Albert Camus, a 20th century French philosopher, gave a new turn to philosophical thought of the time by bringing attention to the absurdity of life with his existentialist perspective. Here are three prime lessons to take away from his work:
Life’s Meaningless
Camus once said, “The literal meaning of life is whatever you’re doing that prevents you from killing yourself.” He believed life to be utterly meaningless. Although Camus himself was a very optimistic and upbeat individual, quite popular with the ladies. This meant that even is life was meaningless, it did not have to be miserable.
Must Create Our Own Meaning
Even if our lives don’t have a destined meaning, we must create one. We must seek this meaning constantly and create a subjective one, that which holds itself firmly on the soil of our being. Most importantly, one must create a meaning that is meaningful to oneself.
Accept The Negative
Through his work, Camus paints a very bleak picture of life. But it is only after we accept this bleakness, we can truly move on towards the little flicker of hope, of light this life has to offer. We must embrace these daunting concepts and lead our way onto living more fulfilling lives.
When one defines life on one’s own terms, it can seem like an immense burden. But this burden exists only for some time, soon to be followed by immense freedom, freedom to live as you please. And there’s nothing more liberating than that!
