camus, albert-an absurd reasoning (doc)

8/11/2019 Camus, Albert-An Absurd Reasoning (DOC)

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PREFACE

The myth of Sisyphus, and other essays / Albert Camus; translated

from the French by Justin !"rien

FR#E"The Myth of Sisyphus" marks the beginning

of an idea which I was to pursue in The Rebel$ %t at-

tempts to resolve the problem of suicide, as The Rebel

attempts to resolve that of murder, in both cases without

the aid of eternal values which, temporarily perhaps, are

absent or distorted in contemporary Europe The funda-

mental sub!ect of "The Myth of Sisyphus" is this it is

legitimate and necessary to wonder whether life has a

meaning# therefore it is legitimate to meet the problem

of suicide face to face The answer, underlying and ap-

pearing through the parado$es which cover it, is this

even if one does not believe in %od, suicide is not legiti-

mate &ritten fifteen years ago, in '()*, amid the

+rench and European disaster, this book declares that

even within the limits of nihilism it is possible to find

the means to proceed beyond nihilism In all the books

I have written since, I have attempted to pursue this di-

rection lthough "The Myth of Sisyphus" poses mortal

problems, it sums itself up for me as a lucid invitation to

live and to create, in the very midst of the desert

It has hence been thought possible to append to this

philosophical argument a series of essays, of a kind '

have never ceased writing, which are somewhat marginal

to my other books In a more lyrical form, they all il-

lustrate that essential fluctuation from assent to refusal


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which, in my view, defines the artist and his difficult

calling The unity of this hook, that I should like to he

apparent to merican readers as it is to me, resides in

the reflection, alternately cold and impassioned, in

which an artist may indulge as to his reasons for living

and for creating fter fifteen years I have progressed

beyond several of the positions which are set down here#

hut % have remained faithful, it seems to me, to the

e$igency which prompted them That is why this hook

is in a certain sense the most personal of those % have

published in merica More than the others, therefore,

it has need of the indulgence and understanding of

its readers

A&"ERTCA#'S

PAR%S #ARC(

1955


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my soul, do not aspire to immortal life, lout e$haustthe limits of the possible

)Pindar,ythian iii

T(EPA*ESthat follo+ deal +ith an absurd sensitiity

that can be found +idespread in the a-e)and not +ith

an absurd philosophy +hich our time, properly spea.

in-, has not .no+n$ %t is therefore simply fair to point

out, at the outset, +hat these pa-es o+e to certain con

temporary thin.ers$ %t is so far from my intention to

hide this that they 0ill be found cited and commented

upon throu-hout this +or.$

"ut it is useful to note at the same time that the

absurd, hitherto ta.en as a conclusion, is considered inthis essay as a startin-point$ %n this sense it may be said

that there is somethin- proisional in my commentary1

one cannot pre2ud-e the position it entails$ There +ill

be found here merely the description, in the pure state,

of an intellectual malady$ 3o metaphysic, no belief is

inoled in it for the moment$ These are the limits and

the only bias of this boo.$ Certain personal e4periences

ur-e me to ma.e this clear$

A3 A"S'R5 REAS3%3*

bsurdity and Suicide

(EREis but one truly serious philosophical problem,

and that is suicide$ Jud-in- +hether life is or is not

+orth liin- amounts to ans+erin- the fundamental

6uestion of philosophy$ All the rest) +hether or not

the +orld has three dimensions, +hether the mind has

nine or t+ele cate-ories)comes after+ards$ These are

-ames; one must first ans+er$ And if it is true, as

3iet7sche claims, that a philosopher, to desere our

respect, must preach by e4ample, you can appreciate the

importance of that reply, for it +ill precede thedefinitie act$ These are facts the heart can feel; yet

they call for careful study before they become clear to

the intellect$

t

%f % as. myself ho+ to 2ud-e that this 6uestion is more

ur-ent than that, % reply that one 2ud-es by the actions

it entails$ % hae neer seen anyone die for the ontolo-i

cal ar-ument$ *alileo, +ho held a scientific truth of

-reat importance, ab2ured it +ith the -reatest ease as

soon as it endan-ered his life$ %n a certain sense, he did

ri-ht$8That truth +as not +orth the sta.e$ 0hether theearth or the sun reoles around the other is a matter of

8From the point of ie+ of the relatie alue of truth$ n theother hand, from the point of ie+ of irile behaior, thisscholar!s fra-ility may +ell ma.e us smile$

9


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tiely, the ridiculous character of that habit, the absenceof any profound reason for liin-, the insane character

of that daily a-itation, and the uselessness of sufferin-$

0hat, then, is that incalculable feelin- that depries

the mind of the sleep necessary to life< A +orld that canbe e4plained een +ith bad reasons is a familiar +orld$"ut, on the other hand, in a unierse suddenly diested

of illusions and li-hts, man feels an alien, a stran-er$ (ise4ile is +ithout remedy since he is depried of the mem

ory of a lost home or the hope of a promised land$ This

diorce bet+een man and his life, the actor and his settin-, is properly the feelin- of absurdity$ All healthy

men hain- thou-ht of their o+n suicide, it can beseen, +ithout further e4planation, that there is a direct

connection bet+een this feelin- and the lon-in- for

death$

The sub2ect of this essay is precisely this relationship

bet+een the absurd and suicide, the e4act de-ree to

+hich suicide is a solution to the absurd$ The principle

can be established that for a man +ho does not cheat,

+hat he beliees to be true must determine his action$

"elief in the absurdity of e4istence must then dictate his

conduct$ %t is le-itimate to +onder, clearly and +ithout

false pathos, +hether a conclusion of this importance

re6uires forsa.in- as rapidly as possible an incomprehensible condition$ % am spea.in-, of course, of men in

clined to be in harmony +ith themseles$

Stated clearly, this problem may seem both simple

and insoluble$ "ut it is +ron-ly assumed that simple

6uestions inole ans+ers that are no less simple and

that eidence implies eidence$ priori and reersin-

the terms of the problem, 2ust as one does or does not.ill oneself, it seems that there are but t+o philosophi

cal solutions, either yes or no$ This +ould be too easy$"ut allo+ance must be made for those +ho, +ithout

concludin-, continue 6uestionin-$ (ere % am onlysli-htly indul-in- in irony1 this is the ma2ority$ % noticealso that those +ho ans+er >no> act as if they thou-ht

