The Myth of Sisyphus

Jun 28, 2011 Joshua Nomen-Mutatio rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: philosophy, essays

Mar 25, 2012 Simeon marked it as to-finish · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fictions, philosophy

One of the greatest opening lines of all time:

"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. All the rest – whether or not the world has three dimensions, whether the mind has nine or twelve categories – comes afterwards. These are games; one must first answer."

- Albert Camus

To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The s...more

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Mar 03, 2008 Jason rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: slaves, idiots, conceited philosophy students, kafkaphiles, morons

Recommended to Jason by: Ian Karell

Okay, so the basic premise in this book is that there are two schools of thought involved with becoming conscious as a man. There is one in which you become conscious of God, accepting faith as the channel between this world and the next. Existence is a matter of order, one that is concrete and follows the compelling obligations towards the God whom you commit your faith.

The other option is the absurd, for which this book is written. The problem asks is it possible not to commit suicide in a me...more Okay, so the basic premise in this book is that there are two schools of thought involved with becoming conscious as a man. There is one in which you become conscious of God, accepting faith as the channel between this world and the next. Existence is a matter of order, one that is concrete and follows the compelling obligations towards the God whom you commit your faith.

The other option is the absurd, for which this book is written. The problem asks is it possible not to commit suicide in a meaningless world and without faith in God. The absurd man simply states, I and my plight are ephemeral, but I still choose life. Why?

The comparison to Sisyphus is made through this absurd man. A man who is doomed by the gods to perpetually push a rock up a mountain which becomes steeper as it moves up. Eventually slope takes the better of the effort and as a matter of prescribed definition the rock falls down the hill; to which, the man, Sisyphus, must start again. The absurd man follows the archetype of the Sisyphus myth of which Camus says is “wanting to know,” and in wanting to know realizing that the whole of existence is a continuous repetition, nothing is gained nor loss; “the sin of which the absurd man can feel guilt and innocence.”

This is not existentialism. It is presupposed in an existence without explanation that it is unreasonable to assume anything concrete. As Camus puts it, “the theme of the irrational, as it is conceived by the existentials, is reason becoming confused and escaping by negating itself.” He confines the absurd to, rather than negation, setting up a “lucid reasoning,” or playground for activity, and merely “noting limits” so that you are free to work within your living situation.

It’s all about cheerful compliance. Realizing you’re in the situation and you’re damned to it. Fuck it. It’s not that I’m lost in this absent void of existence, with no telling of the future and no cause for impetus. I realize that there is a chance, be it strong or tiny, that there is a vastness far beyond the compelling straits of life that leave me wondering “what’s the difference?” If I do anything, I am compelled to the possibility of it not mattering. Camus was talking about a “lucid indifference” to this. Saying, I live it. It would be a crime to strip my life of the possibility of something. Even if I am a slave I can sing. I give up on morality, a legitimization of my actions that either says this, based on prescribed foundations “okays” it or disallows it. Really, the impetus is for responsibility. What I do in this life is directly reflected in this life. If I steal, then there is recourse. If I lie; but what if someone lies to me? I guess it’s the categorical imperative, but sans morality. Morality lines things within the sights of God, establishing guilt. What is guilt? It’s mindless, an obscenity. I feel guilt for not abiding to my addiction. Who can identify the real factions of guilt, who can identify its sincerity. It’s emotional. I’d rather be rational. I’d rather see that this whole circus, a great jibe of the floating, tender inevitability of death is but a contraption set for me to build and destroy and collect and decipher. Camus said, “for the absurd man it is not a matter of explaining and solving, but of experiencing and describing. Everything begins with lucid indifference.” I am in a state of despair. Anything that I do has no value. On the other hand, I am living and I am breathing and in a strange way I have a personal freedom unpronounced by most people who establish their own freedoms. All I have to do is have faith in my freedom and like a majesty that is lain out in silver robes before me, it is there. I only have to respect that I am living in a free slate, unmitigated by a stratified moral imperative that limits so many people from following intuition and there actual imperative needs. Do you believe in destiny? That we all have a purpose and it is designated by our need to imbibe the principles of our life into a system that we can identify for ourselves. There is that mode of philosophy that says that we are the people whom we are, we are meant to be these people, this specific type of person completely genuine to himself and totally as that self. My identity is the world surrounding me combusting into a single frame that I can represent justly by my merely living life as I should be doing it. I do not need to live up to this social strata of an impartial development towards nowhere, rather I should live life as I make fit, feeling good. Feeling established. So what if my endeavors are rooted to rolling a rock up a hill at least I have something to do, in the formation of my universe I need a place to put what is concrete, even if there is nothing concrete. As analogous creatures, if we do not have any basis to compare then we are no more capable of being thoughtful than a bar of soap. I’d rather be the dirt, simply abiding to my state of being, minus the will, minus the infirmity, I’d be an obstacle for the righteous, and standing in the way I could laugh at the adversity, laugh at the spectacle of my life so deranged in its absurdity. And at the last moment before my death, that is how I could acknowledge that I was alive. Or how I am still alive, whatever.
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Jun 01, 2008 Yuval rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Most of my friends will probably think I'm being sarcastic when I call this as good a "self-help" book as any I can imagine, but this essay honestly inspired in me an awe of human nature and its absurd indomitability. I think Camus gets a bad rap for being a cold, detached pessimist who only points out the meaninglessness of life again and again in his books. OK, he may indeed declare life "meaningless," but this book is passionately affirmative of life in the face of that void. Beginning as a r...more

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Feb 07, 2008 Patrick rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: philosophers, dorm room and otherwise

Shelves: books-read-in-2008

There was a part of me that really, really, really wanted to give this book 4 stars because of the way it made me think about life and consider and reconsider my own notions about the meaning we make in our worlds. It contained some really interested ideas regarding the philosophy of absurdism, which I would best describe as something of a happy medium between existentialism and nihilism, though I understand Camus himself might consider it nihilism's polar opposite.

