The Only Way To Deal With An Unfree World Is To Become So Absolutely Free

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“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”– Albert Camus

Albert Camus (1913 – 1960) was a French-Algerian writer, journalist, playwright, director, activist, and philosopher known for his works on absurdism. In 1957, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Although his works delve into existentialism, he didn’t consider himself to be one, nor did he claim to be a part of any ideological associations. His first significant contribution to philosophy was absurdism, the result of one’s desire to clarity and meaning in a world that offers neither. He illustrated this concept in his book-length essay “The Myth of Sisyphus,” which leaves a striking image of a Sisyphus pushing his rock up a mountain only to see it roll back down every time he reaches the top. He likened it to humans’ futile attempt to find absolute answers to life’s existential questions.

Camus believed that there is no answer to the question, “What is the meaning of existence?” yet humans cannot resist themselves from wondering. Although humans can seek to understand life’s purpose, he took the sceptical position that nothing in the world says anything about it. And since the absolute answer is non-existent, he suggested that we must learn to live with the irresolvable emptiness. He calls the impossibility of finding the answers “absurd.”

However, despite the lack of absolute meaning to existence, he insisted that the attempt itself to find meaning is what makes life worth living. To quote him: “The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”