>yes$> As a matter of fact, if % accept the 3iet7scheancriterion, they thin. >yes> in one +ay or another$ n

the other hand, it often happens that those +ho commitsuicide +ere assured of the meanin- of life$ These con

tradictions are constant$ %t may een be said that they

hae neer been so .een as on this point +here, on thecontrary, lo-ic seems so desirable$ %t is a commonplace

to compare philosophical theories and the behaior ofthose +ho profess them$ "ut it must be said that of the

thin.ers +ho refused a meanin- to life none e4cept

irilo +ho belon-s to literature, Pere-rinos +ho istorn of le-end,9and Jules &e6uier +ho belon-s to hy

pothesis, admitted his lo-ic to the point of refusin- thatlife$ Schopenhauer is often cited, as a fit sub2ect for

lau-hter, because he praised suicide +hile seated at a+ellset table$ This is no sub2ect for 2o.in-$ That +ay

of not ta.in- the tra-ic seriously is not so -rieous, but

it helps to 2ud-e a man$

%n the face of such contradictions and obscurities

must +e conclude that there is no relationship bet+een

98 hae heard of an emulator of Pere-rinos, a post+ar +riter+ho, after hain- finished his first boo., committed suicide to

attract attention to his +or.$ Attention +as in fact attracted,but the boo. +as 2ud-ed no -ood$


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the opinion one has about life and the act one commits

to leae it< &et us not e4a--erate in this direction$ %n a

man!s attachment to life there is somethin- stron-er than

all the ills in the +orld$ The body!s 2ud-ment is as -ood

as the mind!s, and the body shrin.s from annihilation$0e -et into the habit of liin- before ac6uirin- the

habit of thin.in-$ %n that race +hich daily hastens us

to+ard death, the body maintains its irreparable lead$

%n short, the essence of that contradiction lies in +hat %

shall call the act of eludin- because it is both less and

more than diersion in the Pascalian sense$ Eludin- is

the inariable -ame$ The typical act of eludin-, the fatal

easion that constitutes the third theme of this essay, is

hope$ (ope of another life one must >desere> or tric.

ery of those +ho lie not for life itself but for some -reatidea that +ill transcend it, refine it, -ie it a meanin-,

and betray it$

Thus eerythin- contributes to spreadin- confusion$

(itherto, and it has not been +asted effort, people hae

played on +ords and pretended to beliee that refusin-

to -rant a meanin- to life necessarily leads to declarin-

that it is not +orth liin-$ %n truth, there is no necessary

common measure bet+een these t+o 2ud-ments$ ne

merely has to refuse to be misled by the confusions, di

orces, and inconsistencies preiously pointed out$ ne

must brush eerythin- aside and -o strai-ht to the real

problem$ ne .ills oneself because life is not +orth li

in-, that is certainly a truth)yet an unfruitful one be

cause it is a truism$ "ut does that insult to e4istence, that

flat denial in +hich it is plun-ed come from the fact

that it has no meanin-< 5oes its absurdity re6uire one to

escape it throu-h hope or suicide)this is +hat must be

clarified, hunted do+n, and elucidated +hile brushin-

aside all the rest$ 5oes the Absurd dictate death< This

problem must be -ien priority oer others, outside all

methods of thou-ht and all e4ercises of the disinterestedmind$ Shades of meanin-, contradictions, the psychol

o-y that an >ob2ectie> mind can al+ays introduce into

all problems hae no place in this pursuit and this pas

sion$ %t calls simply for an un2ust)in other +ords, lo-i

cal)thou-ht$ That is not easy$ %t is al+ays easy to be

lo-ical$ %t is almost impossible to be lo-ical to the bitter

end$ #en +ho die by their o+n hand conse6uently fol

lo+ to its conclusion their emotional inclination$ Re

flection on suicide -ies me an opportunity to raise the

only problem to interest me1 is there a lo-ic to the point

of death< % cannot .no+ unless % pursue, +ithout rec.less passion, in the sole li-ht of eidence, the reasonin-

of +hich % am here su--estin- the source$ This is +hat %

call an absurd reasonin-$ #any hae be-un it$ % do not

yet .no+ +hether or not they .ept to it$

0hen arl Jaspers, reealin- the impossibility of

constitutin- the +orld as a unity, e4claims1 >This limi

tation leads me to myself, +here % can no lon-er +ith

dra+ behind an ob2ectie point of ie+ that % am merely

representin-, +here neither % myself nor the e4istence

of others can any lon-er become an ob2ect for me,> he iseo.in- after many others those +aterless deserts +here

thou-ht reaches its confines$ After many others, yes in

deed, but ho+ ea-er they +ere to -et out of themB At

that last crossroad +here thou-ht hesitates, many men

hae arried and een some of the humblest$ They then


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abdicated +hat +as most precious to them, their life$thers, princes of the mind, abdicated li.e+ise, butthey initiated the suicide of their thou-ht in its purestreolt$ The real effort is to stay there, rather, in so far as

that is possible, and to e4amine closely the odd e-etation of those distant re-ions$ Tenacity and acumen arepriile-ed spectators of this inhuman sho+ in +hichabsurdity, hope, and death carry on their dialo-ue$ Themind can then analy7e the fi-ures of that elementary yetsubtle dance before illustratin- them and reliin- themitself$

bsurd &alls

&i.e -reat +or.s, deep feelin-s al+ays mean more

than they are conscious of sayin-$ The re-ularity of an

impulse or a repulsion in a soul is encountered a-ain in

habits of doin- or thin.in-, is reproduced in conse

6uences of +hich the soul itself .no+s nothin-$ *reat

feelin-s ta.e +ith them their o+n unierse, splendid or

ab2ect$ They li-ht up +ith their passion an e4clusie

+orld in +hich they reco-ni7e their climate$ There is a

unierse of 2ealousy, of ambition, of selfishness, or of

-enerosity$ A unierse)in other +ords, a metaphysic

and an attitude of mind$ 0hat is true of already spe

ciali7ed feelin-s +ill be een more so of emotions basi

cally as indeterminate, simultaneously as a-ue and as

>definite,> as remote and as >present> as those furnished us

by beauty or aroused by absurdity$ At any streetcorner the

feelin- of absurdity can stri.e

any man in the face$ As it is, in its distressin- nudity, in

its li-ht +ithout efful-ence, it is elusie$ "ut that ery

difficulty deseres reflection$ %t is probably true that a

man remains foreer un.no+n to us and that there is inhim somethin- irreducible that escapes us$ "utpracti-

cally % .no+ men and reco-ni7e them by their behaior,

by the totality of their deeds, by the conse6uences caused

in life by their presence$ &i.e+ise, all those irrational

feelin-s +hich offer no purchase to analysis$ % can de

fine thempractically, appreciate thempractically,by

-atherin- to-ether the sum of their conse6uences in the

domain of the intelli-ence, by sei7in- and notin- all

their aspects, by outlinin- their unierse$ %t is certain

that apparently, thou-h % hae seen the same actor ahundred times, % shall not for that reason .no+ him any

better personally$ @et if % add up the heroes he has per

sonified and if % say that % .no+ him a little better at the

hundredth character counted off, this +ill be felt to

contain an element of truth$ For this apparent parado4

is also an apolo-ue$ There is a moral to it$ %t teaches

that a man defines himself by his ma.ebeliee as +ell

as by his sincere impulses$ There is thus a lo+er .ey of

feelin-s, inaccessible in the heart but partially disclosed

by the acts they imply and the attitudes of mind they as

sume$ %t is clear that in this +ay % am definin- a method$

"ut it is also eident that that method is one of analysis

and not of .no+led-e$ For methods imply metaphysics;

unconsciously they disclose conclusions that they often

claim not to .no+ yet$ Similarly, the last pa-es of a boo.

