an argument for, or a critique of existentialism?
I've read Camus 'Outsider' twice. And have seen it acted out in the theatre.
I do not think I understand it, though I can admire Camus prose style.
Its often taken as canonical in existentialist ...
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Philosophical suicide
What does Albert Camus mean when one commits philosophical suicide? I was learning about him and the speaker spoke about this, however they didn't give a clear enough example of this.
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Explanations of concepts underlying Camus' "The Rebel"?
[Note: First question on this site - I've used other StackExchange sites but this is a first for me. Be gentle.]
I recently began reading Albert Camus' "The Rebel" because it was referenced ...
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If life is absurd, is immortality desirable?
If life lacks any meaning and we react in the way Camus wants us to then we can focus on other things and personal human projects. Does this mean that immortality becomes desirable?
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Is Absurdism a form of hedonism?
I find it difficult to comprehend the philosophy of absurdism. Albert Camus defined it as "futility of a search for meaning in an incomprehensible universe, devoid of God, or meaning".
What ...
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What are the "crimes of passion and crimes of logic"?
There are crimes of passion and crimes of logic. The boundary between them is not clearly defined.
Albert Camus
What does Albert Camus mean by "crimes of passion and crimes of logic" in his
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Criticisms on Absurdism
Camus' idea to keep the absurd alive by accepting our innate desire for meaning and even pursuing and yet not giving into hope of ever reaching a meaning to life, what he calls the revolt against the ...
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How can an Absurdist be moral?
I know the question isn't worded well. I'm a little new to this.
I've recently taken a look at Absurdist philosophy, primarily by reading works by Camus, and I feel that it is the most accurate ...
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Absurdists/Nihilists/Existentialists take on as to why there is no intrinsic meaning to life
So, I just got into absurdism (formally-as a "branch" in philosophy, though I had been thinking in similar terms for a longer period now), and currently am reading "The Myth of Sysiphus" by Albert ...
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What is Camus' criticism of Husserl's phenomology and of Kierkegaard's thought?
I have not been able to grasp these concepts. Specifically, I am referring to the third chapter of the Myth of Sisyphus: "The philosophical suicide".
I have understood that Camus's critic on ...
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Why was Camus wrong that suicide is a really serious philosophical problem, let alone the fundamental question of philosophy?
r/AskPhilosophy construed the following quotation from Le Mythe de Sysyphe: Chapitre 1, which Alan Watts joked about. Emboldenings are mine.
Il n'y a qu'un problème philosophique vraiment sérieux : c'...
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"I rebel- therefore we exist." What does Albert Camus mean by this?
In his book, 'The Rebel', Albert Camus asserts the above mentioned sentence. Can you explain this quote in the best way possible, since it somehow seems to summarize the whole book, or rather, his ...
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Myth of Sisyphus - What is Pascalian sense?
In The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus says "The act of eluding because it is both less and more than diversion in the Pascalian sense".
What is the definition of "Pascalian sense"?
How ...
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Introductions to Camus on absurdity
For a layman, what’s a good, accessible introduction to Camus’ work on absurdity?
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What did Mersault mean?
In the book "A happy Death" by "Albert Camus" , what did Mersault mean when he said, 'When I look at my life and its secret colors, I feel like bursting into tears' ?
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How can Camus be correct that 'il peut y avoir des responsables, il n'y a pas de coupable'?
Source: The Well-Educated Mind (2 edn 2016), pp. 108 Bottom - 109 Top.
In Camus’s philosophy of “the absurd,” there is no significance to life; all humans are condemned to death, facing the ...
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How should one interpret Camus' quote about the "vanity of experience"?
I am writing an essay that requires a section on "experience," and I was looking for a quote to use in my introduction.
I found this quote by Camus on BrainyQuote:
You cannot create experience. ...
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Can Camus' 'The Absurd' Be Arrived At Through Reason?
I am currently reading The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus. In it, he gives a fair outline of his philosophy.
Camus says that absurdity isn't just the scrutiny of a single fact; it's the paradoxes ...
