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The Myth of Sisyphus

by Albert Camus, Justin O'Brien (Translator), James Wood (Introduction)

4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 · rating details · 3,330 ratings · 106 reviews

In this essay, Camus introduces his philosophy of the absurd: man's futile search for meaning, unity, and clarity in the face of an unintelligible world devoid of God and eternal truths or values. Does the realization of the absurd require suicide? Camus answers: "No. It requires revolt." He then outlines several approaches to the absurd life.

Paperback, 192 pages

Published March 30th 2000 by Penguin Books, Limited (UK) (first published 1942)

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Jan 09, 2011 Erik Graff rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: troubled teens

Recommended to Erik by: no one

Shelves: philosophy

By the end of high school I was a very unhappy person and had been so since our family moved from unincorporated Kane County to Park Ridge, Illinois when I was ten. At the outset the unhappiness was basically consequent upon leaving a rural setting, small school and friendly, integrated working-class neighborhood for a reactionary suburb, large school and unfriendly upper middle-class populace whose children were, by and large, just as thoughtlessly racist and conservative as their parents were....more By the end of high school I was a very unhappy person and had been so since our family moved from unincorporated Kane County to Park Ridge, Illinois when I was ten. At the outset the unhappiness was basically consequent upon leaving a rural setting, small school and friendly, integrated working-class neighborhood for a reactionary suburb, large school and unfriendly upper middle-class populace whose children were, by and large, just as thoughtlessly racist and conservative as their parents were. By fifteen, however, the quality of the unhappiness had begun to change as I had made, really made, some friends in the persons of Richard Hyde and Hank Kupjack. By the end of high school, thanks to them and to the rise of the sixties counterculture, I actually had many friends, some of them from the political left, some identified with the avant garde world, some just plain disgruntled teen potheads. But by then unhappiness had become character and had been elevated from an emotional to a philosophical state of being.

On the one hand, it had a lot to do with not having had a girlfriend since Lisa in the first grade. On the other hand, and this was more prominently to mind, it had to do with the reasons, the serious reasons, for not having one. They were that I was unusually slow in physical development and unusually short in stature. In my mind, I was uncontestably unattractive. If any girl would like me it would be because of personality and intelligence,

I had no insecurity about intelligence as a teen, but quite a bit about personality. Feminism didn't become an issue until college, but I was ashamed about thinking of women sexually when it seemed clear they would be offended or disgusted were they to know of it. I developed the practice of not looking at females unless speaking with them. I walked with my head down, eyes to the ground, in order to avoid such guilt-ridden gazes. While other guys played around with the girls in our circle, I maintained a generally grave persona, holding "serious" conversations or reading while they flirted. A feeling of superiority was confusedly mixed with strong feelings of inferiority to these other, more comfortable, persons. While it was easy to dismiss most of the "straight" kids at school as mindless, this was not possible with many persons in our circle, particularly some of the older ones whom I admired for their learning and critical intellects.

The other, philosophically deeper, dimension of this unease was that I myself was so "critically intelligent" that I had no ground upon which to stand. I had strong moral feelings but I was unable to convince myself that they were more than personal tastes. My early public school education had emphasized the sciences. While I could understand human values as having some meaning in terms of biology and evolutionary theory, I could not fit myself positively into that picture. I certainly wasn't biologically "fit". Thoughts of suicide were frequent.

Thus I was drawn, upon being exposed to them, to the existentialists, particularly Camus. They alone seemed to be trying to speak openly about the actual human condition

I recall reading "The Myth of Sisyphus" while seated in our family's red Opel Cadet station wagon across from City Hall, at the curb of Hodge's Park on a beautiful spring day. Our friends were all about this area between Bob Rowe's Evening Pipe Shop, Park Ridge's Community Church and the Cogswell Dance Studio (our indoors hangouts), but I was avoiding their frivolity, engaged in serious study, while, obviously, inviting an invitation to join in--which, in my moral confusion, I might well have declined.

Just as I was concluding this essay of the collection, the part about Sisyphus being happy with his absurd work, Lisa Cox walked in front of the car, headed west towards the church. Now, Lisa was just another pretty girl in our group, not the particular object of any attention from me. Indeed, she was too young, being two years behind in school. But, not being an intimate friend, she was one of those girls I would tend to guiltily objectify as sexual.