are already contained in the first pa-es$ Such a lin. is


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ineitable$ The method defined here ac.no+led-es thefeelin- that all true .no+led-e is impossible$ Solely appearances can be enumerated and the climate ma.eitself felt$

Perhaps +e shall be able to oerta.e that elusie feelin- of absurdity in the different but closely related

+orlds of intelli-ence, of the art of liin-, or of art itself$

The climate of absurdity is in the be-innin-$ The end

is the absurd unierse and that attitude of mind +hich

li-hts the +orld +ith its true colors to brin- out the

priile-ed and implacable isa-e +hich that attitude has

discerned in it$

* * *

All -reat deeds and all -reat thou-hts hae a ridicu

lous be-innin-$ *reat +or.s are often born on a street

corner or in a restaurant!s reolin- door$ So it is +ith

absurdity$ The absurd +orld more than others deries

its nobility from that ab2ect birth$ %n certain situations,

replyin- >nothin-> +hen as.ed +hat one is thin.in-

about may be pretense in a man$ Those +ho are loed

are +ell a+are of this$ "ut if that reply is sincere, if it

symboli7es that odd state of soul in +hich the oid be

comes elo6uent, in +hich the chain of daily -estures is

bro.en, in +hich the heart ainly see.s the lin. that +ill

connect it a-ain, then it is as it +ere the first si-n ofabsurdity$

%t happens that the sta-e sets collapse$ Risin-, street

car, four hours in the office or the factory, meal, street

car, four hours of +or., meal, sleep, and #onday Tues

day 0ednesday Thursday Friday and Saturday accord

in- to the same rhythm)this path is easily follo+ed

most of the time$ "ut one day the >+hy> arises and

eerythin- be-ins in that +eariness tin-ed +ith ama7e

ment$ >"e-ins>)this is important$ 0eariness comes at

the end of the acts of a mechanical life, but at the sametime it inau-urates the impulse of consciousness$ %t

a+a.ens consciousness and proo.es +hat follo+s$ 0hat

follo+s is the -radual return into the chain or it is the

definitie a+a.enin-$ At the end of the a+a.enin-

comes, in time, the conse6uence1 suicide or recoery$ %n

itself +eariness has somethin- sic.enin- about it$ (ere,

% must conclude that it is -ood$ For eerythin- be-ins

+ith consciousness and nothin- is +orth anythin- e4cept

throu-h it$ There is nothin- ori-inal about these

remar.s$ "ut they are obious; that is enou-h for a+hile, durin- a s.etchy reconnaissance in the ori-ins of

the absurd$ #ere >an4iety,> as (eide--er says, is at the

source of eerythin-$

&i.e+ise and durin- eery day of an unillustrious life,

time carries us$ "ut a moment al+ays comes +hen r +e

hae to carry it$ 0e lie on the future1 >tomorro+,> >later

on,> >+hen you hae made your +ay,> >you +ill

understand +hen you are old enou-h$> Such irrelean

cies are +onderful, for, after all, it!s a matter of dyin-$ @et

a day comes +hen a man notices or says that he is thirty$Thus he asserts his youth$ "ut simultaneously he situates

himself in relation to time$ (e ta.es his place in it$ (e

admits that he stands at a certain point on a cure that he

ac.no+led-es hain- to trael to its end$ (e belon-s to

time, and by the horror that sei7es him,


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he reco-ni7es his +orst enemy$ Tomorro+, he +as lon-

in- for tomorro+, +hereas eerythin- in him ou-ht to

re2ect it$ That reolt of the flesh is the absurd$D

A step lo+er and stran-eness creeps in1 perceiin-

that the +orld is >dense,> sensin- to +hat a de-ree a

stone is forei-n and irreducible to us, +ith +hat in

tensity nature or a landscape can ne-ate us$ At the heart

of all beauty lies somethin- inhuman, and these hills,

the softness of the s.y, the outline of these trees at this

ery minute lose the illusory meanin- +ith +hich +e

had clothed them, henceforth more remote than a lost

paradise$ The primitie hostility of the +orld rises up

to face us across millennia$ For a second +e cease to

understand it because for centuries +e hae understood

in it solely the ima-es and desi-ns that +e had at

tributed to it beforehand, because henceforth +e lac.

the po+er to ma.e use of that artifice$ The +orld eades

us because it becomes itself a-ain$ That sta-e scenery

mas.ed by habit becomes a-ain +hat it is$ %t +ithdra+s

at a distance from us$ Just as there are days +hen under

the familiar face of a +oman, +e see as a stran-er her

+e had loed months or years a-o, perhaps +e shall

come een to desire +hat suddenly leaes us so alone$

"ut the time has not yet come$ Just one thin-1 that

denseness and that stran-eness of the +orld is the ab

surd$

#en, too, secrete the inhuman$ At certain moments

D"ut not in the proper sense$ This is not a definition, but ratheran enumeration of the feelin-s that may admit of the absurd$Still, the enumeration finished, the absurd has neertheless notbeen e4hausted$

of lucidity, the mechanical aspect of their -estures, their

meanin-less pantomime ma.es silly eerythin- that sur

rounds them$ A man is tal.in- on the telephone behinda -lass partition; you cannot hear him, but you see his

incomprehensible dumb sho+1 you +onder +hy he is

alie$ This discomfort in the face of man!s o+n inhu

manity, this incalculable tumble before the ima-e of

+hat +e are, this >nausea,> as a +riter of today calls it,

is also the absurd$ &i.e+ise the stran-er +ho at certain

seconds comes to meet us in a mirror, the familiar and

yet alarmin- brother +e encounter in our o+n photo

-raphs is also the absurd$

% come at last to death and to the attitude +e hae to+ard it$ n this point eerythin- has been said and it is

only proper to aoid pathos$ @et one +ill neer be suf

ficiently surprised that eeryone lies as if no one

>.ne+$> This is because in reality there is no e4perience

of death$ Properly spea.in-, nothin- has been e4peri

enced but +hat has been lied and made conscious$

(ere, it is barely possible to spea. of the e4perience of

others! deaths$ %t is a substitute, an illusion, and it neer

6uite coninces us$ That melancholy conention cannot

be persuasie$ The horror comes in reality from themathematical aspect of the eent$ %f time fri-htens us,

