The Plague was published in 1947 and is widely considered as Albert Camus’s most successful novel. It tells the story of a plague epidemic in the Algerian coastal town of Oran, where thousands of rats are found dead all over the city. Camus’ absurdist philosophy is at the background of the novel. He stresses theContinue reading “Book Review: The Plague – Albert Camus”
Tag Archives: absurdism
Book Review: The Stranger – Albert Camus
L’Étranger, The Stranger or The Outsider, is a 1942 novel by French author Albert Camus. Though it is a work of fiction, it is often cited as an example of Camus’ philosophy of Absurdism. The Stranger has had a profound impact on millions of readers. Through the story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn intoContinue reading “Book Review: The Stranger – Albert Camus”
Lovecraftian Cosmicism – Existentialism, Absurdism and Nihilism
Howard Phillips Lovecraft was an American writer of weird and horror fiction, who is known for his creation of what became the Cthulhu Mythos and the creator of the literary philosophy known as Cosmicism, emphasising the cosmic horror of the unknown. “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongestContinue reading “Lovecraftian Cosmicism – Existentialism, Absurdism and Nihilism”
(mis)Understanding Nihilism
What exactly is Nihilism? It is often associated to extreme pessimism and believed that it is an active negation of life, or thinks of it as empty of inherent meaning. In other words, that there is no such thing as “meaning” or “value”, no meaning in the universe, no meaning in the search of meaningContinue reading “(mis)Understanding Nihilism”
The Absurd – Camus, Kierkegaard & Dostoevsky | Existentialism
Albert Camus’ views contributed to the rise of the philosophy known as Absurdism, he defines the Absurd “as the conflict between the human tendency to seek inherent value and meaning in life, and the human inability to find any meaning in a purposeless, meaningless, and irrational universe, with the ‘unreasonable silence’ of the universe inContinue reading “The Absurd – Camus, Kierkegaard & Dostoevsky | Existentialism”
Book Review: The Myth of Sisyphus – Albert Camus
One of Albert Camus’ most famous and important works is the philosophical essay The Myth of Sisyphus. It starts off with a powerful and thought-provoking statement: “There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy.”Continue reading “Book Review: The Myth of Sisyphus – Albert Camus”
The Absurd, Revolt and Rebellion – Camus
“Man stands face to face with the irrational. He feels within him his longing for happiness and for reason.” – Albert Camus 1. The Absurd For Camus, the Absurd is the “conflict between the human tendency to seek inherent value and meaning in life, and the human inability to find any meaning in a purposeless,Continue reading “The Absurd, Revolt and Rebellion – Camus”
An Introduction to Albert Camus
Albert Camus was born in Algeria in 1913, a French colony at the time. He studied philosophy at the University of Algiers, then became a journalist. He was born in a poor working-class family, his mother was an illiterate cleaning lady, and there were no books in his house, he lost his father when heContinue reading “An Introduction to Albert Camus”
Nausea & The Absurdity of the World – Jean Paul Sartre
Sartre’s first novel, Nausea, gave a name for existential angst. He considered it as one of his most precious novels, it portrays Antoine Roquentin, a French writer who is horrified at his own existence and finds it meaningless. He lives alone, has no friends, and usually eavesdrops on other people’s conversations and watches their actions.Continue reading “Nausea & The Absurdity of the World – Jean Paul Sartre”