Here, however, it happened differently. She was beautiful, simply beautiful. Her long, tightly waved brown hair and matching corduroy pants, all bathed in sunlight dappled by the new leaves of the elms filling the park, were lovely. I didn't feel guilty for thinking this. I noticed the absence of guilt feelings. It seemed quite paradoxical, just as Camus' comment about Sisyphus had appeared, but true.

I'd call this an ecstatic experience. It didn't last more than a few minutes at most, though the memory of it, and experiences like it, remains clear and cherished.(less)

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Sep 03, 2012 Insania rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Quest'opera vuol essere il "manifesto" filosofico di Camus, con quella certa carica di pretesa letteraria che esige una dedita lettura attenta. E così ho fatto.

Camus cita nel saggio moltissimi filosofi e letterati specialmente ottocenteschi che rientrano nel filone esistenzialista, e se ne serve per approdare a una conseguenza più moderna, che è l'assurdismo.

Di Kierkegaard conserva il concetto di angoscia e disperazione esistenziale che sottostanno alla consapevolezza che vi è un divorzio tra l...more Quest'opera vuol essere il "manifesto" filosofico di Camus, con quella certa carica di pretesa letteraria che esige una dedita lettura attenta. E così ho fatto.

Camus cita nel saggio moltissimi filosofi e letterati specialmente ottocenteschi che rientrano nel filone esistenzialista, e se ne serve per approdare a una conseguenza più moderna, che è l'assurdismo.

Di Kierkegaard conserva il concetto di angoscia e disperazione esistenziale che sottostanno alla consapevolezza che vi è un divorzio tra l'uomo che vorrebbe vivere il mondo in armonia e partecipazione attiva e il mondo, quando non la sua stessa vita, che da lui paiono allontanarsi, ma che in realtà sono solo indifferenti, spaccati in un distacco profondo.
Di Dostoevskij analizza la figura di Kirillov per quanto concerne l'idea di suicidio logico, come conseguenza prima della consapevolezza kierkegaardiana. La vita val la pena di essere vissuta? Se Kirillov a sangue freddo decide di non vivere più "la menzogna" dell'esistenza, nei Karamazov si assiste a un'evoluzione forse più "cristiana" nel rispondersi, poichè si ammette la necessità di "sperare". Ma Camus pare ripudiare questa svolta, dettata certamente da quell'inquietudine di cui parla Heidegger e da quel senso di insoddisfazione perenne che l'assurdo lascia, amaro, nel corpo.

L'aspetto più interessante del "Mito di Sisifo" è il rinnegare il carattere ontologico -assoluto- delle morali. Nietzschianamente afferma: "Alla luce del destino mortale, appare l'inutilità. Nessuna morale, nessuno sforzo sono giustificabili a priori davanti alla sanguinante logica che regola la nostra condizione". Io ci leggo l'esaltazione dell'uomo che riesce a sostenere il peso della vita scevro di sovrastrutture e promesse metafisiche.

Ma perchè Sisifo? La sua figura viene trattata nelle parti finali dell'opera, ma risulta chiara la sua centralità in tutto il lavoro camusiano. Sisifo è l'uomo che, punito dagli dei per la sua dionisiaca condotta (da intendersi, ancora, in senso nietzschiano come esaltazione della vita tout court), viene condannato alla più frustrante, vana e assurda delle pene: spingere un enorme masso su per una china per poi vederlo precipitare, e dover ricominciare da capo.
E' proprio nella definizione e valutazione di Sisifo che Camus innesta il suo pensiero originale su quello degli illustri predecessori sommariamente prima descritti. Come si legge in conclusione:

"Sisifo insegna la fedeltà superiore, che nega gli dei e solleva i macigni. Anch'egli giudica che tutto sia bene. Questo universo, ormai senza padrone, non gli appare sterile nè futile. Anche la lotta verso la cima basta a riempire il cuore di un uomo. Bisogna immaginare Sisifo felice".

Quest'immagine sublime di un uomo in lotta contro il destino, temprato dalla sofferenza e dalla frustrazione, che sorride e vede la necessità laddove altri scorgerebbero solo infinito caso e nonsense, serve da sola a fugare ogni accusa di nichilismo, e ha conquistato il mio cuore.
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Jun 03, 2010 Rowland Bismark rated it 4 of 5 stars

Albert Camus (1913–1960) is not a philosopher so much as a novelist with a strong philosophical bent. He is most famous for his novels of ideas, such as The Stranger and The Plague, both of which are set in the arid landscape of his native Algeria.