this is because it +or.s out the problem and the solu

tion comes after+ard$ All the pretty speeches about the

soul +ill hae their contrary conincin-ly proed, at

least for a time$ From this inert body on +hich a slap

ma.es no mar. the soul has disappeared$ This ele

mentary and definitie aspect of the adenture consti

tutes the absurd feelin-$ 'nder the fatal li-htin- of that


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destiny, its uselessness becomes eident$ 3o code of

ethics and no effort are 2ustifiable a priori in the face of

the cruel mathematics that command our condition$

&et me repeat1 all this has been said oer and oer$ %

am limitin- myself here to ma.in- a rapid classificationand to pointin- out these obious themes$ They run

throu-h all literatures and all philosophies$ Eeryday

conersation feeds on them$ There is no 6uestion of re

inentin- them$ "ut it is essential to be sure of these

facts in order to be able to 6uestion oneself subse6uently

on the primordial 6uestion$ % am interested)let me re

peat a-ain)not so much in absurd discoeries as in their

conse6uences$ %f one is assured of these facts, +hat is

one to conclude, ho+ far is one to -o to elude nothin-5oes not the failure reeal, beyond any possi

ble e4planation and interpretation, not the absence but

the e4istence of transcendence That e4istence +hich,

suddenly and throu-h a blind act of human confidence,

e4plains eerythin-, he defines as >the unthin.ableunity of the -eneral and the particular$> Thus the

absurd becomes -od :in the broadest meanin- of this

+ord and that inability to understand becomes the

e4istence that illuminates eerythin-$ 3othin- lo-ically

prepares this reasonin-$ % can call it a leap$ And para

do4ically can be understood Jaspers!s insistence, his

infinite patience deoted to ma.in- the e4perience of

the transcendent impossible to reali7e$ For the more

fleetin- that appro4imation is, the more empty that

definition proes to be, and the more real that transcendent is to him; for the passion he deotes to assertin- it is

in direct proportion to the -ap bet+een his po+ers of e4

planation and the irrationality of the +orld and of

e4perience$ %t thus appears that the more bitterly Jaspers

destroys the reason!s preconceptions, the more radically

he +ill e4plain the +orld$ That apostle of humiliated

thou-ht +ill find at the ery end of humiliation the

means of re-eneratin- bein- to its ery depth$

#ystical thou-ht has familiari7ed us +ith such de

ices$ They are 2ust as le-itimate as any attitude ofmind$ "ut for the moment % am actin- as if % too. a cer

tain problem seriously$ 0ithout 2ud-in- beforehand

the -eneral alue of this attitude or its educatie po+er,

% mean simply to consider +hether it ans+ers the con

ditions % set myself, +hether it is +orthy of the conflict

that concerns me$ Thus % return to Chesto$ A com

mentator relates a remar. of his that deseres interest1


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>The only true solution,> he said, >is precisely +here

human 2ud-ment sees no solution$ ther+ise, +hat

need +ould +e hae of *od< 0e turn to+ard *od onlyto obtain the impossible$ As for the possible, men suf

fice$> %f there is a Chestoian philosophy, % can say that

it is alto-ether summed up in this +ay$ For +hen, at

the conclusion of his passionate analyses, Chesto dis

coers the fundamental absurdity of all e4istence, he

does not say1 >This is the absurd,> but rather1 >This

is *od1 +e must rely on him een if he does not corre

spond to any of our rational cate-ories$> So that confu

sion may not be possible, the Russian philosopher een

hints that this *od is perhaps full of hatred and hateful,incomprehensible and contradictory; but the more hid

eous is his face, the more he asserts his po+er$ (is -reat

ness is his incoherence$ (is proof is his inhumanity$

ne must sprin- into him and by this leap free oneself

from rational illusions$ Thus, for Chesto acceptance of

the absurd is contemporaneous +ith the absurd itself$

"ein- a+are of it amounts to acceptin- it, and the +hole

lo-ical effort of his thou-ht is to brin- it out so that at

the same time the tremendous hope it inoles may

burst forth$ &et me repeat that this attitude is le-itimate$"ut % am persistin- here in considerin- a sin-le problem

and all its conse6uences$ % do not hae to e4amine the

emotion of a thou-ht or of an act of faith$ % hae a +hole

lifetime to do that$ % .no+ that the rationalist finds

Chesto!s attitude annoyin-$ "ut % also feel that

Chesto is ri-ht rather than the rationalist, and % merely

+ant to .no+ if he remains faithful to the command

ments of the absurd$

3o+, if it is admitted that the absurd is the contrary

of hope, it is seen that e4istential thou-ht for Chesto

presupposes the absurd but proes it only to dispel it$Such subtlety of thou-ht is a con2uror!s emotional tric.$

0hen Chesto else+here sets his absurd in opposition

to current morality and reason, he calls it truth and

redemption$ (ence, there is basically in that definition

of the absurd an approbation that Chesto -rants it$

%f it is admitted that all the po+er of that notion lies

in the +ay it runs counter to our elementary hopes, if it

is felt that to remain, the absurd re6uires not to be con

sented to, then it can be clearly seen that it has lost its

true aspect, its human and relatie character in orderto enter an eternity that is both incomprehensible and

satisfyin-$ %f there is an absurd, it is in man!s unierse$

The moment the notion transforms itself into eternity!s

sprin-board, it ceases to be lin.ed to human lucidity$

The absurd is no lon-er that eidence that man ascer

tains +ithout consentin- to it$ The stru--le is eluded$

#an inte-rates the absurd and in that communion

causes to disappear its essential character, +hich is op

position, laceration, and diorce$ This leap is an escape$

Chesto, +ho is so fond of 6uotin- (amlet!s remar.1>The time is out of 2oint,> +rites it do+n +ith a sort

of saa-e hope that seems to belon- to him in particular$

For it is not in this sense that (amlet says it or Sha.e

speare +rites it$ The into4ication of the irrational and

the ocation of rapture turn a lucid mind a+ay from

the absurd$ To Chesto reason is useless but there is

somethin- beyond reason$ To an absurd mind reason is

useless and there is nothin- beyond reason$


20/35


21/35

This effect of the >leap> is odd, but must not surprise

us any lon-er$ (e ma.es of the absurd the criterion of

the other +orld, +hereas it is simply a residue of the e4

perience of this +orld$ >%n his failure,> says ier.e -aard, >the belieer finds his triumph$>

