Albert Camus
1913 — 1960
Biography
Albert Camus was a writer, philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate. Born in Algeria, participated in the French Resistance.
The central problem is the absurd — the mismatch between man's search for meaning and the silence of the world. 'The Myth of Sisyphus' begins with the words: 'There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide.'
Camus's answer is revolt against the absurd, affirmation of life despite meaninglessness. 'One must imagine Sisyphus happy.'
Key Ideas
- The Absurd
- Revolt against meaninglessness
- Sisyphus is happy
- To live is to rebel
- Freedom in accepting the absurd
Works
-
The Myth of Sisyphus
(1942)
Philosophy of the absurd
-
The Rebel
(1951)
On revolt and revolution
-
The Stranger
(1942)
Novel about the absurd