Camus studied philosophy at the University of Algiers, which brought him into contact with two of the major branches of twentieth century philosophy: existentialism and phenomenology. Existentialism arises from an awareness that there is no pre-ordaine...more

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Sep 17, 2011 David Williamson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: philosophy

This should be called 'The Myth of Sisyphus: and some tagged on essays that are not really relevant'. There seems to be three travel essays, although interesting are arbitrary to the main text (however, 'Helen in Exile' is very good).

Camus' book is a stark contrast to the 'The Outsider', which although complex, uses langauge in a matter of fact way. To the point, but articulate. The Myth of Sisyphus does not. Its use of poetic language and structure can be difficult to dissect, and at times is j...more

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Aug 08, 2012 Ritinha rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Camus descreve o homem absurdo como contraposição e superação de outros pensadores, com especial incidência em Chestov, Kierkgaard e Husserl.
A concepção que aqui é dada merece elogio, atendendo especialmente à conclusão pelo valor da vida (absurda), sem para tanto usar fundamentos transcendentes. Em desvio a tanto trajecto iluminado de grandes pensadores, trata-se o leitor como um ser inteligente e lúcido.
Sísifo é aqui o paradigma do homem absurdo, numa conclusão redentora que nem por isso se d...more

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Jul 23, 2012 Pete daPixie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, philip-osophers, 20thc-european

'The Myth of Sisyphus' published in the Penquin Classics series is Albert Camus' philosophical essay on the human condition, life and God. Under the headings of 'An Absurd Reasoning', 'The Absurd Man' and 'Absurd Creation', Camus rejects Christian belief with it's Augustinian sin and Kierkegaard's eternity for the futility of life. His Sysypheanism, the non-divine comedy of the absurd does not result in his fall into hopelessness or suicide. In a universe suddenly divested of illusions and light...more

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May 14, 2013 Greg Deane rated it 5 of 5 stars

Albert Camus observed in “The Myth of Sisyphus” that ‘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.’ Sisyphus trickster, and the founder of Corinth, who was so bold that he deceived the gods. For...more Albert Camus observed in “The Myth of Sisyphus” that ‘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.’ Sisyphus trickster, and the founder of Corinth, who was so bold that he deceived the gods. For his audacity, Zeus banished him to Tartarus, where he was endlessly condemned to roll a rock up a hill, where it rolled back down to the other side and Sisyphus would have to begin his task anew. The consequences of cheating divinity or fate through suicide entail the Sisyphean task, a chance Hamlet, for one, was not willing to take. It is better to bare the humdrum despair of mortality than try to cheat the gods. In short, existence matters more than any questions of essence, or vain egocentrism.

Suicide, as an act of despair , denies the option for redemption from despair in the course of the remaining part of one’s life. By causing our own destruction, we turn our whole lives into a hopeless, unending struggle so far as we have lived them. For Camus his fascination with suicide is an absurdity, because the suicide can never, through all eternity, know that his labour of self-murder has succeeded. Only those who survive him can know his success. The potential suicide can resurrect his condition through Camusian revolt, by overcoming a tyrannical force. Camusian revolt consists entails acknowledgement of the absurdity to relief in death; acceptance of the absurdity that exists around him; and a focus on accomplishment over and over of tasks that may seem futile, yet taking pride in this futility, absurd as such pride may be intellectually.

Sisyphus of the myth accepts the absurdity of his task, at least in the version Camus unfolds, transforming Sisyphus to heroic status as he labours with undaunted enthusiasm alone with a rock in the unremitting darkness of Tartarus, undertaking an eternal task in utter oblivion. But because Sisyphus had tricked the gods and abandoned his mortal existence, he can only regain heroic status through an eternity instead of a life of futility.
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Apr 22, 2013 Alex Leskanich rated it 5 of 5 stars

