Albert Camus, The Philosopher Who Taught Me How to Live
If you, like me, have ever stared up at the night sky and felt a profound sense of “What is the point of all this?” then you need to meet Albert Camus (1913–1960).
Camus, a Nobel laureate and journalist from French Algeria, is often mistakenly called an Existentialist. But he defined his own, arguably more comforting, philosophy: Absurdism. It’s the framework I return to whenever the world feels overwhelming. This isn’t just dusty old philosophy; it’s a manual for finding passion in a world that doesn’t care.
The Core Conflict: A Home vs. A Divorce
Camus diagnosed the fundamental problem of human existence: the Absurd. It’s not an argument; it’s a feeling.
According to Camus, the Absurd is the permanent conflict between two things (and I love the emotional language he uses in his essays, like The Myth of Sisyphus):
- Our innate, passionate need for meaning and clarity (we yearn for a “home”).
- The universe’s absolute silence and cold indifference to our questions (this is the “divorce”).
The universe simply doesn’t contain the ultimate meaning we crave. So, what do we do?
The Only Way Out: Revolt and Passionate Living
Camus laid out three responses to this tragicomic situation, and he only accepted one:
- Suicide: A physical escape. Camus rejected this as a cowardly refusal to confront the problem.
- Leap of Faith: What he called “philosophical suicide.” This means abandoning reason to embrace an artificial system (religious dogma or political ideology) to pretend meaning exists. Again, rejection.
- Revolt and Freedom: This is the move. It means acknowledging the Absurd completely, accepting that life has no ultimate meaning, and then living fully, intensely, and passionately despite it. You find freedom in that conscious act of defiance.
You are free the moment you stop waiting for the universe to permit you to be happy.
Where to Start: A Quick Look at His Major Works
Camus explored these ideas through beautiful, accessible novels.
- The Stranger (L’Étranger, 1942): Meet Meursault, the detached narrator. The novel is a chilling look at what happens when a man simply refuses to play society’s game of manufactured meaning, eventually leading to tragedy. It’s a study in indifference that forces the reader to examine their own moral structures.
- The Plague (La Peste, 1947): A powerful allegory. While it was read as a response to the German occupation of France, it’s really about human solidarity and the power of everyday effort. Dr Rieux and his companions simply choose human decency and hard work (the “revolt” in action) over nihilistic despair. If you want a book about collective resilience, start here.
The True Answer is ‘The Sea Close By’
For a feeling of his philosophy, I recommend seeking out some of his lyrical prose, like the pamphlet ‘The Sea Close By.’ These writings are drenched in the North African sun. They show Camus finding joy not in grand intellectual theories, but in the immediate, physical reality: the feel of the sea, the heat on his skin, the bright light.
This is his final answer: Happiness is found not by looking to the stars for answers, but by enjoying the tangible world right beside you.
A Final, Absurd Irony
It’s tragically fitting that Camus, the man who wrote so eloquently about the random, indifferent nature of existence, died in a sudden car crash in 1960 at age 46. The final absurd twist? He reportedly had a train ticket in his pocket but chose to drive that day.
If you’re ready to stop waiting for meaning and start creating it, Camus is your man. Grab The Stranger this weekend and tell me what you think in the comments!
“The bay, the sun, the red
and white games on the
seaward terraces, the
flowers and sports stadiums,
the cool-legged girls”
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