That said, I can't say I reall...more

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Jun 07, 2007 Mme. Bookling ~ rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In this philosophical essay, Camus presents and defends his philosophical school of thought entitled the philosophy of the absurd.

The philosophy of the absurd asks about man's futile search for meaning in a world which it devoid of eternity. He presupposes the question: Does the realization of the absurdity of life mean suicide is the best option for mankind? Throughout the essay, he comes to say that suicide is not the best option--but revolt.

This is seriously such a fascinating review of exist...more In this philosophical essay, Camus presents and defends his philosophical school of thought entitled the philosophy of the absurd.

The philosophy of the absurd asks about man's futile search for meaning in a world which it devoid of eternity. He presupposes the question: Does the realization of the absurdity of life mean suicide is the best option for mankind? Throughout the essay, he comes to say that suicide is not the best option--but revolt.

This is seriously such a fascinating review of existentialism and the meaninglessness of life. It leaves you with the thought (to do with as you will)-- "What counts is not the best living but the most living."

The last chapter deals with the actual myth--this is taken from wikipedia:

In the last chapter, Camus outlines the legend of Sisyphus who defied the gods and put Death in chains so that no human needed to die. When Death was eventually liberated and it came time for Sisyphus himself to die, he concocted a deceit which let him escape from the underworld. Finally captured, the gods decided on his punishment: for all eternity, he would have to push a rock up a mountain; on the top, the rock rolls down again and Sisyphus has to start over. Camus sees Sisyphus, who lives life to the fullest, hates death and is condemned to a meaningless task, as the absurd hero.

Camus presents Sisyphus's ceaseless and pointless toil as a metaphor for modern lives spent working at futile jobs in factories and offices. "The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is tragic only at the rare moments when it becomes conscious."

Camus is interested in Sisyphus' thoughts when marching down the mountain, to start anew. This is the tragic moment, when the hero becomes conscious of his wretched condition. He does not have hope, but "[t]here is no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn." Acknowledging the truth will conquer it; Sisyphus, just like the absurd man, keeps pushing. Camus argues that Sisyphus is truly happy precisely because the futility of his task is beyond doubt: the certainty of Sisyphus' fate frees him to recognize the absurdity of his plight and to carry out his actions with contented acceptance, which Camus argues to be a form of true happiness. With a nod to the similarly cursed Greek hero Oedipus, Camus concludes that "all is well."

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Aug 18, 2011 Jasmine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: algerian

okay... so um... I say read the novels... I mean maybe I'm just stupid these days but this is not as good. it seems to me that camus has a fundamental difficulty... um... carrying his own train of thought, he's far too all over the place for me here which made it almost impossible to follow the logic which made it impossible to stay engaged.

I'm really debating stars I want to give it 2 cause I know what camus is capable of, but I also know the ideas that are found under this mess and when they...more

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Jan 31, 2008 Danny rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

just goes to show, hope itself is useless and irresponsible. one creates beauty. it cannot be "arrived at."

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Dec 11, 2008 Mel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

ada yang saya sukai dari buku ini tersebar di beberapa topik don yuanisme, penaklukan, kirilov, dan sandiwara. namun yang akan saya kutip satu saja.

"selalu tiba saatnya kita harus memilih antara renungan dan tindakan. begitulah hakikatnya menjadi manusia. kepedihan2 itu mengerikan. namun untuk hati yg memiliki kebanggaan, disitu tidak mungkin ada pilihan tengah. ada tuhan atau waktu, salib atau pedang. dunia ini mempunyai arti yg lebih tinggi yg melampaui segala hiruk pikuknya atau tidak ada sua...more

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Apr 13, 2009 Adrian Colesberry rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Classic for a reason. This book is a tonic for any agnostic or cynic struggling with the whole meaning-of-life thing. Camus, in a way that I find totally satisfying, solves that problem without the standard religious cop-out of locating meaning outside this world.
What is wrong with being Sisyphus? Is this a punishment or is this just what life is if you take you head out of the bubble for long enough to see the truth of things. My essential vision of life I more or less cribbed from Camus and S...more

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Feb 16, 2013 Mohamed rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

http://www.spicegag.com/wp-content/up...

A brilliant collection of essays concerning the aspect of Absurd-ism and its manifestations in art and literature, Portrayals of affection for summer cities, notes on the western civilization's spirit then and a short interview with Camus himself in which he discusses the artist's roles in shaping the events of his time.
Perfect book for anyone interested in existentialism and absurd-ism philosophies, Would be good casual read for anyone except for the firs...more

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Apr 02, 2009 Pierce added it · review of another edition

"The stars don't shine upon us, We're in the way of their light," sings David Berman.

