Description
The Myth of Sisyphus’ (1942) is an important text about the absurdity of modern life. The book describes that there is no greater meaning in life but what we give it. When we accept that the universe has no inherent meaning or reason, we can be free of artificial expectations and embrace the absurd.
In this profound and moving philosophical statement, Camus poses the fundamental question: If human existence has no meaning, is life worth living?
‘What I touch, what resists me – that is what I understand’
As Camus argues, if there is no God to give meaning to our lives, humans must take on that purpose themselves. This is our ‘absurd’ task, like Sisyphus condemned forever to roll a rock up a hill. Written during the bleakest days of the Second World War, The Myth of Sisyphus argues for an acceptance of reality that encompasses revolt, passion and, above all, liberty, gained through an awareness of pure existence.
This volume contains several other essays, including lyrical evocations of the sunlit cities of Algiers and Oran, the settings of his great novels The Outsider and The Plague. The writings in this volume are all, in their own way, hymns to the physical world and the elemental pleasures of living.