Can an individual live without appeal? That is the question formed at the heart of this book. But appeal to what? God? Immortality? Absolute meaning? The hope of salvation, of redemption? Yes, all those things and more are sought as means of escape from the Absurd - which is the life which knows its limitations, and resists the desire to appeal. It lives on hope instead, but a hope different to the one offered by the monotheistic traditions, or that offered by the material consumption of things...more Can an individual live without appeal? That is the question formed at the heart of this book. But appeal to what? God? Immortality? Absolute meaning? The hope of salvation, of redemption? Yes, all those things and more are sought as means of escape from the Absurd - which is the life which knows its limitations, and resists the desire to appeal. It lives on hope instead, but a hope different to the one offered by the monotheistic traditions, or that offered by the material consumption of things or the labour of one's hands. It instead appeals to the liberty of the Absurd, where one can no longer lie to oneself, or seduce the mind by promises of meaning to be bestowed, or ultimate knowledge to be gained.
Thus the unavoidable is encountered at every turn, not to be alleviated by the metaphysical, borne on the wings of eternity.
Like Icarus in the Greek myth, who flew too close to the sun, we ask too much of existence. We demand more than one should, expect more than can be granted. We perish as we lose the ability to fly, as our wings become impotent to carry us - as in the myth, our thoughts betray us, our dreams disappoint us. If we kept our feet on the ground, and not seek the improbable or tenuous, then, maybe, we could claim a negative freedom, a freedom which knows that it cannot be altogether free. The extraordinary thing about human beings, to me, is that we have this ability to realise the conditions under which we are born, of which we cannot be absolved or pardoned. They are irreversible conditions. Death is the central condition of life, of being born into a losing struggle. 'The Myth of Sisyphus' faces up to this truth with courage, and offers a hope born not of hubris, but of an unbending 'passion for life'.
According to Camus, 'outside of that single fatality of death, everything, joy or happiness, is liberty. A world remains of which man is the sole master.' But if only this were so! For we are not masters completely; the liberty he claims is unreal, it contradicts what we understand about living - it is not enough to accept the absurd. Still, it is a start, a beginning. It offers no illusions. We, as human beings, have this conception of death which spurs us on to create, to build, to think, to love - it is an immense privilege to be celebrated. Immortality would render our lives meaningless, our actions without the authenticity of contingency.
But even so, to think that the absurd stems from the realisation that we are absent of meaning, absent of metaphysical justification of any kind, is I believe mistaken. Death is of a natural, not an unnatural order. It is the way of things in the world. There is nothing absurd about death, nothing absurd about the idea that there is nothing that grants your life a meaning except that which you can create for yourself. The webs of beliefs, the snares of ideas, the caverns of deceit which we create, for which we incessantly fall, are the harbingers of absurdity. They alienate us from the world. They make us think we can fly, forever, but always at risk of falling into the depths. After all, you can only escape reality for so long. Your wings cannot support you because you were never made to fly. (less)

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May 12, 2013 Αλέξανδρος rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: worth-rereading

Ένα βιβλίο που μπορεί να σου αλλάξει τον τρόπο που βλέπεις τη ζωή και τον τρόπο αναζήτησης του νοήματος της ζωής. Φτάνει να είσαι έτοιμος/η να ακούσεις αυτά που έχει να πει. Είναι μια συλλογή άρθρων με κεντρικό θέμα το παράλογο της ζωής. Η γραφή σε κάποια σημεία γίνεται πολύ δοκιμιακή και κάπως δυσκολοδιάβαστη για αυτό χρειάζεται υπομονή κι επιμονή. Αλλά ο αναγνώστης θα ανταμειφθεί μετά από το ξεδίψασμα από την πηγή του άφαντου νερού.
Τα δοκίμια χωρίζονται σε 3 ενότητες και ως έξτρα κείμενα τον...more Ένα βιβλίο που μπορεί να σου αλλάξει τον τρόπο που βλέπεις τη ζωή και τον τρόπο αναζήτησης του νοήματος της ζωής. Φτάνει να είσαι έτοιμος/η να ακούσεις αυτά που έχει να πει. Είναι μια συλλογή άρθρων με κεντρικό θέμα το παράλογο της ζωής. Η γραφή σε κάποια σημεία γίνεται πολύ δοκιμιακή και κάπως δυσκολοδιάβαστη για αυτό χρειάζεται υπομονή κι επιμονή. Αλλά ο αναγνώστης θα ανταμειφθεί μετά από το ξεδίψασμα από την πηγή του άφαντου νερού.
Τα δοκίμια χωρίζονται σε 3 ενότητες και ως έξτρα κείμενα τον Μύθο του Σίσυφου που αναπαριστά με εικόνα πια τα συμπεράσματα από τα προηγούμενα δοκίμια και την ανάλυση του έργου του Κάφκα σε σχέση με το παράλογο. Όντως δένει πάρα πολύ καλά και αν έχεις διαβάσει ήδη Κάφκα η λάμπα επίγνωσης πάνω από το κεφάλι σου θα ανάβει διαρκώς.
Η πρώτη ενότητα είναι ο παράλογος συλλογισμός κατά τον οποίο ο Καμύ μας συστήνει τον παραλογισμό της ζωής και την αυτοκτονία. Από την αρχή στα βαθιά δηλαδή. Έπειτα μας μιλάει για τους υπαρξιακούς φιλοσόφους και την φιλοσοφική τους αυτοκτονία. Αλλά και για την παράλογη ελευθερία μας μέσα στην παράλογη έλλειψη ελευθερίας.
Η δεύτερη ενότητα είναι ο παράλογος άνθρωπος παραθέτοντας ως παραδείγματα τον Δον Ζουάν, τον ηθοποιό και τον κατακτητή.
Τέλος, η παράλογη δημιουργία. Φιλοσοφία και μυθιστόρημα, Κιρίλοφ και η δημιουργία χωρίς επαύριο.(less)

