The Myth of Sisyphus
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Summary
One of the most influential works of this century, The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays is a crucial exposition of existentialist thought. Influenced by works such as Don Juan and the novels of Kafka, these essays begin with a meditation on suicide; the question of living or not living in a universe devoid of order or meaning. With lyric eloquence, Albert Camus brilliantly posits a way out of despair, reaffirming the value of personal existence, and the possibility of life lived with dignity and authenticity.
Highlights & Notes
An Absurd Reasoning
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There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide.
Citaat / Concept / Idee:
Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy.
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The absurd is born of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world.
Stijlvol:
At any street corner the feeling of absurdity can strike any man in the face.
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A world that can be explained even with bad reasons is a familiar world. But, on the other hand, in a universe suddenly divested of illusions and lights, man feels an alien, a stranger.
Citaat / Concept / Idee:
Living is keeping the absurd alive.
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Revolt, freedom, and passion are the three consequences of the absurd.
The Absurd Man
Stijlvol:
The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.
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To two men living the same disorder the one who despairs and the one who resigns are not similarly lucid.
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There is no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn.
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Beginning to think is beginning to be undermined.
Citaat / Concept / Idee:
An absurd reasoning is an exercise in lucidity.
The Myth of Sisyphus
In tegenstelling:
If there is a sin against life, it consists perhaps not so much in despairing of life as in hoping for another life.
In tegenstelling:
Hope of another life must be punished; it is the most hideous of evils.
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Happiness and the absurd are two sons of the same earth. They are inseparable.