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The Myth of Sisyphus
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The Myth of Sisyphus (edit title/settings)

and Other Essays

by Albert Camus (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

Text: English (translation) Original Language: French

Summary edit see section history

The central concern of The Myth of Sisyphus is what Camus calls "the absurd." Camus claims that there is a fundamental conflict between what we want from the universe (whether it be meaning, order, or reasons) and what we find in the universe (formless chaos). We will never find in life itself... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

The central concern of The Myth of Sisyphus is what Camus calls "the absurd." Camus claims that there is a fundamental conflict between what we want from the universe (whether it be meaning, order, or reasons) and what we find in the universe (formless chaos). We will never find in life itself the meaning that we want to find. Either we will discover that meaning through a leap of faith, by placing our hopes in a God beyond this world, or we will conclude that life is meaningless. Camus opens the essay by asking if this latter conclusion that life is meaningless necessarily leads one to commit suicide. If life has no meaning, does that mean life is not worth living? If that were the case, we would have no option but to make a leap of faith or to commit suicide, says Camus. Camus is interested in pursuing a third possibility: that we can accept and live in a world devoid of meaning or purpose.

The absurd is a contradiction that cannot be reconciled, and any attempt to reconcile this contradiction is simply an attempt to escape from it: facing the absurd is struggling against it. Camus claims that existentialist philosophers such as Kierkegaard, Chestov, and Jaspers, and phenomenologists such as Husserl, all confront the contradiction of the absurd but then try to escape from it. Existentialists find no meaning or order in existence and then attempt to find some sort of transcendence or meaning in this very meaninglessness.

Living with the absurd, Camus suggests, is a matter of facing this fundamental contradiction and maintaining constant awareness of it. Facing the absurd does not entail suicide, but, on the contrary, allows us to live life to its fullest.

Camus identifies three characteristics of the absurd life: revolt (we must not accept any answer or reconciliation in our struggle), freedom (we are absolutely free to think and behave as we choose), and passion (we must pursue a life of rich and diverse experiences).

Camus gives four examples of the absurd life: the seducer, who pursues the passions of the moment; the actor, who compresses the passions of hundreds of lives into a stage career; the conqueror, or rebel, whose political struggle focuses his energies; and the artist, who creates entire worlds. Absurd art does not try to explain experience, but simply describes it. It presents a certain worldview that deals with particular matters rather than aiming for universal themes.

The book ends with a discussion of the myth of Sisyphus, who, according to the Greek myth, was punished for all eternity to roll a rock up a mountain only to have it roll back down to the bottom when he reaches the top. Camus claims that Sisyphus is the ideal absurd hero and that his punishment is representative of the human condition: Sisyphus must struggle perpetually and without hope of success. So long as he accepts that there is nothing more to life than this absurd struggle, then he can find happiness in it, says Camus.

Camus appends his essay with a discussion of the works of Franz Kafka. He ultimately concludes that Kafka is an existentialist, who, like Kierkegaard, chooses to make a leap of faith rather than accept his absurd condition. However, Camus admires Kafka for expressing humanity's absurd predicament so perfectly.

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Quotes edit see section history

  • “"A man is more a man through the things he keeps to himself than through those he says."”
  • “There always comes a time when one must choose between contemplation and action. This is called becoming a man. Such wrenches are dreadful, but for a proud heart there can be no compromise.”
  • “There is thus a metaphysical honor in enduring the world's absurdity. Conquest or play-acting, multiple loves, absurd revolt are tributes that man pays to his dignity in a campaign in which he is defeated in advance.”
  • “One recognizes one's course by discovering the paths that stray from it.”

First Sentence edit see section history

The pages that follow deal with an absurd sensitivity that can be found widespread in the age - and not with an absurd philosophy which our time, properly speaking, has not known.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Preface

THE MYTH OF SISYPHUS:
Part I: The Absurd Reasoning
1. Absurdity and Suicide
2. Absurd Walls
3. Philosophical Suicide
4. Absurd Freedom

Part II: The Absurd Man
1. Don Juanism
2. Drama
3. Conquest

Part III: Absurd Creation
1. Philosophy and Fiction
2. Kirilov
3. Ephermal Creation
The Myth of Sisyphus
Appendix: Hope and the Absurd in the Work of Franz Kafka

OTHER ESSAYS:
Summer in Algiers
The Minotaur or The Stop in Oran
Helen's Exile
Return to Tipasa
The Artist and His Time

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 5 of 100 in The hundred most influential books since the war. (community list)

Preceded by The Managerial Revolution, and followed by The Stranger.

This book is in Penguin Modern Classics. (edition-based publisher list)
This is book 36 of 102 in National Review - 100 Best Non-fiction Books of the Century. (authoritative list)

Preceded by Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers, and followed by The Unheavenly City.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Albert Camus (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Justin O'Brien (Translator)

First Edition edit see section history

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Page Count: 134

Classification edit see section history

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