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Jan 06, 2013 Jeffrey Mays rated it 2 of 5 stars

I did finish it, barely. And I didn't have any stomach left to read the appendix. This essay is very hard going - unreadable some would say. With more effort than I usually put into any book, I was able to stay with the argument. There would be several pages at a time that I didn't understand. Fortunately, I would pick up the track of the argument again and see that I hadn't missed anything.

The stated premise of the book is to explain the only important question in Philosophy - whether or not o...more I did finish it, barely. And I didn't have any stomach left to read the appendix. This essay is very hard going - unreadable some would say. With more effort than I usually put into any book, I was able to stay with the argument. There would be several pages at a time that I didn't understand. Fortunately, I would pick up the track of the argument again and see that I hadn't missed anything.

The stated premise of the book is to explain the only important question in Philosophy - whether or not one should commit suicide. He says we should not, and the book uses existentialist ideas to explain why it is better to stay alive. Why this is even a question is the point. To commit suicide means violating several existentialist tenants, mainly that anything means anything. And one would only want to commit suicide if one believed in something, even though such a person would be in a desperate state. Still, you only commit suicide is you are still in the grips of the outmoded notions of hope and meaning.

As I understand it, his existentialism says the following. There is no God - that's a given. This leaves a problem for people who desire hope or meaning. But they only think this way from habit, and they must get over it. Without meaning or hope, life feels absurd to them. But they/we must embrace the absurdity, dwell in it and celebrate it. Dont fight it. Live the absurd life and die. Exist and be. That's all there is, but it has its own nobility in the Nietschean looking boldly into the darkness.

It seems to be a desperate, sophisticated system to make one believe contrary to what his gut tells him, to go against everything that seems natural, every impulse of the eternal in one's breast. It is insanity - boldly denying and renouncing the soul and what it written on the heart in indelible ink.

It is the philosophy of modern man who can no longer believe in God, but feels remiss by the loss of God, and must renounce even human nature that still has the God-shaped vacuum that longs for hope and meaning.(less)

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May 27, 2008 Elsa marked it as to-read

Me lo acaban de recomendar, lo acabo de comprar. A ver qué tal está, ay que soy muy estúpida, bujú.

Pinches imbéciles incompetentes.

(lo escribí enojada esto, pero me rehúso a quitarlo, se oye bien, no? Violento... muchachos, no lean a mandeville, saca lo pioooor de ustedes).

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Feb 28, 2013 Marc L rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: philosophy

Vertrekt van de stelling dat er maar één echt ernstig filosofisch probleem is: de zelfmoord, namelijk de vraag of het leven de moeite is of niet. Keuze voor de absurditeit. In diverse essays wordt dit thema uitgewerkt in een nogal cerebrale en niet altijd volgbaar stijl. Andere thema’s : de vrijheid, de revolte, de passie. Geïllustreerd aan de hand van figuren: Don Juan, acteur, veroveraar.
Het essay Le mythe de Sisyphe beslaat maar 6 blz. Begint met de misstappen van Sisyphus : eigenlijk waren d...more

