He criticized existentialists for peering into the abyss of life’s emptiness and backing away in fear, believing it better to stare at absurdity unblinkingly and defiantly. Though he deserves acclaim as a representative of existentialism, a philosophy that grapples with life’s meaninglessness, Camus rejected that term and instead called himself an absurdist. The tragic Greek figure Sisyphus-a rebel whom the gods punish by forcing him to push a boulder up a mountain only to watch it fall back down, over and over forever-symbolizes the absurd human condition. The huge gap between that craving and life’s actual sterility is an absurd condition that can’t be pushed aside but must be faced squarely. The book’s premise is that humans yearn deeply for something they can never have: the certainty that life is worthwhile and meaningful.
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