Camus 'Defiance Of The Absurd'

Camus’ philosophy adopts the third choice. His alternative to suicide or a false belief in some metaphysical or religious rationality is to live life in rebellion (Aronson 9). He proposes that living in defiance of the bereft condition of humanity is to live with integrity. Being fully conscious of life’s absurdity but carrying on with vigor and in earnest: this is how Camus proposes to make life worthwhile. By being aware of the human condition, Camus claims that one is taking ownership of it. Camus takes this concept of rebellion even further with his idea of “revolt.” Expounding upon the concept of acting in defiance of the Absurd, Camus goes further to say that humans should also strive to oppose injustice, wrongdoing, and oppression. Further, he makes it clear …show more content…
The rebel values the well being of others more than his own destiny and attempts to defend human nature for the sake of everybody. This is an important tenet of Camus’ philosophical understanding which sets him apart from other existentialists: that there is a shared essential human nature that every person must attempt to preserve and protect (Simpson 19-20).
Rather than attempting to argue a philosophy of absurdity or rebellion, Camus demonstrates an attitude towards life by sketching ways of living through images, metaphors, and stories which capture the experiences and psychological realizations that precede philosophy. In The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus tackles what he calls the “only really serious philosophical problem…suicide” (MS 1). In order to illustrate his opinion on what humans must do in the face of the Absurd, Camus adapts the Greek myth of Sisyphus, a man who is condemned to push a rock up a mountain in the underworld for eternity as