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Dec 16, 2012 Jonathon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Instead of acting like a pretentious douche bag (which I normally do); I am going to be honest......Camus is some dense shit (I also read "the rebel" and was pretty clueless with that too.... except for some brief moments).... I have a hard time wrapping my head around his stuff....I do catch things here and there..The stuff I do catch is pretty good!..I get bits and pieces here and there, but have a hard time making sense of it all.... Though he is supposedly the true "working class", poetic ph...more

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Oct 21, 2012 Kat rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: on-writing, thinky-books, things-with-facts, so-frenchy-so-chic

"There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide." Thus begins Camus' Myth of Sisyphus. The Myth is one of the great existential books, explaining much of the philosophy behind Camus' fiction, The Stranger, The Fall and The Plague. Camus argues that if we have no God, how do we create meaning in life? It is by rebelling against the knowledge of death and choosing to live anyway.

While The Myth of Sisyphus isn't the easiest philosophical treatise to read, it is an importa...more

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

Ho avuto delle enormi difficoltà a leggere questo libro, dato che le mie reminiscenze filosofiche risalgono ai tempi del liceo ( ormai anni or sono).
Credo che il fine di un libro sia scuoterti, portare il lettore a riflettere, a porsi delle domande e questo saggio filosofico ha avuto questo merito.
Camus parte dal mito di Sisifo per offrirci il suo pensiero sul suicidio ("Il suicidio è l'accettazione del prorpio limite"), sull'assurdo delle nostre vite, l'angoscia prendendo spunto da alcuni gra...more

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Aug 30, 2007 Nazim B. rated it 5 of 5 stars

My favorite myth which fits exactly into Beckett's drama. It is fascinating to examine them in relation.

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Jul 26, 2007 Mojdeh rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

آنها به حق اندیشیده بودند که مجازاتی خوفناک تر از کار بیهوده و بی امید نیست...

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Apr 11, 2013 Ahmed Youssif rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"فى اللحظة الدقيقة التى يظر فيها الانسان الى الخلف ليستعرض حياته ، حين يعود سيزيف الى الصخرة ، فى ذلك الدوران الضئيل يتأمل تلك السلسة من الفعاليات اللامرتبطة ببعضها، التى تصبح مصيره ، الذى يخلقه هو والذى يمتزج تحت عين ذاكرته ، و سرعان ما يختم عليه موته... و هكذا ، فهو يستمر فى سيره مقتنعاً بالأصل البشرى تماماً لكل ما هو بشرى ، كالأعمى المتلهف للرؤية ،الذى يعرف أن الليل لن ينتهى أبداً ،، و الصخرة لاتزال تتدحرج ."
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بحث فلسفى عن اللاجدوى , سيزيف , والعبث ،كمحاولة يائسة لتقديم الأمل فى ال...more

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Feb 18, 2012 Logan Pecinovsky added it

That's just how he rolls.

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Dec 23, 2012 Kislay Verma rated it 3 of 5 stars

Excerpts from my review at Solomon Says:

Albert Camus takes a very all-or-nothing view of life. Either reason explains everything, or it is nothing. Either we are illusory, or we are eternal. His other insistence is in trying to understand the world on his own sensory terms. His idea of freedom is only in terms of what can be heard, or seen, or otherwise experienced. Everything else is transcendental or abstract. Both these constraints prohibit him from giving full rein to either horn of his Absu...more

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Oct 08, 2012 Anthony rated it 4 of 5 stars

Man has been on an eternal quest since evolving from his primitive pre-civilized state to find meaning to the world in which he has been thrust into. From the earliest days of our tribal ancestors we have sought to explain the cosmos and nature, mostly out of curiosity and fear, but in searching for these answers we may have neglected to consider the possibility that no answer awaits us. What then, if not suicide and desolation, awaits us when life, the universe, and everything is meaningless? I...more
Man has been on an eternal quest since evolving from his primitive pre-civilized state to find meaning to the world in which he has been thrust into. From the earliest days of our tribal ancestors we have sought to explain the cosmos and nature, mostly out of curiosity and fear, but in searching for these answers we may have neglected to consider the possibility that no answer awaits us. What then, if not suicide and desolation, awaits us when life, the universe, and everything is meaningless? It is this question which pervades throughout the philosophy of Albert Camus, as seen in his works The Myth of Sysphus, and the murder story L'Etranger.