I have never understood so little of a book. Camus takes a long time to draw his set-up into a clear, understandable thread but by the last third I was beginning to absorb most of his gist. I am not used to reading philosophical texts. They are structured like scientific dialogues but they speak of consciousness and emotions, so I often feel myself led down a fork in the road before I have fully evaluated my opt...more "The stars don't shine upon us, We're in the way of their light," sings David Berman.

I have never understood so little of a book. Camus takes a long time to draw his set-up into a clear, understandable thread but by the last third I was beginning to absorb most of his gist. I am not used to reading philosophical texts. They are structured like scientific dialogues but they speak of consciousness and emotions, so I often feel myself led down a fork in the road before I have fully evaluated my options.

Another part my problem was that I couldn't locate his definition of absurdity. Following frequent lectures by M I had a good handle on it, I thought, but it read like I had missed a chapter somewhere, or fell asleep during some part of it. If I had to put a definition on it myself I might call absurdity "observed chaos". For the universe is chaotic by nature but not absurd until filtered through the mind of a person whose natural predilection is to search for meaning. Perhaps his assumption was that we'd read the preceding Kierkegaard. He certainly refers to a lot of previous texts as a matter of course.

I once imagined that the main question that divided us all was the existence of a god. That there could be no more fundamental divide between two people than a disagreement over divine existence. Lately, as religious conviction and practices relax, I find myself encountering more and more people who do not necessarily believe in God, as such, but still believe in some outside meaning ascribed by the cosmos. Certain events are "meant" to happen, people are "meant" to find each other. I've lately begun to think that the broader question that separates us is those who believe that something outside ourselves ordains meaning and those who do not.

My main issue with Camus' take on the absurd man is the suggestion that the lack of greater meaning or an afterlife absolves him from living morally. This is most often the position taken against atheists, but believing the universe is chaotic does not negate one's empathy. Believing that meaning is not imposed by the universe and also that it is wrong to inflict pain on others that one would prefer to avoid oneself are not mutually exclusive. It doesn't matter that empathy is a survival trait naturally evolved to maintain order in groups. It does not matter one whit.

I also draw a clear distinction between hope and faith, Camus lumps them together, seeing Dostoevsky's characters' descent into such a betrayal of absurdist "values". But I'm taken, overall, with his interpretation of Sisyphus. Of course we do not need to commit suicide because the universe has no meaning. We are along for the ride, like everything else in the way of the stars.(less)

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Mar 29, 2009 Samantha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This essay is one I have visited more times than I'd like to admit. The Myth of Sisyphus sets the structural foundation for the absurdist perceptions and views of literary works that place emphasis on these similar themes. The Myth of Sisyphus depicts the absurd by challenging the moral standards by which society exists. Sisyphus projects society’s inane mission to rationalize the irrational but counters it by providing examples that reflect our mundane existence and exemplify futile and hopeles...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Arjun Ravichandran rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"The only serious philosophical problem is that of suicide. Everything else (whether the mind has 2 or 16 dimensions, whether the red I see is the red you see etc) are merely games."
This is the starting-point for Camus' exploration ; life is absurd. It is absurd because human beings have search for reason, unity and meaning in a universe that has essentially none. Now that the absurd has been exposed, is life worth living?
It is a fascinating and fundamental query that in the hands of a better...more

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Nov 05, 2012 Derek rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The title essay, The Myth of Sisyphus, is a work that Camus wrote relatively early in his career on the subject of suicide. While that subject interests me not at all, I found myself drawn in by his content and his style. He points out the absurdity in human life in many different ways through the essay and yet does not take up some hopeless nihilism or adopt some ridiculous deterministic scheme of the universe. His thoughts of the nature of absurdity and the absurd man are things that I can rel...more

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Sep 22, 2012 elham rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: philosophy, favorites

