School of thought

Absurdism

Intellectual current

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Classification

Period
c. 1942-1960 CE
Regions
Africa (origin), Europe
Domains
Aesthetics, Ethics

Overview

Absurdism begins with the confrontation between the human desire for meaning and the universe's silent indifference. Camus argued that this confrontation produces the absurd: not a property of the world alone nor of the mind alone, but of the clash between them. The absurd cannot be resolved, only lived. The proper response is neither suicide nor the 'philosophical suicide' of a leap of faith, but lucid revolt.

Key ideas

  • The Absurd: The absurd arises from the gap between humanity's need for order, purpose, and meaning and the world's refusal to provide any. It is not despair but a clear-eyed recognition of the human condition — and it demands an equally clear-eyed response.
  • Revolt, Not Resignation: Camus's answer to the absurd is not passive acceptance but active revolt — continuing to live fully without appealing to a final or transcendent meaning.
  • Sisyphean Affirmation: The myth of Sisyphus, condemned to push a boulder uphill for eternity, becomes Camus's central image. In the moment Sisyphus walks back down the hill, conscious of his fate, he is superior to it. 'One must imagine Sisyphus happy.'

Key figures

Albert Camus

Positions held

Influenced by

Reacts to

  • Existentialism

    The leap Camus attacks in The Myth of Sisyphus is Kierkegaard's, Shestov's and Jaspers': each of them escapes the absurd by restoring the meaning its recognition had withdrawn. Camus argued that the absurd must be held open instead.

References

  • Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Albert Camus
  • Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Albert Camus, §§1,3 — Formation: Camus completed his foundational Absurd works, including The Myth of Sisyphus, in Algeria and sent them to his Paris publisher in September 1941.
  • Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus (1942), the chapter 'Philosophical Suicide' (the leap, argued against Kierkegaard, Shestov and Jaspers)
  • The Myth of Sisyphus — Albert Camus
  • The Stranger — Albert Camus