Camus claims that the greatest philosophical question is suicide. Is suicide justified to the one who recognizes the meaningless of life? Many people seem to reach this conclusion, and it does have a superficial sense of rationality. If there is no purpose to life why should we continue it? Just as we would think that it is strange to own a car if we had no reason to travel or to buy music when we are deaf, why should we keep living when there is no reason to live? When purpose is divorced from the object does not the object itself become worthless?

Such questions evince a single resolute answer from Camus. No! No, we should not abandon our life. Camus is not alone in this belief, many existentialist writers have also reached this conclusion. Some readers might expect that Camus' response to suicide will derive from these other existentialists such as Soren Kierkegaard and Fyodor Dostoevsky, namely the belief that some source of hope in the form of a transcendent being or an eternal life after death will provide the answer to the meaningless of existence. But, it is in this that Camus distances himself from existentialism. There is no hope, no future longing which brings meaning to the world.

Hope cannot be infused into the philosophy of the Absurd Man, because hope is an illusion that is absurd in itself. When we hope we are trying to ascribe meaning to that which has no inherent meaning. It is a waste of our efforts and a squandering of our transient life. Thus, we must reject all instances of hope which stand before us beckoning us to its seductive trappings. For Camus there is no God, and no existence after death. The present is all that we are given, and we must make use of it to our fullest, not by trying to futilely find meaning in that which has none, but by confronting the absurdity of this meaninglessness.(less)

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Jul 11, 2012 Joshua rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: existentialism, essays, philosophy

The main part of this book is taken up by the title essay, The Myth of Sisyphus. In this essay Camus talks about the absurd life we live, whether or not we should commit suicide, and various ways people might live their lives to get around the inherent absurdity. I have to say the methods outlined seemed fairly ridiculous which is fitting because the Universe is absurd anyway. The essay is summed up with the story of Sisyphus who rolls a giant boulder up a mountain only to see it roll down again...more

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Sep 14, 2012 Sherry Johnson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was quite disappointed with this work. Although the prose is initially stunning in places, for example - "Si absurde il y a, c'est dans l'univers de l'homme. Des l'instant ou sa notion se transforme en tremplin d'eternite, elle n'est plus liee a la lucidite humaine." Which loosely translates as, "If ever the absurd existed, it is on the human plane. From the moment where the idea of it is transformed on the springboard of eternity, it severs ties with everything lucid in human experience." A t...more I was quite disappointed with this work. Although the prose is initially stunning in places, for example - "Si absurde il y a, c'est dans l'univers de l'homme. Des l'instant ou sa notion se transforme en tremplin d'eternite, elle n'est plus liee a la lucidite humaine." Which loosely translates as, "If ever the absurd existed, it is on the human plane. From the moment where the idea of it is transformed on the springboard of eternity, it severs ties with everything lucid in human experience." A translation can only really partially do justice to the stronger parts of this work because in essence they are poetry and/or histrionics. An admirable thing about Camus though is that he has no philosophical pretensions and makes it clear to the reader that the lines are hazy between art and philosophy. What I found extremely irritating about the work though was its repetition and what I felt was its author's moral decrepitude. I was left with the feeling that this was a man who had never experienced real love or tenderness for other beings. He describes love as a conquest and game, & makes the ridiculous assertion that it is the number and not quality of experiences in life which a superior man seeks. He also speaks in a very light way about war... I'll be the first to admit war is a theatre for those in power...and perhaps also to those on the battlefield. The human suffering is all too real though & I was highly offended by his treatment & thought Camus should know better. Camus asserts that it is impossible to have faith in the midst of absurdity, or that anyone who does anyway is a simpleton and/or a slave. This is another issue I had with this work. It is supposed to be a philosophical work on why one should continue being alive in the face of absurdity. He actually ideates very little on the subject. The work is more a vehicle for Camus, who is a new kind of actor playing his absurdist role, trying desperately to distinguish himself from contemporaries like Sartre, & from predecessors like Kierkegaard, Kant, Husserl, Nietzsche and many others. Reading Camus' great prose work *L'Etranger* I never assumed the main character so lacking in judgment reflected closely the author's own perspective of the world. Yet at times, Camus asserts that of course this perspective would be no excuse for criminal behavior. But nothing in his text really suggests otherwise. I was left with the feeling he really did not care about humanity, & that he was a sad waste of a man.
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Mar 01, 2013 TarasProkopyuk rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: philosophy

Жизнь в которой мы спим абсурдна.