افسانه سیزیف :MYthe de sisyphe
آلبر کامو
مترجم: دکتر محمود سلطانیه
"...من سیزیف را پای کوه رها می کنم! بار سنگین او همواره در دسترس است. سیزیف وفادارانه در برابر خدایان می ایستد و تخته سنگ ها را از جای بر می کند. او نیز همه چیز را نیک می داند و دنیا را دیگر نه سترون می بیند و نه بیهوده. هر ریزه ای از آن سنگ و هر پرتوی از دل کوهساران همیشه شب برای او دنیایی می شود. مبارزه برای رسیدن به ستیغ گامی است تا دل آدمی را سرشار کند. باید سیزیف را نیکبخت انگاشت." --- (جملات پایانی کتاب)
از پیشگفتار(دکتر حامد ف...more افسانه سیزیف :MYthe de sisyphe
آلبر کامو
مترجم: دکتر محمود سلطانیه
"...من سیزیف را پای کوه رها می کنم! بار سنگین او همواره در دسترس است. سیزیف وفادارانه در برابر خدایان می ایستد و تخته سنگ ها را از جای بر می کند. او نیز همه چیز را نیک می داند و دنیا را دیگر نه سترون می بیند و نه بیهوده. هر ریزه ای از آن سنگ و هر پرتوی از دل کوهساران همیشه شب برای او دنیایی می شود. مبارزه برای رسیدن به ستیغ گامی است تا دل آدمی را سرشار کند. باید سیزیف را نیکبخت انگاشت." --- (جملات پایانی کتاب)
از پیشگفتار(دکتر حامد فولادوند) :
"افسانه سیزیف به نقد مدرنیته و انسان متجدد می پردازد. در واقع، احساس پوچی و شوریده دلی نتیجه فقدان معنا و گسترش نیست انگاری درون جامعه مدرن است. روند تجدد مآبی معاصر افسون زدایی را با خود می آورد و پی دیوار های پوچی را می ریزد.
سیزیف (یا مورسو) شاهد و قربانی تکرار کسل کننده (ماشینی - مکانیکی) یکنواخت می باشد و در گرداب نا آرامی و عدم شور و شوق کشیده می شود. دلشوره (هایدگر)، تهوع (سارتر) و از خود بیگانگی (مارکس) حالت های روحی فرد عصر مدرنیته را بیان می کنند.
اگر به متن این اثر بیشتر دقت کنیم متوجه می شویم که کامو مدام به اندیشمندانی چون هایدگر، یاسپرس، کیرکه گور، چستوف، داستایوسکی، شوپنهاور و نیچه ارجاع می کند، یعنی او به کسانی که ارزش ها و عقاید مدرن را نقد کردند متوسل می شود زیرا کامو خود را با آنان کم و بیش هم عقیده یا خویشاوند می داند..."
یادداشت:
1. افسانه سیزیف رمان نیست! یک نقد است از پوچی، که سرانجام آن پیروزی پوچی است!
2. مترجم آن دکتر محمود سلطانیه است. که به سبک ویژه خود ترجمه کرده است و آن را از یک نوشتار صرفا علمی و فلسفی متمایز می کند (تا حدودی ادبی). به همین علت فهم آن برای من اندکی مشکل بود. باید دوباره آنرا بخوانم.
3. پیروزی پوچی ار نظر آلبر کامو بدان معناست که آدم آگاه با وجود آنکه می داند زندگی پوچ است ولی برای رسیدن به شادی هایش تمام تلاش خود را می کند! "...اکنون بر آنم که برای خوب زیستن همان بهتر که زندگی مفهومی نداشته باشد."
4. من هیچ وقت پوچ گرا نبوده ام. ولی یقین دارم که مفهومی که آلبر کامو در اینجا از آن به عنوان پوچی یاد می کند درحقیقت همان آگاهی فلسفی است که یک فیلسوف دارد و اینکه با وجود آگاهی زندگی برای او ارزشمند است و ارزش مبارزه را دارد.
بخش های منتخب:
1. "انسان بیشتر به خاطر آنچه به زبان نمی آورد انسان است، نه آنچه می گوید."
2. همواره زمانی فرا می رسد که باید میان تماشاگر بودن و عمل یکی را برگزید. این معیار انسان شدن است."
3. "می دانم که می توان آشتی جویانه در سده حاضر زندگی کرد و ابدیت را پذیرفت و این همان نهادن است. اما دوست ندارم این گونه باشم و دلم می خواهد یا هیچ باشم یا همه چیز."
5. "انسان پوچ در پی توضیح و حل دشواری ها نیست و تنها به دنبال آزمودن و تفسیر کردن است."

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Feb 15, 2012 Unbridled rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Much is made of the simplicity with which Camus wrote - so much so that scores of American teens read L'Étranger in its original tongue. I have no qualms with this, wish I'd done it myself; however, as with Hemingway (an otherwise wholly inaccurate comparison, in my mind), such simplicity of style is often hard to measure in full. In Camus’s specific case, it would be easy to drift through the poetics of his style and lose the full force of his elegant and active intelligence. Camus, unlike Hemi...more Much is made of the simplicity with which Camus wrote - so much so that scores of American teens read L'Étranger in its original tongue. I have no qualms with this, wish I'd done it myself; however, as with Hemingway (an otherwise wholly inaccurate comparison, in my mind), such simplicity of style is often hard to measure in full. In Camus’s specific case, it would be easy to drift through the poetics of his style and lose the full force of his elegant and active intelligence. Camus, unlike Hemingway (brutal, brilliant animal that he was), had a beautiful, elegant mind - virile yet gentle - and also flawed as any virile mind will be. But I digress. The other man I immediately think of when I think of Camus, is the labyrinthine Sartre. The difference between them is stark, and here again it is true, the man is in his style. I would imagine it crudely, as this - Camus as a healthy, bounding mutt, who fetches you gems of the most pleasing size and clarity; and Sartre, as the ratty, cunning mutt, who fetches you many more gems, but smaller, over a longer period of time, and with not as many rare specimens (quantity pushing out quality). With both you will be rich - with Sartre, by sheer volume, you will have more than you need or desire. (Of course, this is an obvious personal bias.)

As to this collection of essays, the basic info, first - the 'absurd' evoked by Camus is not an ‘insult’ but a condition - an acknowledgement of the factual meaninglessness of life. The acceptance and challenge/revolt to this is meant to be a means to proceed beyond nihilism, which ends logically in resignation (and perhaps, suicide). The opening line to The Myth of Sisyphus is: "There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide." But before I reveal Camus’s ‘answer’ to this challenge, I will quote a couple lines from this leading essay and a few from the essays that follow.

From within The Myth of Sisyphus: "There is no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn." "[C]rushing truths perish from being acknowledged."

From Summer in Algiers: "For if there is a sin against life, it consists perhaps not so much in despairing of life as in hoping for another life and in eluding the implacable grandeur of this life...From Pandora's box, where all the ills of humanity swarmed, the Greeks drew out hope after all the others, as the most dreadful of all. I know no more stirring symbol; for, contrary to the general belief, hope equals resignation. And to live is not to resign oneself."

