Embracing the Absurd: A Journey into Absurdist Philosophy

Over the years, many great minds have come up with different lines of thought in the realm of philosophy. But none of them are as unique, or unconventional as the works of Albert Camus.

Better known as the author of books like The Stranger, The Plague and The Fall, Camus received the Nobel prize for Literature in the year 1957. To quote the Nobel Prize Organization, The Nobel Prize in Literature 1957 was awarded to Albert Camus “for his important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times”.

But his contribution to philosophy, namely that of Absurdism, often flies under the radar.

But what is Absurdism?

Rooted in the works of Camus himself, Absurdism invites individuals to confront the inherent absurdity of existence and create their own meaning in a seemingly chaotic universe.

It sounds rather complicated, doesn’t it? Don’t worry, it’s meant to be.

Perhaps the key to understanding Absurdism lies in understanding the man behind it.

Born in 1913 in Mondovi (present-day Dréan), French Algeria, young Albert experienced a challenging childhood marked by financial struggles.

Raised by his mother, Catherine Hélène Camus, after the death of his father, Lucien Camus, in World War I, Camus grew up in the Belcourt section of Algiers without many material possessions.

As a second-generation French inhabitant of Algeria, he was referred to as a “pied-noir,”, or “Black-foot” reflecting his European descent in the Algerian context.

Despite his poor background, Camus enjoyed French citizenship, granting him more rights than the Arab and Berber Algerians. His early experiences, shaped by his identity and economic challenges, played a significant role in influencing his later life.

Despite the hardships, Camus developed a passion for football and swimming during his childhood.

However, tragedy soon struck with Camus being diagnosed with tuberculosis at the tender age of 17. Being highly contagious, Camus made the decision of moving out to live with his uncle Gustave, who worked as a butcher.

It was here and now that Camus’ lifelong tryst with philosophy began. It seemed as if this was ordained by fate itself, with Camus turning to philosophy to distract himself from the deadly disease wreaking havoc on his body.

Albert was deeply impressed with the teachings of the classical Greek philosophers of antiquity, immersing himself in the works of Socrates and Aristotle.

Another philosopher he admired was Friedrich Nietzsche, the founder of Nihilism.

Maybe this attraction to both the extremes of Western philosophy influenced Camus’ unique ideas of Absurdism, similar yet different to both at the same time.

In 1933, Albert Camus began his academic journey at the University of Algiers, achieving his licence de philosophie (BA) in 1936 with a thesis on the Ancient Greek philosopher Plotinus. During this time, Camus’s intellectual pursuits led him to explore the works of early Christian philosophers.

However, the influences of Nietzsche and Arthur Schopenhauer steered him toward a path of pessimism and atheism.

Camus also delved into the writings of novelist-philosophers, including Stendhal, Herman Melville, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and Franz Kafka, expanding his literary and philosophical repertoire.

Albert Camus’s early years included a passion for football, where he served as the goalkeeper for the Racing Universitaire d’Alger junior team from 1928 to 1930. During this time, he found solace in the sense of team spirit, fraternity, and shared purpose.

His on-field performance often earned praise for its passion and courage. Unfortunately, his football aspirations were cut short when he contracted tuberculosis.

Despite this setback, Camus drew profound parallels between football, human existence, morality, and personal identity. He observed a simplistic morality in football, contrasting it with the complex moralities imposed by authoritative entities like the state and the Church. This early experience on the football field left an indelible mark on Camus’s philosophical reflections and shaped his understanding of morality in various contexts.

It was these multifaceted experiences of life that led Camus on the path to Absurdism.

According to Camus, the Absurd referred to the inherent conflict between the human desire for meaning to life, a concept expounded on by teachers like Socrates and Plato, and the apparent meaningless nature of our universe, propagated by Nietzsche and Schopenhauer.

By combining and contrasting the best of both worlds, Camus forged the path of Absurdism. While, according to him, the Absurd arose when humans seek rationality and order in an inherently irrational and chaotic world, he also advocated rebellion against it by creating meaning in one’s own life, instead of seeking out answers from the world.

To quote the man himself, “The act of rebellion involves embracing life’s challenges and asserting one’s individuality in the face of absurdity.”

This was in stark contrast to nihilism, the despair of meaninglessness, as proposed by Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. While Camus admitted to the apparent meaningless nature of our world, he advocated rebellion against it instead of blindly succumbing to it, something no philosopher had ever dreamt of doing.

By sticking to this unique stance, Camus created the first bridge between the extremes of Existentialism and Nihilism.

To further enhance his views, Camus used the Classical story of the punishment of Sisyphus, the man who (supposedly) cheated death.

According to the Greeks, Sisyphus’ punishment was to roll a boulder up a hill, only for it to come crashing back down every time.

To Camus, this was an allegory which drew parallels with human life itself. Using this as a metaphor for our existence, Camus argued that Sisyphus embracing the absurdity of the task was, in essence, an act of rebellion, similar to what he advocated in his philosophy.

Absurdist philosophy encourages individuals to find meaning in the mundane and ordinary aspects of life.

Through embracing the Absurd, people can discover a sense of purpose in the face of uncertainty and chaos.

Embracing the Absurd invites individuals to live authentically, acknowledging the chaos of existence and finding meaning through personal expression and rebellion.

In conclusion,by delving into the philosophy of Absurdism, we embark on a journey of self-discovery and defiance against the perceived meaninglessness of life.

By understanding the core concepts, exploring influential works, and recognizing its contemporary relevance, we can appreciate Absurdism as a thought-provoking lens through which to examine the complexities of our existence.

This exploration invites us to question, rebel, and ultimately find our own meaning within the vast and unpredictable landscape of the Absurd.