Albert Camus: An Inspiration

Author, Journalist, Existenialist

By Erika Siebring

Inspiration, I'd say, is a concept that makes an individual want to be a better version of themselves or to have a more positive impact on the world. This is not incorrect by any means -- that is, I do not claim this to be incorrect. However, I have to say that one figure whom I am inspired by motivates me to reevaluate how I view the world and how I view myself.

This individual is the French author and journalist Albert Camus. Camus was one of the early contributors to absurdism and individuals associated with existenialism; he is also the author of the 1942 novel "The Stranger." For those who are unaware, "The Stranger" details a brief period in the life of Meursault, a man emotionally detached from his enviornment. One day, Meursault shoots another man four times while walking on a beach and soon after faces the expected consequences -- arrest and sentencing to death. Meursault, in his journey, rejects any meaning of the world and the people around him and instead creates own meaning in his life; this meaning begins with and is mainfested through shooting a fellow man.

In short, a key theme of the book is that the world at large doesn't have inhernet meaning. The individual, like Meursault, must find make their own life meaningful, in whatever way is best for the individual.

Now, while Meursault's could be considered an extreme example, the ideas and concepts Camus brings forth and discusses are inspirational to me. Existenialism, in simple terms, is the idea that everything depends on the free indidivual's ability to make their own choices. Absurdism, which is a branch of this concept and a main concept Camus dealt with, is the idea that the only meaning the world has is the one(s) we give it. Thus, Camus' philosophy if you will, which is manifested through the character Meursault, is built on a foundation that heavily supports individualism, choices and free-thinking.

This is what is inspirational to me. Camus -- along with other figures such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Søren Kierkegaard -- work with and explore a philosophy that emphasizes humans as independently-acting and living authentically, living as one wants and making one's own life meaningful. This is inspirational, and quite thought-provoking, because it runs alongside the idea of everything in life being made up. Why do we call days of the week Monday, Tuesday, etc.? Simple -- somebody made it up and everyone else went along with it. Other things can be made up. Everybody can live their lives in whatever way they want without associating with any specific ideas. Existenialism, and by extension absurdism, is freeing in that I can live my life in whatever way I want. I can make my own choices and live as my most authentic self. I don't have to worry or think about what the meaning of life is because there is no inherent meaning. I am the one who gives my life meaning, which is created through the choices I make. Thus, my life can have different meaning than another's life.

On a personal and metaphysical level, I am inspiried and captivated by Camus and his novel "The Stranger," which has to be one of my favorite books. Essentially, I am left asking myself one question: how do I want my own life to be meaningful? And I can answer that question every day through my own choices and actions.

You can read more about Albert Camus here if you'd like. You can also read more about existentialism right here.