From The Minotaur or The Stop in Oran: "In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion; in order to serve men better, one has to hold them at a distance for a time."

As to The Return to Tipasa, nothing to quote, only to note - the entire essay is a prose poem that one could choose worse to be read to on one's deathbed.

And finally, the Sisyphus ‘answer’ to the question of suicide?

"It was previously a question of finding out whether or not a life had to have a meaning to be lived. It is now clear, on the contrary, that it will be lived all the better if it has no meaning. Living an experience, a particular fate, is accepting it fully. Now, no one will live this fate, knowing it to be absurd, unless he does everything to keep before him that absurd brought to life by consciousness. Negating one of the terms of the opposition on which he lives amounts to escaping it. To abolish conscious revolt is to elude the problem. The theme of permanent revolution is thus carried into individual experience. Living is keeping the absurd alive. Keeping it alive is, above all, contemplating it. Unlike Eurydice, the absurd dies only when we turn away from it. One of the only coherent philosophical positions is thus revolt. It is a constant confrontation between man and his own obscurity. It is an insistence upon an impossible transparency. It challenges the world anew every second. Just as danger provided man the unique opportunity of seizing awareness, so metaphysical revolt extends awareness to the whole of experience. It is the constant presence of man in his own eyes. It is not aspiration, for it is devoid of hope. The revolt is the certainty of a crushing fate, without the resignation that ought to accompany it....I understand then why the doctrines that explain everything to me also debilitate me at the same time. They relieve me of the weight of my own life, and yet I must carry it alone....Consciousness and revolt, these rejections are the contrary of renunciation. Everything that is indomitable and passionate in a human heart quickens them, on the contrary, with its own life. It is essential to die unreconciled and not of one's own free will. Suicide is a repudiation. The absurd man can only drain everything to the bitter end, deplete himself. The absurd is his extreme tension, which he maintains constantly by solitary effort, for he knows that in that consciousness and in that day-to-day revolt he gives proof of his only truth, which is defiance. This is a first consequence."

Does that cut it? It does - but it is a long and subtle argument that requires an openness to this theme. The other essays maintain this theme of revolt over resignation. This is not a self-help instruction but a principle to be absorbed for personal endurance.
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Nov 21, 2011 Josh rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The "other essays" in the title I read, like, a year-and-a-half ago and didn't see how they were remarkable. The past three days, however, I've spent reading Sisyphus finally--this is my fourth attempt and the first time I got past page eleven. The first half is hard; I definitely have not grasped many of the specifics. The second half is devoted to illustrating what the absurd is/could be in personality types and through certain authors' works. (The philosophers and authors referenced, of cours...more The "other essays" in the title I read, like, a year-and-a-half ago and didn't see how they were remarkable. The past three days, however, I've spent reading Sisyphus finally--this is my fourth attempt and the first time I got past page eleven. The first half is hard; I definitely have not grasped many of the specifics. The second half is devoted to illustrating what the absurd is/could be in personality types and through certain authors' works. (The philosophers and authors referenced, of course, I have not read yet.) Those first eleven pages are profound. Camus proposes that life has no inherent meaning, that we spend its duration denying that knowledge, and then asks why we see meaninglessness as a bad thing. He's right. Where did that correlation originate? Camus asks if suicide is justified if we (the post-Nietzche we, I'm assuming, who know God to be "dead," a myth) see that life is meaningless. He doesn't seem to think so. He identifies the "absurd" state--where we know everything we do is futile because there is no eternity, no reward or punishment, no symbolic home to return to--and terms it as such because part of its inherent nature is that we are in perpetual revolt against this knowledge; it cannot be accepted. (He even differentiates "hopelessness" and "despair," pointing out how divergent and unrelated they actually are.) So suffering, like Jesus did, is pointless. I don't think Camus is saying anything as simple as "live for the present," but I don't think he's refuting that either. He says we should see Sisyphus as happy when he descends to retrieve the rock. I, unable to reconcile the absurd, truly cannot grasp why he would be. The moments of clarity I felt, particularly in those eleven pages, are as profound as thought can be. It's a proposition so untenable and yet irrefutable, within Camus's terms, that I can't actually hold on to it firmly enough to articulate it. I'm just having repeated moments of totally ephemeral insight. Impossible insight... What the fuck can anyone say about Camus? (less)

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May 17, 2010 Venus rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: myth

تمام شادی خاموش سیزیف در این امر نهفته است.قسمت او مال خودش است،سنگش نیز همینطور.مرد ناامید وقتی به شکنجه خود می اندیشد،تمام خدایان دروغین را سر جای خود مینشاند.در جهانی که ناگهان به سکوت خود بازگشته است،ده ها هزار صدای کوچک سرگردان برمی خیزد.بدون سایه خورشیدی نخواهد بود و شناختن شب واجب است.انسان ناامید میگوید آری و لذا تلاش هایش بی پایان خواهد بود.او در می یابد خداوندگار روزگار خود است.در آن لحظه ظریف نظری بر عقب زندگی خود می اندازد.سیزیف که به سوی سنگ خود بازمیگردد،در ان چرخش ناچیز،او به آن ا...more

