Philosophy › The 20th century › Existentialism
Albert Camus and the absurd
1913–1960· Philosopher· Ethics & how to live
Well documentedSolid records, texts or physical evidence.
French-Algerian novelist and essayist who held that life is absurd but worth living in defiance, without false hope.
See it on the Philosophy map →The idea
Idea: the absurd is the clash between our hunger for meaning and a silent universe; the right response is neither suicide nor religion but revolt, living fully anyway. The Myth of Sisyphus (1942) ends: 'One must imagine Sisyphus happy,' pushing his boulder forever. The novels The Stranger (1942) and The Plague (1947) dramatize this. The Rebel (1951) condemned revolutionary violence, splitting him from Sartre. Nobel Prize in Literature, 1957. Main objection: if nothing has meaning, why is revolt better than despair?
Why it matters
He gave a secular answer to meaninglessness that many readers find livable, and an early critique from the left of Soviet-style political violence.
Legacy and sources
His novels, essays, notebooks and journalism for the Resistance newspaper Combat survive. He died in a car crash in January 1960, aged 46.
Still debated
He rejected the 'existentialist' label, so where he fits is debated; his position on Algerian independence remains controversial.
Connections (2)
▸Albert Camus and the absurd gave a defiant answer to Does life have meaning?Well documented
The connection
Camus took the question head on: 'There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide', that is, whether life is worth living. His answer: the universe offers no meaning, but we need neither despair nor a leap into faith. We can live in lucid revolt, like Sisyphus forever rolling his rock, and still be happy.
When and how
The Myth of Sisyphus, written 1940–41 and published by Gallimard in occupied Paris in 1942.
How we know
The essay's opening and closing lines state the question and the answer directly.
Debates and open questions
Critics ask whether revolt is a real answer or just an attitude, and whether happiness in a meaningless universe can be more than a hope.
▸Albert Camus and the absurd broke with Jean-Paul SartreWell documented
The connection
Camus and Sartre were friends and stars of postwar Paris, though Camus rejected the existentialist label. Camus' The Rebel argued that revolutions, communism included, end in murder justified by history. Sartre's journal ran a scathing review, and Sartre's public reply ended the friendship. The quarrel came to symbolize the French left's split over the Soviet Union.
When and how
Paris, 1951–52: The Rebel (1951); Francis Jeanson's review in Les Temps modernes (May 1952); Camus' letter and Sartre's reply in the August 1952 issue.
How we know
The review, Camus' letter and Sartre's reply were all published and are still printed together.
Debates and open questions
Who was right is still argued: many think the Soviet record vindicated Camus, while others share Sartre's view that Camus' moral stance was too abstract for real politics.