Albert Camus

1913 — 1960 • Contemporary

Camus explored the philosophy of the absurd — the conflict between our desire for meaning and the universe's silent indifference. Though often grouped with existentialists, he rejected the label.

In The Myth of Sisyphus, he argues that we must imagine Sisyphus happy — that the struggle itself is enough to fill a heart. His novels The Stranger and The Plague explore absurdity, revolt, and solidarity. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957.

Key Ideas

Absurdism Revolt Solidarity Sisyphus as Hero Philosophical Suicide

Influenced By

Nietzsche Kierkegaard Dostoevsky Ancient Greeks

Influenced

Existential Therapy Modern Literature Philosophy of the Absurd

Notable Quotes

"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion."
— The Rebel, 1951

"One must imagine Sisyphus happy."
— The Myth of Sisyphus, 1942

"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer."
— Return to Tipasa

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