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Jul 07, 2009 David rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This thesis on existentialism is written in a form that I found hard to assimilate. Camus wades through his philosophy with colloquial writing style and anecdotal reasoning, rather that a structured analysis with proofs and objectivity. In spite of these shortcomings, his use and interpretation of Sisyphus, not as a tragic character but a hero, is profound. Analogously, Camus says we should find satisfaction and heart in executing whatever meaningless struggle lies before us. It represents a for...more

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Mar 16, 2013 John rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Instead of being crushed by a vast, difficult to comprehend, cosmos the absurd man soldiers on. He doesn't curl up, go on food stamps, or complain about lurid Koch brother conspiracies. He gives a middle finger to his fate and then does what he can. Up yours universe: this is Camus’s revolt and, in our time, it’s a universal sentiment. This part of being absurd is easily faked; every brain-dead rapper and air-headed celebrity sports up-yours-airs, but absurd men do not play at revolt! They do th...more

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Feb 14, 2013 Manohar Lal Solanki rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Myth of Sisyphus is a philosophical essay written by Albert Camus, it is a nice book to read for those who like to read more about Existensialims. Most of the scholars have said that Albert Camus is an Existensialist but he has denied this labelling of being Existensialms.

The Myth of Sisyphus can be categorised into three categories. In first part, he illustrates the concept of absurdity profoundly to the depth of abyss. In this part, Camus says that absurdity is no where, neither in the hu...more The Myth of Sisyphus is a philosophical essay written by Albert Camus, it is a nice book to read for those who like to read more about Existensialims. Most of the scholars have said that Albert Camus is an Existensialist but he has denied this labelling of being Existensialms.

The Myth of Sisyphus can be categorised into three categories. In first part, he illustrates the concept of absurdity profoundly to the depth of abyss. In this part, Camus says that absurdity is no where, neither in the human itself nor in the outside world, but Camus says that absurdity conjure up when individual makes efforts to reconcile the territory of its mental world and world which is outside the mental world of individual, this reconciliation is a foreshadow of absurdity and nothing else.

In second part, Camus talks about the solution to the absurdity. In this part, Camus explains the three ways to do away with absurdity. First is suicide, second is Philosophical suicide and third is acknowledgement of absurdity. He denies the first two options as to do away the absurdity. One of the reason for Camus to clamour that he is not an Existensialist is that Camus does not see the myth as solution to the problem of absurdity while on the other hand Existensialist do that.

In the third part, he has used the myth of Sisyphus, in order to explain the ways to handle the absurd and that is to recognise the absurd. Camus used three elements as an integral elements of individual those who have acknowledged the absurd. These are revolt, freedom and passion.

In my point of view, this essay contains in depth amount of philosophical ideas and this essay will be a good start for those who are looking for the answer for the question that how one should live. However, this essay might not be satisfactory for those who are radical supporter of philosophical suicide where philosophy starts with reason but ends with irratationality and absurdity in itself.

Try your hand on this essay if you are admirer and supporter of Existensialism. It will be a good exercise to find out that why Albert Camus himself is not acclaming in the scholars of Existensialism but on the other hand, all the scholars are acclaiming that Albert Camus is an Existensialist.

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Apr 30, 2012 Jenelle rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: semiotics-essays-theory

I just drank two glasses of wine, but believe me I will be back to review this in a serious way. For the moment I would like to say, in buzzing incredulity: who were my mentors, teachers, guardians, caregivers that they didn't introduce this book to me at least ten years ago? This is the most important religious book I have ever read, if you know what I mean. For a minute reads like a whodunnit, a page-turner: should we kill ourselves or NOT, Camus?? There are some weak parts.

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Feb 19, 2009 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In one way, at least, "The Myth of Sisyphys" is not an honest inquiry into the question of meaning. Camus dismisses, a priori, any possible supernatural source of meaning, which leaves him with only absurdity. But then he despairs because of the meaningless and absurdity of life. Well, what did he expect? Inasmuch as an absurdist essay can be said to be internally consistent, "Sisyphus" succeeds. Camus himself, however, concedes that absurdity ultimately results in chaos and that his very argume...more In one way, at least, "The Myth of Sisyphys" is not an honest inquiry into the question of meaning. Camus dismisses, a priori, any possible supernatural source of meaning, which leaves him with only absurdity. But then he despairs because of the meaningless and absurdity of life. Well, what did he expect? Inasmuch as an absurdist essay can be said to be internally consistent, "Sisyphus" succeeds. Camus himself, however, concedes that absurdity ultimately results in chaos and that his very argument must collapse in on itself. He stops short of admitting that there is no reason to accept his conclusions, but that is the logical end of his thought (yes, he uses logic in spite of the fact that he undermines reason, and he acknowledges that absurdity).

Before I go further, I must make it clear that his reasons for dismissing supernatural meaning are well founded. His critique of Christianity in particular as he understood it are dead on. In his research into Christianity, Camus discovered a requirement that those who enter the church must sacrifice the intellect. Further, he discovered in Kierkegaard not only this sacrifice, but a requirement that faith requires an irrational leap into the void. Camus was fiercely intelligent, and rejected any claim that was internally contradictory. As such, Camus rightly rejects both requirements. Oddly enough, in this respect, Camus is in complete agreement with the Bible, for both requirements are antithetical to Holy Scriptures of Christianity, the Bible.

