The Absurd: Albert Camus and the Response to a Meaningless World

At the heart of modern literature lies a profound confrontation with the absurd, the conflict between humanity’s search for meaning and the inherent meaninglessness of the universe. Albert Camus explores this existential tension in his work The Myth of Sisyphus, where he describes the absurd as the tension between humans’ desire for meaning and the unreasonable nature of the world. The absurd arises in a world that doesn’t provide this search for meaning. The absurd, for Camus, is not out of despair, but as a result of rebellion, an act of revolt. For Camus, one must confront the absurd with joy and embrace the life’s absurdity and struggle itself. The key to dealing with the absurd, therefore, is to accept it and continue to live passionately, fully aware that life is without inherent meaning. In The Myth of Sisyphus (1942), Camus states that:

On all essential problems (I mean thereby those that run the risk of leading to death or those that intensify the passion of living) there are probably but two methods of thought: the method of La Palisse and the method of Don Quixote. Solely the balance between evidence and lyricism can allow us to achieve simultaneously emotion and lucidity.

In a philosophical or methodological context, the "method of La Palisse" refers to a kind of reasoning that doesn’t challenge assumptions or provide new perspectives. It might rely on statements that are so obvious that they don’t contribute much to understanding or progress.  It is a way of thinking that takes comfort in the self-evident, but does little to spark innovation or personal transformation. It avoids the chaos of existential questioning by clinging to what is simple and familiar. In contrast, the method of Don Quixote is associated with idealism and imagination. The main character in Cervantes’ novel, Don Quixote, is a nobleman who, after reading too many chivalric romances, decides to become a knight errant. His method of thinking and acting is driven by his vision of a world that does not exist, rather than the actual reality. On the other hand, the method of Don Quixote presents a radically different response to life’s absurdity. Rather than yielding to the disillusionment that often accompanies an awareness of life’s meaninglessness, Don Quixote chooses to embark on a crusade of his own making, driven by his idealistic vision . However, for Camus, this confrontation with the absurd is not simply about passively accepting a meaningless universe as the method of La Palisse might suggest, nor is it about being misled by grand illusions as Don Quixote does. Instead, someone who acknowledges the lack of meaning in the universe should continue to live fully. Camus’ approach to the absurd, then, can be seen as a kind of philosophical heroism—a determination to live authentically, to keep moving forward, and to revel in the absurdity of existence. Like Sisyphus, who continues to roll his rock up the hill, the absurd hero finds meaning not in the achievement of a higher purpose but in the act of living, in the struggle itself.

Camus does not respond to this realization of life with nihilism or resignation as opposed to other philosophers such as Friedrich Nietzsche. Rather, he proposes revolt, living despite the absence of meaning.

Whether the earth or the sun revolves around the other is a matter of profound indifference. To tell the truth, it is a futile question. On the other hand, I see many people die because they judge that life is not worth living. I see others paradoxically getting killed for the ideas or illusions that give them a reason for living (what is called a reason for living is also an excellent reason for dying).

But should one end and release themselves from this silence of absurdity through suicide?Does this necessarily require death? Camus argued that suicide is only a defeat against the meaningless of life, to absurd. He, instead, suggested that one should revolt against the absurd and fully live no matter how life is devoid of providing an explain to the existence of humanity.