%t is not for me to +onder to +hat stirrin- preachin-

this attitude is lin.ed$ % merely hae to +onder if the

spectacle of the absurd and its o+n character 2ustifies it$

n this point, % .no+ that it is not so$ 'pon considerin-

a-ain the content of the absurd, one understands better

the method that inspired ier.e-aard$ "et+een the ir

rational of the +orld and the insur-ent nostal-ia of the

absurd, he does not maintain the e6uilibrium$ (e does

not respect the relationship that constitutes, properlyspea.in-, the feelin- of absurdity$ Sure of bein- unable

to escape the irrational, he +ants at least to sae himself

from that desperate nostal-ia that seems to him sterile

and deoid of implication$ "ut if he may be ri-ht on this

point in his 2ud-ment, he could not be in his ne-ation$

%f he substitutes for his cry of reolt a frantic adherence,

at once he is led to blind himself to the absurd +hich

hitherto enli-htened him and to deify the only certainty

he henceforth possesses, the irrational$ The important

thin-, as Abbe *aliani said to #me d!Epinay, is not tobe cured, but to lie +ith one!s ailments$ ier.e-aard

+ants to be cured$ To be cured is his fren7ied +ish,

and it runs throu-hout his +hole 2ournal$ The entire

$

effort of his intelli-ence is to escape the antinomy of the

human condition$ An all the more desperate effort since

he intermittently perceies its anity +hen he spea.s of

himself, as if neither fear of *od nor piety +ere capableof brin-inhim to peace$ Thus it is that, throu-h a

strained subterfu-e, he -ies the irrational the appear

ance and *od the attributes of the absurd1 un2ust, in

coherent, and incomprehensible$ %ntelli-ence alone in

him stries to stifle the underlyin- demands of the

human heart$ Since nothin- is proed, eerythin- can

be proed$

%ndeed, ier.e-aard himself sho+s us the path ta.en$

% do not +ant to su--est anythin- here, but ho+ can

one fail to read in his +or.s the si-ns of an almostintentional mutilation of the soul to balance the mutila

tion accepted in re-ard to the absurd< %t is the leitmoti

of the0ournal >0hat % lac.ed +as the animal +hich

also belon-s to human des tiny$ $ $ $ "ut -ie me a

body then$> And further on1 >hB especially in my

early youth +hat should % not hae -ien to be a man,

een for si4 months $ $ $ +hat % lac., basically, is a

body and the physical conditions of e4istence$> Else

+here, the same man neertheless adopts the -reat cry

of hope that has come do+n throu-h so many centuriesand 6uic.ened so many hearts, e4cept that of the absurd

man$ >"ut for the Christian death is certainly not the

end of eerythin- and it implies infinitely more hope

than life implies for us, een +hen that life is oer

flo+in- +ith health and i-or$> Reconciliation throu-h

scandal is still reconciliation$ %t allo+s one perhaps, as


22/35

can be seen, to derie hope of its contrary, +hich is

death$ "ut een if fello+feelin- inclines one to+ard

that attitude, still it must be said that e4cess 2ustifies

nothin-$ That transcends, as the sayin- -oes, the human

scale; therefore it must be superhuman$ "ut this >therefore> is superfluous$ There is no lo-ical certainty here$

There is no e4perimental probability either$ All % can

say is that, in fact, that transcends my scale$ %f % do not

dra+ a ne-ation from it, at least % do not +ant to found

anythin- on the incomprehensible$ % +ant to .no+

+hether % can lie +ith +hat % .no+ and +ith that

alone$ % am told a-ain that here the intelli-ence must

sacrifice its pride and the reason bo+ do+n$ "ut if %

reco-ni7e the limits of the reason, % do not therefore

ne-ate it, reco-ni7in- its relatie po+ers$ % merely +antto remain in this middle path +here the intelli-ence

can remain clear$ %f that is its pride, % see no sufficient

reason for -iin- it up$ 3othin- more profound, for

e4ample, than ier.e-aard!s ie+ accordin- to +hich

despair is not a fact but a state1 the ery state of sin$

For sin is +hat alienates from *od$ The absurd, +hich

is the metaphysical state of the conscious man, does not

lead to *od$KPerhaps this notion +ill become clearer if

% ris. this shoc.in- statement1 the absurd is sin +ithout

*od$

%t is a matter of liin- in that state of the absurd$ %

.no+ on +hat it is founded, this mind and this +orld

strainin- a-ainst each other +ithout bein- able to em

brace each other$ % as. for the rule of life of that state,

K8 did not say >e4cludes *od,> +hich +ould still amount to assertin-$

and +hat % am offered ne-lects its basis, ne-ates one of

the terms of the painful opposition, demands of me a

resi-nation$ % as. +hat is inoled in the condition %

reco-ni7e as mine; % .no+ it implies obscurity and

i-norance; and % am assured that this i-norance e4plains

eerythin- and that this dar.ness is my li-ht$ "ut thereis no reply here to my intent, and this stirrin- lyricism

cannot hide the parado4 from me$ ne must therefore

turn a+ay$ ier.e-aard may shout in +arnin-1 >%f man

had no eternal consciousness, if, at the bottom of eery

thin-, there +ere merely a +ild, seethin- force produc

in- eerythin-, both lar-e and triflin-, in the storm of

dar. passions, if the bottomless oid that nothin- can

fill underlay all thin-s, +hat +ould life be but despair

This cry is not li.ely to stop the absurd man$ See.in-

+hat is true is not see.in- +hat is desirable$ %f in order

to elude the an4ious 6uestion1 >0hat +ould life be

one must, li.e the don.ey, feed on the roses of illusion,

then the absurd mind, rather than resi-nin- itself to

falsehood, prefers to adopt fearlessly ier.e-aard!s

reply1 >despair$> Eerythin- considered, a determined

soul +ill al+ays mana-e$

% am ta.in- the liberty at this point of callin- the

e4istential attitude philosophical suicide$ "ut this does

not imply a 2ud-ment$ %t is a conenient +ay of indicat

in- the moement by +hich a thou-ht ne-ates itself and

tends to transcend itself in its ery ne-ation$ For the

e4istentials ne-ation is their *od$ To be precise, that

-od is maintained only throu-h the ne-ation of human


23/35

reason$L "ut, li.e suicides, -ods chan-e +ith men$

There are many +ays of leapin-, the essential bein- to

leap$ Those redeemin- ne-ations, those ultimate con

tradictions +hich ne-ate the obstacle that has not yet

been leaped oer, may sprin- 2ust as +ell :this is theparado4 at +hich this reasonin- aims from a certain