Но автор в своём эссе беспощадно будит нас. Напоминает о том, что мы спим, напоминает о действительности! В примере героя древнего мифа Камю показывает абсурдность жизни в целом.

В данном эссе есть ещё несколько интересных рассуждений, с которыми трудно согласиться, но отрицать их нельзя.

Должен сказать что произведение автора получилось немного скучноватым, но возможно автор таким образом лишь пытался разбудить своего дремлющего читателя.

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Feb 10, 2013 Salwa rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Okay... L'unique étoile vient probablement du fait que je n'ai rien compris. J'ai eu beaucoup de mal à suivre son "raisonnement". Une fois passée à une nouvelle page, j'étais incapable de dire ce que j'avais lu à la précédente, donc au final, je n'aurai rien retenu. Et c'est pas faute d'avoir essayé.

Quelques exemples de démonstrations que j'ai A PEU PRES pu suivre jusqu'au bout:
"Si Dieu n'existe pas, Kirilov est dieu. Si Dieu n'existe pas, Kirilov doit se tuer. Kirilov doit donc se tuer pour êt...more

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Aug 06, 2011 Tessa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ce petit livre nous invite à de grands projets : lire tout Dostoïevski, tout Kafka et tout Camus bien sûr. Orienter notre lecture dans l'angle de son concept philosophique (soupir).
De cet essai sur l'absurde, je retiens que l'homme révolté trouve le chemin de la liberté par la création. Créer donne à l'artiste une forme à son destin. Alors, sérieux, ignorant quels sont mes talents d'artiste, je pense que je vais me lancer dans le Scrapbooking, tiens. Question de donner libre cours à ma créativit...more

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Jan 10, 2013 Jeremy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, philosophy, translated-from-french, review

For the third time in my life I have read this book. It is a beautiful and terrifying ediface in both poetry and prose and philosophy, in that order. This is the most influential book in my life, the most fully dynamic and the most 'truthful', if that's not too against the spirit of it (which, of course, it is) and in my acknowledgement of that, I acknowledge the energy of the absurd that feeds that very sentiment. 71 words to Super Review. How apt! Here is the requirement to fulfill a structure...more

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Mar 04, 2013 Saretta rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biblioteca, language-ita, essay

Decisamente impegnativo, soprattutto non avendo messo mano a saggi filosofici per anni (ah, i tempi del liceo); parte dal tema del suicidio per arrivare al tema dell'assurdo contestualizzandolo in campi diversi.
La cosa più notevole comunque è il fatto che tutte queste riflessioni siano state fatte e stese con lucidità quando l'autore era molto giovane (meno di trent'anni).

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May 16, 2013 Milena Raskovic rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read it "religiously". Beautifully written essay on existentialism and the meaningless of life. Profound in it's simplicity and elegance, this is an essential reading for any agnostic/atheist struggling with the whole meaning of life concept. Worth re-reading throughout ones lifetime.

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Apr 18, 2011 Fatima Abdullah rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-reading-challenge

" تهدف الأسطورة في هذا الكتاب إلى حل مشكلة الانتحار بدون مساعدة القيم الدائمة التي هي، ربما مؤقتاً، غير موجودة أو مشوهة في أوروبا اليوم. إن الموضوع الأساسي في أسطورة سيزيف، هو هذا: من المشروع والضروري التساؤل عما إذا كان للحياة معنى، وهكذا فمن المشروع أن نواجه فكرة الانتحار وجهاً لوجه. والجواب، الذي يكمن في، ويلوح عبر المتناقضات التي تغطيه، هو هذا: حتى إذا لم يؤمن المرء بالله، فإن الانتحار غير مشروع. إن هذا الكتاب الذي ألفه كامو في عام 1940، خلال الكوارث الفرنسية والأوروبية يبين أنه، حتى ضمن حدو...more

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About Albert Camus

Albert Camus was an Algerian-born French author, philosopher, and journalist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957. He is often cited as a proponent of existentialism (the philosophy that he was associated with during his own lifetime), but Camus himself rejected this particular label. Specifically, his views contributed to the rise of the more current philosophy known as absurdis...more

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“نجد ان الانسان يحس بالغربة فى كون يتجرد من الأوهام والضوضاء” — 7 people liked it

“من السهل استنتاج النتائج التى يشتمل عليها الفعل من الفعل نفسه” — 4 people liked it

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