Albert Camus

- French-Algerian writer and philosopher

- Associated with the existentialist trend
- He denied being an existentialist and said he believed in the theory of the
absurd
- The Plague, The Stranger, The Myth of Sisyphus
- Ignored or opposed systematic philosophy
- Had little faith in rationalism
- Preoccupied with immediate and personal experience
- Camus was a strong supporter of European integration in various
marginal organizations working towards that end.
-  In 1944, he founded the Comité français pour la féderation européenne
—(CFFE (French Committee for the European Federation))—declaring
that Europe "can only evolve along the path of economic progress,
democracy, and peace if the nation states become a federation

- Camus was a moralist; he claimed morality should guide politics. While

he did not deny that morals change over time, he rejected the
classical Marxist doctrine that history defines morality.[42]
- was strongly critical of authoritarian communism, especially in the case
of the Soviet regime, which he considered totalitarian.
- rebuked Soviet apologists and their "decision to call total servitude
freedom"
- As a proponent of libertarian socialism, he claimed the USSR was not
socialist, and the United States was not liberal
- His fierce critique of the USSR caused him to clash with others on the
political left, most notably with his friend Jean-Paul Sartre

Philosophy:

Existentialism

- He rejected being part of existentialism

- He considered his work connected to Absurdism, Nietshche, the Greek
philosophy and the 17th century moralists.
- It may be that he rejected existentialism so badly because he rejected
Sartre and he rejected his Marxist views
- Although he rejected existentialism, most of his philosophy is centred
round the existentialism questions – anti-Christianity, commitment to
moral freedom and responsibility

Absurd:

- Many existentialist writers have addressed the Absurd – Kierkegaard:

religion prevents us from addressing God rationally, Sartre: individual
experience is absurd
- Camus thought that man existence is absurd because there s no external
justification
- Despite this, he does not drawn into nihilism and rejects suicide as an
option
- After The Myth of Sisyphus, he proposes we accept the absurd as part of
our lives