reli-ious inspiration as from the rational order$ They

al+ays lay claim to the eternal, and it is solely in this

that they ta.e the leap$

%t must be repeated that the reasonin- deeloped in

this essay leaes out alto-ether the most +idespread

spiritual attitude of our enli-htened a-e1 the one, based

on the principle that all is reason, +hich aims to e4plain

the +orld$ %t is natural to -ie a clear ie+ of the +orld

after acceptin- the idea that it must be clear$ That iseen le-itimate, but does not concern the reasonin- +e

are follo+in- out here$ %n fact, our aim is to shed li-ht

upon the step ta.en by the mind +hen, startin- from

a philosophy of the +orld!s lac. of meanin-, it ends up

by findin- a meanin- and depth in it$ The most touch

in- of those steps is reli-ious in essence; it becomes

obious in the theme of the irrational$ "ut the most

parado4ical and most si-nificant is certainly the one that

attributes rational reasons to a +orld it ori-inally

ima-ined as deoid of any -uidin- principle$ %t is impos

sible in any case to reach the conse6uences that concern

us +ithout hain- -ien an idea of this ne+ attainment

of the spirit of nostal-ia$

L&et me assert a-ain1 it is not the affirmation of *od that is6uestioned here, but rather the lo-ic leadin- to that affirmation$

% shall e4amine merely the theme of >the %ntention>

made fashionable by (usserl and the phenomenolo-ists$

% hae already alluded to it$ ri-inally (usserl!s method

ne-ates the classic procedure of the reason$ &et merepeat$ Thin.in- is not unifyin- or ma.in- the appear

ance familiar under the -uise of a -reat principle$

Thin.in- is learnin- all oer a-ain ho+ to see, directin-

one!s consciousness, ma.in- of eery ima-e a priile-ed

place$ %n other +ords, phenomenolo-y declines to e4

plain the +orld, it +ants to be merely a description of

actual e4perience$ %t confirms absurd thou-ht in its

initial assertion that there is no truth, but merely truths$

From the eenin- bree7e to this hand on my shoulder,

eerythin- has its truth$ Consciousness illuminates it bypayin- attention to it$ Consciousness does not form the

ob2ect of its understandin-, it merely focuses, it is the

act of attention, and, to borro+ a "er-sonian ima-e, it

resembles the pro2ector that suddenly focuses on an

ima-e$ The difference is that there is no scenario, but a

successie and incoherent illustration$ %n that ma-ic

lantern all the pictures are priile-ed$ Consciousness

suspends in e4perience the ob2ects of its attention$

Throu-h its miracle it isolates them$ (enceforth they

are beyond all 2ud-ments$ This is the >intention> thatcharacteri7es consciousness$ "ut the +ord does not im

ply any idea of finality; it is ta.en in its sense of >direc

tion>1 its only alue is topo-raphical$

At first si-ht, it certainly seems that in this +ay noth

in- contradicts the absurd spirit$ That apparent modesty

of thou-ht that limits itself to describin- +hat it de

clines to e4plain, that intentional discipline +hence


24/35

result parado4ically a profound enrichment of e4pe

rience and the rebirth of the +orld in its proli4ity are

absurd procedures$ At least at first si-ht$ For methods of

thou-ht, in this case as else+here, al+ays assume t+o

aspects, one psycholo-ical and the other metaphysical$M

Thereby they harbor t+o truths$ %f the theme of the in

tentional claims to illustrate merely a psycholo-ical at

titude, by +hich reality is drained instead of bein-

e4plained, nothin- in fact separates it from the absurd

spirit$ %t aims to enumerate +hat it cannot transcend$ %t

affirms solely that +ithout any unifyin- principle

thou-ht can still ta.e deli-ht in describin- and under

standin- eery aspect of e4perience$ The truth inoled

then for each of those aspects is psycholo-ical in nature$

%t simply testifies to the >interest> that reality can offer$

%t is a +ay of a+a.in- a sleepin- +orld and of ma.in- it

iid to the mind$ "ut if one attempts to e4tend and

-ie a rational basis to that notion of truth, if one claims

to discoer in this +ay the >essence> of each ob2ect of

.no+led-e, one restores its depth to e4perience$ For an

absurd mind that is incomprehensible$ 3o+, it is this

+aerin- bet+een modesty and assurance that is no

ticeable in the intentional attitude, and this shimmerin-of phenomenolo-ical thou-ht +ill illustrate the absurd

reasonin- better than anythin- else$

For (usserl spea.s li.e+ise of >e4tratemporal es

sences> brou-ht to li-ht by the intention, and he sounds

li.e Plato$ All thin-s are not e4plained by one thin-

M Een the most ri-orous epistemolo-ies imply metaphysics$And to such a de-ree that the metaphysic of many contemporary thin.ers consists in hain- nothin- but an epistemolo-y$

but by all thin-s$ % see no difference$ To be sure, those

ideas or those essences that consciousness >effectuates>

at the end of eery description are not yet to be con

sidered perfect models$ "ut it is asserted that they are

directly present in each datum of perception$ There is

no lon-er a sin-le idea e4plainin- eerythin-, but an

infinite number of essences -iin- a meanin- to an

infinite number of ob2ects$ The +orld comes to a stop,

but also li-hts up$ Platonic realism becomes intuitie,

but i t is still realism$ ier.e-aard +as s+allo+ed up in

his *od; Parmenides plun-ed thou-ht into the ne$

"ut here thou-ht hurls itself into an abstract polythe

ism$ "ut this is not all1 hallucinations and fictions li.e

+ise belon- to >e4tratemporal essences$> %n the ne+

+orld of ideas, the species of centaurs collaborates +ith

the more modest species of metropolitan man$

For the absurd man, there +as a truth as +ell as abit

terness in that purely psycholo-ical opinion that all

aspects of the +orld are priile-ed$ To say that eery

thin- is priile-ed is tantamount to sayin- that eery

thin- is e6uialent$ "ut the metaphysical aspect of that

truth is so farreachin- that throu-h an elementary re

action he feels closer perhaps to Plato$ (e is tau-ht, infact, that eery ima-e presupposes an e6ually priile-ed

essence$ %n this ideal +orld +ithout hierarchy, the

formal army is composed solely of -enerals$ To be sure,

transcendency had been eliminated$ "ut a sudden shift

in thou-ht brin-s bac. into the +orld a sort of fra-

mentary immanence +hich restores to the unierse its

depth$

Am % to fear hain- carried too far a theme handled


25/35

+ith -reater circumspection by its creators< % read

merely these assertions of (usserl, apparently parado4i

cal yet ri-orously lo-ical if +hat precedes is accepted1

>That +hich is true is true absolutely, in itself; truth is

one, identical +ith itself, ho+eer different the creatures+ho perceie it, men, monsters, an-els or -ods$> Reason

triumphs and trumpets forth +ith that oice, % cannot

deny$ 0hat can its assertions mean in the absurd +orld%f all masses sub2ect to attraction +ere to disappear, the la+ of attraction +ould not be destroyed but