Over and over again in the Christian Bible, God pleads with people to reason with Him. The faith of Abraham, the crux of Kierkegaard's leap, was not an irrational leap, but was based on propositional truth. Sadly, Camus' critique never went as far as comparing the claims of Ignatius and Kierkegaard to Scripture, leaving him with nothing but absurdity.

Another problem in Camus' thought as expressed in "Sisyphus" is that he claims to have made no assumptions and worked with only that which is concrete. For the most part, I must agree with him. However, he makes one critical assumption that is not based on anything concrete, and it undermines most of his argument. He assumes intelligence and the mind, neither of which are concrete, both of which are abstract concepts. There are those today who question whether such things as mind or intellect exist. If mind and intellect are indeed assumed, Camus' argument for the nobility of the absurd collapses, as it is built on lucid thought and intellect. Nothing, not even absurdity, is left to Camus now.

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Apr 25, 2013 Mike rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Okay: I'm not satisfied with The Myth of Sisyphus. I'm equally unsatisfied with my reasons, my critique, and my feelings with regard to The Myth of Sisyphus. Both the text and my reservations to it seem equally unconvincing.

Sometimes, The Myth of Sisyphus feels like this: Camus lists a set of rules for what absurdism means. Then he explains what counts under that definition (actors and conquerors), then what doesn't count after that definition (Dostoevsky, Kafka). Camus sets up a convoluted syst...more

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Oct 18, 2010 Eric rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Life is absurd - that is the fundamental premise of this book. We live constantly for the uncertain future while always trying to ignore the fact that we are inevitably approaching our death, the time of which is equally uncertain. Throughout the course of human history we've developed devices like language, culture and abstractions like "the future", "love", "hope" and "reason" which in our modern lives serve to shield us from the absurd and give us a feeling of control - or to put it as Camus...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Geoff rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2013

I am going to divide my review into two parts. In the first part, I will give an all too brief outline of Albert Camus' philosophy along with my opinion and thoughts on the essay entitled The Myth of Sisyphus. I will not include the section titled The Myth of Sisyphus or the Appendix in my review. The second part will be an expansion of the outline and will be contained in a spoiler section. It will be based on what I gathered to be Camus' main points in each of the three sections of his essay.

I...more I am going to divide my review into two parts. In the first part, I will give an all too brief outline of Albert Camus' philosophy along with my opinion and thoughts on the essay entitled The Myth of Sisyphus. I will not include the section titled The Myth of Sisyphus or the Appendix in my review. The second part will be an expansion of the outline and will be contained in a spoiler section. It will be based on what I gathered to be Camus' main points in each of the three sections of his essay.

In the first section, Camus begins with a question regarding the legitimacy of suicide. From this he develops an idea of the absurdity of life which spawns from the confrontation between man and his world. It is in this confrontation that man realizes that he is devoid of meaning. He is not concerned so much with what is absurd but more with what consequences he can derive from that truth. Man can react to the absurd in one of three ways; suicide, a “leap”, or simply to endure. Briefly, he denies suicide, refutes the “leap” as put forth by various philosophers, and believes one should remain living. After a lengthy exploration of what the absurd entails, he comes to the conclusion that man is left with three things: his revolt, his freedom, and his passion.

The second and third section of the essay constitute an attempt at describing how one should live as an absurd human and how creativity can exist despite the apparent meaninglessness of life. He concludes that one should live face to face with the absurd, never letting the now lucid conscious deviate its attention from the absurd. The only way to face the absurd is head on.

I felt an immediate connection to this essay. Camus writes unabashedly about life and the feelings and emotions surrounding it, all the while maintaining a strict observance of reason and logic as he develops his philosophy around the absurd. I don't think any of his claims are unreasonable to the point of denial. The content of his thought is rich in lyricism, quite often requiring multiple readings of a single page or sentence. The beautiful lyricism makes his work difficult to follow when read as a philosophical exposition. Definitions that one normally finds explicated rather clearly in other works of philosophy are hidden and danced around. He begins with a feeling of the absurd (“What, then, is that incalculable feeling that deprives the mind of the sleep necessary for life?”) and moves toward a definition but never quite gets there. I think he is more interested in the consequences one can derive from this feeling rather than work around a static, proper definition that refuses to be felt.

Due to the heavy philosophical themes I do not consider this a casual read. He refers to various philosophers and literary figures that I would not consider common knowledge, leaving some to scratch their head. Even though Camus writes eloquently, all the while blending poetry into his brief descriptions of certain philosophies, including his own, the basics of these philosophical ideas he references require some prior familiarity on behalf of the reader. It's all too easy to understand how this would turn many people away due to the fact that a large amount of time must be devoted in order to understand past the basic principles Camus puts forth (such as “life is absurd” and “don't kill yourself”). Coming to terms with the basic idea behind a work such as this can sometimes feel as if that is enough, often deterring one from venturing further. I, for one, am all too guilty of glazing over an idea and not advancing its position, hitting a wall and turning back if you will. But, working past this wall and rereading will prove to be a more fruitful experience. I had to spend, and still need to devote, a lot of time ruminating on his words in order to feel comfortable with how I understand his philosophy.

An important aspect of this work is that it lays the foundation for understanding his fiction. Although one can read his fiction just fine while only knowing the general ideas surrounding Absurdism, reading TMoS throws a different light on the seemingly static, mundane, and simplistic aspect of his literature. I sincerely believe that in order to fully appreciate his fiction, one must read deeply and carefully while holding the ideas enumerated in TMoS at the forefront of their mind.

