just do not, and according to Camus,

we cannot understand what we want to understand.

Camus’s doctrine of the absurd then has both
metaphysical and epistemological aspects. As
a metaphysical thesis, the absurd is a confrontation
between the human mind and an indifferent
universe: what exists is a “mind that desires and the
https://1000wordphilosophy.com/2019/05/01/ world that disappoints” (50). As
camus-on-the-absurd-the-myth-of-sisyphus/ an epistemological thesis, the absurd highlights our
desire to understand and the fundamental limits of
Camus on the Absurd: our knowledge.
The Myth of Sisyphus 2. The Inescapability of the Absurd
Having diagnosed the essential human problem,
Author: Erik Van Aken Camus shifts his interest to prognosis,
Category: Phenomenology and Existentialism, Ethics determining whether and how to live in the face of the
Word Count: 1000 absurd.
“There is only one truly serious philosophical problem, The Myth of Sisyphus is primarily a critique of
and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not existentialism, specifically the attempts by thinkers
worth living amounts to answering the fundamental such as Kierkegaard, Jaspers, and Heidegger to
question of philosophy.” – Albert Camus overcome the absurd by appealing to God or the
It might seem flippant to remark that the essential transcendent. These thinkers, Camus claims,
question in philosophy is “Should I kill myself?” But contradict themselves by presupposing that life is
the question of suicide rests on what Camus absurd in some way, but proposing a solution to the
considered the essential human problem: the sense absurd (so that life isn’t really absurd after all).
in which our lives are entirely absurd. This essay will For example, Kierkegaard sees life as profoundly
outline the origin and consequences of Camus’s absurd, due to its central lack of meaning. He thereby
notion of the absurd from his 1942 The Myth of proposes that we take “a leap of faith,” essentially
Sisyphus.[1] arguing that belief in God will ultimately provide
1. The Absurd and its Origin one’s life with meaning. Camus opposes this form
of escapism, claiming that existentialists “deify what
There are many things we might naturally call crushes them and find reason to hope in what
absurd: a rude joke, an outrageous statement, or the impoverishes them” (24).
price of a pair of designer jeans.
Camus rejects appeals to the transcendent; for him,
This though is not what Camus means by “absurd.” the absurd – the “divorce” between us and the world
For Camus, the absurd originates from a combination – represents the inescapable human condition. As
of two things: the way we want the world to we’ll see, in place of the false hope of religiosity,
be and the way the world actually is. Camus advises a vivid awareness of the absurd and a
About how we want the world to be, it just seems to form of revolt.
be a part of human nature that we have a sense of 3. Absurdity and Happiness: The Myth of Sisyphus
justice and fairness, and so we want the world to be
just and fair: we want evil punished and virtue In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was condemned by the
rewarded. We also want to understand why bad gods to the pointless task of rolling a large rock up a
things happen to good people, why good things mountain, only to watch the rock roll back down, and
happen to bad people, why we’re here, where we’re to repeat the task for eternity.
going, and what it all means. As a life filled entirely of mundane and trivial labor,
Concerning how things actually are, however, evil Sisyphus’s existence is meant to illustrate the futility
goes unpunished, good deeds often are not rewarded, (and absurdity) we confront in our own lives. Camus
good things happen to bad people, bad things happen observes that a person’s life can become, essentially,
to good people, and we don’t understand any of it. We a mundane routine: “Rising, streetcar, four hours in

1
the office or the factory, meal, streetcar, four hours of Notes
work, meal, sleep, and Monday Tuesday Wednesday [1]Further quotations will be from The Myth of
Thursday Friday Saturday and Sunday according to
Sisyphus and given in the main text. The first quote is
the same rhythm…” (12-13).
from page 3.
Yet, for Camus, Sisyphus is not to be pitied. Sisyphus
Reference
represents the “absurd hero” because he chooses to
live in the face of absurdity. This “choosing to live” is a Camus, Albert (1942), The Myth of Sisyphus, J.O’Brien
matter of consciousness, for through his attitude and (trans.). Harmondsworth: Penguin, 2018.
outlook, Sisyphus can free himself from his For Further Reading
punishment and triumph over his situation without
being able to change it. Sisyphus is aware of the full Aronson, Ronald, “Albert Camus”, The Stanford
extent of his punishment: he is fully conscious of the Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2017 Edition),
fate imposed on him by the gods and the utter futility Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL =
of his existence. His passion, freedom, and revolt, <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2017/entr
however, make him stronger than the punishment ies/camus/>.
intended to crush him. Related Essays
Though it may seem odd, Camus indicates that Existentialism by Addison Ellis
Sisyphus is happy. By making his rock “his thing”
(123), Sisyphus finds joy in being. Perhaps the climb Hope by Michael Milona & Katie Stockdale
up becomes more comfortable over time: maybe the Acknowledgments
muscles that once strained under the weight of the
rock now effortlessly control it; conceivably, the rock The editors thank Matthew Howery and Melissa
moves so gracefully upwards that the act of moving it Shew for their feedback on this essay.
becomes a work of art. About the Author
Through his freedom, Sisyphus revolts against the Erik received an MSc in philosophy from the
gods and refuses the futility of their punishment by University of Edinburgh and a Ph.D. in philosophy
consciously living with passion. The rock, the from the University of Kent. He has taught philosophy
mountain, the sky, and the dirt belong to him and are at the University of Kent as an Assistant and
his world. Sisyphus has no hope to change his Associate Lecturer. His main interests lie at the
situation but, nevertheless, he uses all that’s given to intersection of metaphysics and the philosophy of
and available for him. agency. https://kent.academia.edu/Erikvanaken
4. Conclusion Follow 1000-Word Philosophy
Camus’s answer to the question of suicide is no. on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to receive
Camus insists that we must persist in the face of email notifications of new essays
absurdity and not give ourselves over to false hope; at 1000WordPhilosophy.com
he ultimately suggests that life will be lived all the
better if it has no meaning.
It is up to us to live our lives with passion, freedom,
and revolt – three consequences of the absurd – or
else we give in to false hope or even choose not to
live at all. By embracing our passions and absurd
freedom, we can thus throw ourselves into the world
with a desire to use all that’s given. Though we can
never reconcile the metaphysical and epistemological
tensions that give rise to the absurd, we can
remember that the “point,” after all, is “to live” (65).