+ould simply remain +ithout any possible application,>

% .no+ that % am faced +ith a metaphysic of consola

tion$ And if % +ant to discoer the point +here thou-ht

leaes the path of eidence, % hae only to reread the

parallel reasonin- that (usserl oices re-ardin- the

mind1 >%f +e could contemplate clearly the e4act la+s

of psychic processes, they +ould be seen to be li.e+ise

eternal and inariable, li.e the basic la+s of theoretical

natural science$ (ence they +ould be alid een if there+ere no psychic process$> Een if the mind +ere not,

its la+s +ould beB % see then that of a psycholo-ical truth

(usserl aims to ma.e a rational rule1 after hain- de

nied the inte-ratin- po+er of human reason, he leaps

by this e4pedient to eternal Reason$

(usserl!s theme of the >concrete unierse> cannot

then surprise me$ %f % am told that all essences are not

formal but that some are material, that the first are the

ob2ect of lo-ic and the second of science, this is merely

a 6uestion of definition$ The abstract, % am told, indi

cates but a part, +ithout consistency in itself, of a con

crete uniersal$ "ut the +aerin- already noted allo+s

me to thro+ li-ht on the confusion of these terms$ For

that may mean that the concrete ob2ect of my attention,

this s.y, the reflection of that +ater on this coat, alone

presere the presti-e of the real that my interest isolates

in the +orld$ And % shall not deny it$ "ut that may mean

also that this coat itself is uniersal, has its particular

and sufficient essence, belon-s to the +orld of forms$ %

then reali7e that merely the order of the procession hasbeen chan-ed$ This +orld has ceased to hae its reflec

tion in a hi-her unierse, but the heaen of forms is

fi-ured in the host of ima-es of this earth$ This chan-es

nothin- for me$ Rather than encounterin- here a taste

for the concrete, the meanin- of the human condition, %

find an intellectualism sufficiently unbridled to -en

erali7e the concrete itself$* *

%t is futile to be ama7ed by the apparent parado4 that

leads thou-ht to its o+n ne-ation by the opposite pathsof humiliated reason and triumphal reason$ From the

abstract -od of (usserl to the da77lin- -od of ier.e

-aard the distance is not so -reat$ Reason and the irra

tional lead to the same preachin-$ %n truth the +ay

matters but little; the +ill to arrie suffices$ The abstract

philosopher and the reli-ious philosopher start ut from

the same disorder and support each other in the same


26/35

an4iety$ "ut the essential is to e4plain$ 3ostal-ia is

stron-er here than .no+led-e$ %t is si-nificant that the

thou-ht of the epoch is at once one of the most deeply

imbued +ith a philosophy of the nonsi-nificance of the

+orld and one of the most diided in its conclusions$ %tis constantly oscillatin- bet+een e4treme rationali7ation

of reality +hich tends to brea. up that thou-ht into

standard reasons and its e4treme irrationali7ation +hich

tends to deify it$ "ut this diorce is only apparent$ %t is

a matter of reconciliation, and, in both cases, the leap

suffices$ %t is al+ays +ron-ly thou-ht that the notion of

reason is a one+ay notion$ To tell the truth, ho+eer

ri-orous it may be in its ambition, this concept is none

theless 2ust as unstable as others$ Reason bears a 6uite

human aspect, but it also is able to turn to+ard thediine$ Since Plotinus, +ho +as the first to reconcile it

+ith the eternal climate, it has learned to turn a+ay from

the most cherished of its principles, +hich is contradic

tion, in order to inte-rate into it the stran-est, the 6uite

ma-ic one of participation$8 %t is an instrument of

thou-ht and not thou-ht itself$ Aboe all, a man!s

thou-ht is his nostal-ia$

Just as reason +as able to soothe the melancholy of

Plotinus, it proides modern an-uish the means of

8A$)At that time reason had to adapt itself or die$ %t adapts

itself$ 0ith Plotinus, after bein- lo-ical it becomes aesthetic$#etaphor ta.es the place of the syllo-ism$

"$)#oreoer, this is not Plotinus! only contribution tophenomenolo-y$ This +hole attitude is already contained in theconcept so dear to the Ale4andrian thin.er that there is notonly an idea of man but also an idea of Socrates$

calmin- itself in the familiar settin- of the eternal$ The

absurd mind has less luc.$ For it the +orld is neither so

rational nor so irrational$ %t is unreasonable and only

that$ 0ith (usserl the reason eentually has no limits

at all$ The absurd, on the contrary, establishes its lim

its since it is po+erless to calm its an-uish$ ier.e-aard

independently asserts that a sin-le limit is enou-h to

ne-ate that an-uish$ "ut the absurd does not -o so far$

For it that limit is directed solely at the reason!s ambi

tions$ The theme of the irrational, as it is conceied by

the e4istentials, is reason becomin- confused and escap

in- by ne-atin- itself$ The absurd is lucid reason not

in- its limits$

nly at the end of this difficult path does the absurdman reco-ni7e his true moties$ 'pon comparin- his

inner e4i-ence and +hat is then offered him, he sud

denly feels he is -oin- to turn a+ay$ %n the unierse of

(usserl the +orld becomes clear and that lon-in- for

familiarity that man!s heart harbors becomes useless$ %n

ier.e-aard!s apocalypse that desire for clarity must be

-ien up if it +ants to be satisfied$ Sin is not so much

.no+in- :if it +ere, eerybody +ould be innocent as

+antin- to .no+$ %ndeed, it is the only sin of +hich the

absurd man can feel that it constitutes both his -uiltand his innocence$ (e is offered a solution in +hich all

the past contradictions hae become merely polemical

-ames$ "ut this is not the +ay he e4perienced them$

Their truth must be presered, +hich consists in not be

in- satisfied$ (e does not +ant preachin-$

#y reasonin- +ants to be faithful to the eidence


27/35

that aroused it$ That eidence is the absurd$ %t is that

diorce bet+een the mind that desires and the +orld

that disappoints, my nostal-ia for unity, this fra-mented

unierse and the contradiction that binds them to

-ether$ ier.e-aard suppresses my nostal-ia and (usserl-athers to-ether that unierse$ That is not +hat % +as

e4pectin-$ %t +as a matter of liin- and thin.in- +ith

those dislocations, of .no+in- +hether one had to ac

cept or refuse$ There can be no 6uestion of mas.in- the

eidence, of suppressin- the absurd by denyin- one of

the terms of its e6uation$ %t is essential to .no+ +hether

one can lie +ith it or +hether, on the other hand, lo-ic

commands one to die of it$ % am not interested in

philosophical suicide, but rather in plain suicide$ %

merely +ish to pur-e it of its emotional content and.no+ its lo-ic and its inte-rity$ Any other position im