(view spoiler)[Here is my summary of what I gathered to be some of his main points. I admit that sections 2 and 3 of his essay are more difficult to comprehend, leading me to believe that what I say here is most definitely not the whole story behind what Camus intends to describe.

An Absurd Reasoning begins by questioning the legitimacy of suicide. In other words, determining whether or not life is worth living. Camus believes that this is the most urgent question due to the weight the answer holds. Suicide amounts to dying for one's beliefs. More specifically one commits the act of suicide after judging that life is not worth living. Camus points out that a life without meaning does not necessitate suicide, and that this is a confused way of looking at the problem. More over, what, exactly, puts into doubt reasons for living? What are the feelings that affect a person to the point of negating themselves? The absurd.

The absurd is the foundation for which Camus begins his unique philosophy that branches off from existentialism. It can be understood as a relationship between man and his universe, one born of the confrontation between them and in the direct contradiction of their unity. If either man or his universe ceases to exist, so does the absurd for it relies just as much on man questioning and searching for unity in his world as it does on the world remaining silent to his struggle. Existence means confronting the absurd and because of this, he deems the absurd a truth of existence, therefore “if I judge a thing to be true, I must preserve it.” The only way to preserve this truth is to exist. If man is indeed on a quest for truth and understanding and the absurd is considered to be true, then suicide can never be an option because it destroys truth.

He insists that the absurd should not be eluded by negating either oneself or the world. One cannot negate ones self because doing so would destroy the absurd, truth. Can one negate the world? Man can only explain the world in terms he can understand, which are reason and thought. If he cannot, the explanation defines itself as a “leap” from reason, and in doing so denies the world by turning to something that will transcend reason. I think this is the philosophical suicide he speaks of, where one abdicates reason from the throne of thought, appealing to forces outside of reason in order to redeem himself in the face of the absurd. Camus recounts different “leaps”, ways of understanding the irrational world past reason, taken by the philosophers Chestov, Kierkegaard, and Husserl. Camus denies each “leap” in succession because reason, a culmination of terms man uses to understand the world, is left sitting on the table. The heart of Camus' philosophy relies on reason to the point of failure and seeing what consequences he can derive from this failure. He drags it into the “waterless deserts where thought reaches its confines” and finds its limits, concluding that in the face of the absurd man has three things: his revolt, his freedom, and his passion.

Part two, The Absurd Man, illustrates “men who aim only to expend themselves” after realizing the absurdity in existence. The illustrations considered are Don Juan, the actor, and the conqueror. What Camus understands as ethics is quantity vs. quality. In the case of Don Juan, the seducer and an absurd man, what matters is the quantity of love. He realizes that the eternal love, a higher quality so to speak, does not exist. There is only love of the world, a love that begins and ends with him, that ceases to exist at death. In the words of Camus, “There is no noble love but that which recognizes itself to be both short lived and exceptional. All those deaths and all those rebirths gathered together as in a sheaf make up for Don Juan the flowering of his life.” I believe one example will suffice for the purposes of this review.

In part 3, Absurd Creation, the idea of absurd art is developed. Creation is just one of many attitudes available to the absurd man. In a difficult manner, Camus determines that much like his illustrations in the previous section, so to must the artist stay continually conscious of the gratuitous nature of their effort. If the work itself “sacrifices to illusions and arouses hope, it ceases to be gratuitous.” I think Camus sees art as a mimic of thought in which the artist frees himself. From what I gathered, an absurd artist is one who simultaneously negates the value of his work and continually creates with each piece referencing all other pieces. The works are failures because they lack any eternal value, “but if those failures all have the same resonance, the creator has managed to repeat the image of his own condition, to make the air echo with the sterile secret he possess.” Art, then, is simply a reflection of the absurd experience contained in thought. If it attempts to be any more than this then it ceases to be absurd art, which, I think, would make it bad art according to Camus. (hide spoiler)](less)

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Aug 08, 2012 Ian rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After reading a section of the The Myth of Sisyphus in my high school english class as a precursor to The Stranger, I simply had no choice but to pick this book up at the local store out of sheer curiosity. Much to my surprise (it really should not have been) I found a wonderfully probing narrative of our humanity all swirling around the relationship of the "absurd" and mankind. Each sentence and even phrase brought along the potential to create entirely new trains of thought and seeming aversio...more

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Aug 08, 2011 1.1 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Beyond merely rewarding the reader this book is filled with piquant quotes you can throw around or think about, such as:

"Without culture, and the relative freedom it implies, society, even when perfect, is but a jungle. This is why any authentic creation is a gift to the future." (The Artist and His Time)

or consider:

"The most exemplary life and thought of those centuries close on a proud confession of ignorance. Forgetting that, we have forgotten our virility. We have preferred the power that a...more

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Mar 10, 2011 uh8myzen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: philosophy, non-fiction, books-that-changed-my-life, my-favourites

Camus is first and foremost a writer, which makes all of his work, fiction and otherwise, extremely accessible. The Myth of Sisyphus is a perfect example of this. For me, it is also, by far and away, one of the cleanest and most down to earth descriptions of French existentialist philosophy available. It gets right down to the point of it all.

How do you define your existence and purpose in a world without Gods or eternal truth?

Why should you go on if there is no transcendent purpose or divine...more

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