Albert Camus | Live Without Appeal to Anything but the Sheer Passion of Life Itself 1913 ALGERIA 1960 FRANCE
Albert Camus is a philosopher of the absurd. He asks us to live without appealing to anything but the sheer joy of life itself. For Camus, life is a flame that needs to be harnessed and lived to the fullest. Making the most of life here and now is Camus’s remedy for an existence that has no inherent meaning or certainty but is simply “absurd.” Camus paints a stark picture of the universe. Our lives have no essential purpose, and the world is ultimately indifferent to human existence. At any moment, and without warning or consent, we will be torn from our projects and from our loved ones. The only certainty is that of an untimely death. This is why Camus describes existence as absurd. Nevertheless, we must live joyously “in spite of ” this absurdity. Like a condemned inmate savoring their last meal and soaking up the rays of the sun as they take their final steps, Camus asks us to squeeze every drop out of life up until the bitter end. Revolting against the absurd senselessness of existence, we live in “that unbelievable disinterestedness with regard to everything except for the pure flame of life.”