Albert Camus The Myth Of Sisyphus: An Existentialist

1.4 Albert Camus Albert Camus (1913-1960) was a French writer, journalist and philosopher. He is best known for his contribution to the development of the philosophy of the absurd. His well-known works The Stranger (1942) and The Plague (1947), amongst others, exemplify his idea of absurdism, and his magnum opus, an essay titled The Myth of Sisyphus encompasses all his major philosophical ideas. Camus most certainly did not see himself as an existentialist, and unlike Heidegger and Sartre he showed little interest in metaphysics and ontology.

In The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus addresses his idea of the absurd and its implications for man, with an emphasis on suicide and its justification. The absurd is Camus’ response to the question “What is the meaning of existence?” It was his view that life had absolutely no inherent meaning, and was instead characterized by chaos and uncertainty. Such is the nature of the universe. On the other hand, it is but human nature to seek

The crafty King of Corinth was condemned to rolling a boulder uphill and then watching it roll back down again for all eternity in Tartarus. Sisyphus exemplifies Camus’ idea of the absurd hero. Sisyphus ' life and torment are transformed into a victory by concentrating on his freedom, his refusal to hope, and his knowledge of the absurdity of his situation. The experience of the absurd – as demonstrated by Sisyphus – is the proof of man 's uniqueness and the foundation of his dignity and freedom. Camus says we must imagine Sisyphus happy, as he approaches his task with joy. Moments of sorrow or melancholy only come when he looks back at the world he 's left behind. However, when Sisyphus accepts his fate, the sorrow and melancholy of his predicament vanish. Camus suggests that acknowledging "crushing truths" like the eternity and futility of fate is enough to render them less