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Albert Camus - Coggle Diagram
Albert Camus
Literary Career
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Wrote 2 plays Le Malentendu and Caligula in 1944 and 1945 are important works in the Theatre of the Absurd
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Wrote for, produced and acted for a theatre group which aimed to bring theatre to working class audiences
-had a deep appreciation for theatre throughout his life
Was an apprentice journalist with Alger-Republicain two years before the outbreak of WW2
-reviewed some of Sartre's early works
-wrote articles analysing social conditions among Muslims of the Kabylie region: they highlighted the injustices that led to the outbreak of the Algerian War in 1954
-based his work off of humanitarian rather than ideological principles
-believed France could have a continued role in Algeria whilst acknowledging its colonial past
Had a lot of influece as a journalist in the years before and following the Liberation of Algeria
-he was editor of the Parisian daily Combat which was resistance newsheet
-left wing position based on ideals of justice and truth
-severed this connection with Combat
His most famous novel L'Étranger (1942) was a portrait of an outsider condemned for shooting an Arab for the fact he never says more than he feels and refuses to conform to the demands of society
He wrote a very influential political essay called Le Mythe de Sisyphe analysing contemporary nihilism and a sense of the "absurd"
His second novel La Peste is a symbolic account of the fight against an epidemic in Oran
-characters succeed in opposing the epidemic through their assertion of human diginity and fraternity
Wrote an essay called L'Homme révolté -recieved heavy criticism from Marxist critics and near-Marxists like Sartre
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Wrote a novel called La Chute focusing on Christian symbolism and an ironic exposure of complacent forms of secular humanist morality
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Politics
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Champion of individual rights- opposed French colonisation and argued empowerment of Algerians in politics and labour
-later associated with the French anarchist movement
Joined the French Resistance after moving to Paris at beginning of WW2
- help liberate Paris from Nazi occupation
-met Sartre at this time
-arguments arose as Camus was a heavy critic of communist theory
Camus attacked communism in L'Homme revolte and advocated for libertarian socialism and anarcho-syndicalism which upset many of those in his friend circle in Paris and led to his final split with Sartre- this further deteriorated during the Algerian War
He was a strong supporter of European integration
- founded the Comité francais pour la féderation européene- believed Europe would make most political and economic progress if the nation-states became a federation
Camus was a moralist- believed it should guide politics
-rejected the Marxist view that historical material relations define morality
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Anarchist sympathies intensified in the 50s when he believed the Soviet model was morally bankrupt
-against all forms of exploitation (authority, property, State and centralization)
-opposed revolution sparating rebels from revolutionaries and believed absolute truth which inspired them often led to tragedy
-opposed political violence and revolutionary terror- didn't believe in sacrificing innocent lives for purpose of history
-believed rebellions were caused by world's lack of purpose whilst political rebellion was the response to attacks against autonomy and dignity of individuals
Was neutral in the Algerian revolution
-was against the National Liberation Front and acknowledged the injustices imposed by colonialist France
-supportive of Unified Socialist Party and its approach to events
-critical of nuclear weapons including the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
-strong advocate for human rightsand maintained a position of pacifism and was firmly against capital punishment
Personal Life
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Won a scholarship to the Algiers lycee in 1923- period of intellectual awakening, had an enthusiasm for sport, 1930 tuberculosis disrupted his studies and left his family home to live on his own and became a philosophy student at the University of Algiers
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Obtained a diplome d'etudes superieures in 1936 for his thesis on Greek and Christian thought focused on the philosophical writings of Plotinus and Augustine
Opportunities for a career in the university were ruined by tuberculosis- went to the French Alps for his health
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Died in 1960 at the age of 46 in a car accident- he was in the middle of writing a novel about his childhood in Algeria which he believed would be his best work
Algeria
Familiar with the institutional racism of France against Arabs and Berbers, not part of a rich elite, grew up very poor
-was a citizen of France so was entitled to rights which many members of the Arab and Berber communities weren't
He was a vocal advocae of the "new Mediterranean culture" which was an idea that embraced the multi-ethnicity of the Algerian people
-advocated for economic, educational and political reforms urgently in the country
Faced a dilemma at the outbreak of the Algerian War -identified with the struggles of the Pieds-Noirs but argued the uprising was an integral part of the new Arab imperialism which opposed the West
-favoured greater Algerian autonomy but not complete independence believing the Pieds-Noir and Arabs could co-exist
-advocated for a civil truce that would spare civilians but this was rejected by both sides
-worked with Algerians facing death penalty
-faced much criticism for his position from the left and from postcolonial writers
Wrote articles in support of French reforms and the Arab people following the Setif and Guelma massacre after Arab revolts against French mistreatment
Philosophy
Existentialism
Myth of Sisyphus was a criticism of existentialism- particularly criticsed Sartre's existentialism
-believed importance of history held by Sartre was incompatible with his belief in human freedom
-some believe their rivalry played a part in Camus' rejection
Lots of his work revolves around existential questions he was also anti-Christianity, was committed to individual moral freedom which are traits of many existential writers
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Absurdism
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Idea that life is meaningless and that makes man's existence absurd
-created because man realises human values don't have any solid foundation in the universe
-does not use nihilism as a solution and dismisses suicide
-suggests we should accept and live with the absurdity of our lives
Revolt
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Can we act in an ethical and meaningful way in a silent universe
-he said yes as the awareness of the absurd creates moral values and sets the limits for our actions
Two forms of rebellion
1)Metaphysical- man protests against his condition and against creation
2)historical-attempt to materialise abstract concept of the metaphysical rebellion and change the world
Rebel must balance evil of the world and the intrinsic evil all revolts carry so no unjustifiable suffering is caused