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Interpretation of an existentialist quotation by Camus
In *The Plague*, Rieux, the main character of Albert Camus's novel in Chapter 15 says:
I've seen too much of hospitals to relish any idea of collective punishment.
What does he mean by this? How ...
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What were the moral and aesthetic ideas that Camus was interested in?
I have read most of the books by Albert Camus thoroughly. I know that Camus' theory is absurdity but I want to know his take on morality. I mean, what were the moral and aesthetic ideas that Camus was ...
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Is Foucault's analysis of history opposed to absurdism?
Sisyphus, just like the absurd man, keeps pushing. Camus claims that
when Sisyphus acknowledges the futility of his task and the certainty
of his fate, he is freed to realize the absurdity of his ...
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What were Camus' views on nihilism and existentialism?
I have recently become fairly interested in Camus. I'm not really that familiar with philosophy, but I do know the difference between nihilism and existentialism. I've been wondering what Camus ...
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Is absurdism dated and what's beyond The Myth of Sisyphus?
In the preface written in 1955 by Albert Camus of my edition of The Myth of Sisyphus it says:
After fifteen years I have progressed beyond several of the positions which are set down here; but I ...
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Why Does Camus Maintain That Men Can't Have Freedom Under An All-Powerful God?
I am quoting here something from The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus:
The problem of 'freedom as such' has no meaning. For it is linked in quite a different way with the problem of God. The ...
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Albert Camus's thoughts on Science in the "Myth of Sisyphus"
I am not able to completely comprehend his thoughts on science from the below excerpts from The Myth of Sisyphus. I would appreciate insights.
And here are trees and I know their gnarled surface, ...
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How may absurdism be relevant in our current world and recent events, such as the pandemic?
The mundanity and gloominess of lockdown would have caused many people to come face to face with the absurd and become very confused and lost. What would accepting and embracing the absurd, and ...
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In his book The Fall why does Camus say that it will always be too late to save?
'So tell me, please, what happened to you one evening on the banks of Seine and how you managed never to risk your life. Say the words that for years have not ceased to echo through my nights and that ...
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What is Eternity’s Springboard?
From Camus’ Myth of Sissyphus; Philosophical Suicide. Here’s the paragraph [format edited]:
Now, if it is admitted that the absurd is the contrary of hope, it is seen that existential thought for ...
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“That melancholy convention cannot be persuasive.” What does this quote mean (from the Myth of Sisyphus)?
For context, this is the paragraph:
I come at last to death and to the attitude we have toward it. On this point, everything has been said and it is only proper to avoid pathos. Yet one will never be ...
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'I want to be with you in heaven'
If you knew that suicide is not immoral, would it be virtuous to kill yourself - not because you were in pain and needed to escape - but merely due to a wish to end yourself before you fell into vice?
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What was Camus’ opinion of hedonism and determinism?
I’ve read The Myth Of Sisyphus, and it prompted some questions that I’m hoping other readers of Camus might be able to answer:
Did Camus see unbridled hedonism as a solution to the nihilism caused by ...
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What is the meaning of life in the Myth of Sisyphus?
In The Myth of Sisyphus and other Essays, Albert Camus seeks to answer the question of the meaning of life. To do this, he plays on the idea of the "absurd," the conflict between man's search for ...
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How can i become obsessed with some meaning to life that i find rational? [closed]
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I see something for example like living for others or trying to change the world (in a non-violent way) is an genuine meaning to life,however i'm not obsessed with these meanings that i ...
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Is Meursault in The Stranger by Camus supposed to be an Absurdist Exemplar? Counter-exemplar? Or?
I'm a layman so please use easy terms or provide references. Thanks!
I understand that Sisyphus is an absurdist exemplar in the sense that he simultaneously realizes the futility of his task and ...
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Is "what's the point?" the same as asking "what is the meaning of life"?
Is "what's the point?" the same as asking "what is the meaning of life"? I know I said both phrases, so I should know right? But I feel the former much more than the latter. Is it ...
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How should I contextualize this quote and understand its meaning? [closed]
Jean- Paul Sartre once said about Camus: "I would call his pessimism 'solar' if you remember how much black there is in the sun."
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