plies for the absurd mind deceit and the mind!s retreat

before +hat the mind itself has brou-ht to li-ht$ (usserl

claims to obey the desire to escape >the ineterate habit

of liin- and thin.in- in certain +ell.no+n and con

enient conditions of e4istence,> but the final leap re

stores in him the eternal and its comfort$ The leap does

not represent an e4treme dan-er as ier.e-aard +ould

li.e it to do$ The dan-er, on the contrary, lies in the

subtle instant that precedes the leap$ "ein- able to remain on that di77yin- crest)that is inte-rity and the

rest is subterfu-e$ % .no+ also that neer has helpless

ness inspired such stri.in- harmonies as those of ier.e

-aard$ "ut if helplessness has its place in the indifferent

landscapes of history, it has none in a reasonin- +hose

e4i-ence is no+ .no+n$

bsurd +reedom

3o+ the main thin- is done, % hold certain facts from

+hich % cannot separate$ 0hat % .no+, +hat is certain,+hat % cannot deny, +hat % cannot re2ect)this is +hat

counts$ % can ne-ate eerythin- of that part of me that

lies on a-ue nostal-ias, e4cept this desire for unity,

this lon-in- to sole, this need for clarity and cohesion$

% can refute eerythin- in this +orld surroundin- me

that offends or enraptures me, e4cept this chaos, this

soerei-n chance and this diine e6uialence +hich

sprin-s from anarchy$ % don!t .no+ +hether this +orld

has a meanin- that transcends it$ "ut % .no+ that % do

not .no+ that meanin- and that it is impossible for me2ust no+ to .no+ it$ 0hat can a meanin- outside my

condition mean to me< % can understand only in human

terms$ 0hat % touch, +hat resists me)that is +hat %

understand$ And these t+o certainties)my appetite for

the absolute and for unity and the impossibility of re

ducin- this +orld to a rational and reasonable principle

)% also .no+ that % cannot reconcile them$ 0hat other

truth can % admit +ithout lyin-, +ithout brin-in- in a

hope % lac. and +hich means nothin- +ithin the limits

of my conditionone,> but henceforthman enters in +ith his reolt and his lucidity$ (e has

for-otten ho+ to hope$ This hell of the present is his

in-dom at last$ All problems recoer their sharp ed-e$

Abstract eidence retreats before the poetry of forms

and colors$ Spiritual conflicts become embodied and re

turn to the ab2ect and ma-nificent shelter of man!s heart$

3one of them is settled$ "ut all are transfi-ured$ %s one

-oin- to die, escape by the leap, rebuild a mansion of

ideas and forms to one!s o+n scale< %s one, on the con

trary, -oin- to ta.e up the heartrendin- and marelous+a-er of the absurd< &et!s ma.e a final effort in this

re-ard and dra+ all our conclusions$ The body, affec

tion, creation, action, human nobility +ill then resume

their places in this mad +orld$ At last man +ill a-ain

find there the +ine of the absurd and the bread of in

difference on +hich he feeds his -reatness$

&et us insist a-ain on the method1 it is a matter of

persis tin-$ At a certain point on his path the absurd

man is tempted$ (istory is not lac.in- in either re

li-ions or prophets, een +ithout -ods$ (e is as.ed to

leap$ All he can reply is that he doesn!t fully understand,

that it is not obious$ %ndeed, he does not +ant to do

anythin- but +hat he fully understands$ (e is assured

that this is the sin of pride, but he does not understand

the notion of sin; that perhaps hell is in store, but he has

not enou-h ima-ination to isuali7e that stran-e future;

that he is losin- immortal life, but that seems to him an

idle consideration$ An attempt is made to -et him to ad

mit his -uilt$ (e feels innocent$ To tell the truth, that

is all he feels)his irreparable innocence$ This is +hat

allo+s him eerythin-$ (ence, +hat he demands of himself is to liesolely +ith +hat he .no+s, to accommodate

himself to +hat is, and to brin- in nothin- that is not

certain$ (e is told that nothin- is$ "ut this at least is a

certainty$ And it is +ith this that he is concerned1 he

+ants to find out if it is possible to lie without appeal

3o+ % can broach the notion of suicide$ %t has al

ready been felt +hat solution mi-ht be -ien$ At this

point the problem is reersed$ %t +as preiously a 6ues

tion of findin- out +hether or not life had to hae ameanin- to be lied$ %t no+ becomes clear, on the con

trary, that it +ill be lied all the better if it has no mean

in-$ &iin- an e4perience, a particular fate, is acceptin-

it fully$ 3o+, no one +ill lie this fate, .no+in- it to be

absurd, unless he does eerythin- to .eep before him

that absurd brou-ht to li-ht by consciousness$ 3e-atin-

one of the terms of the opposition on +hich he lies

amounts to escapin- it$ To abolish conscious reolt is to


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elude the problem$ The theme of permanent reolution

is thus carried into indiidual e4perience$ &iin- is

.eepin- the absurd alie$ eepin- it alie is, aboe all,

contemplatin- it$ 'nli.e Eurydice, the absurd dies only

+hen +e turn a+ay from it$ ne of the only coherent

philosophical positions is thus reolt$ %t is a constant

confrontation bet+een man and his o+n obscurity$ %t is

an insistence upon an impossible transparency$ %t chal

len-es the +orld ane+ eery second$ Just as dan-er pro

ided man the uni6ue opportunity of sei7in- a+areness,

so metaphysical reolt e4tends a+areness to the +hole of

e4perience$ %t is that constant presence of man in his

o+n eyes$ %t is not aspiration, for it is deoid of hope$That reolt is the certainty of a crushin- fate, +ithout

the resi-nation that ou-ht to accompany it$

This is +here it is seen to +hat a de-ree absurd e4

perience is remote from suicide$ %t may be thou-ht that

suicide follo+s reolt)but +ron-ly$ For it does not

represent the lo-ical outcome of reolt$ %t is 2ust the

contrary by the consent it presupposes$ Suicide, li.e the

leap, is acceptance at its e4treme$ Eerythin- is oer and

man returns to his essential history$ (is future, his

uni6ue and dreadful future)he sees and rushes to+ardit$ %n its +ay, suicide settles the absurd$ %t en-ulfs the

absurd in the same death$ "ut % .no+ that in order to

.eep alie, the absurd cannot be settled$ %t escapes sui

cide to the e4tent that it is simultaneously a+areness

and re2ection of death$ %t is, at the e4treme limit of the

condemned man!s last thou-ht, that shoelace that de

spite eerythin- he sees a fe+ yards a+ay, on the ery

brin. of his di77yin- fall$ The contrary of suicide, in

fact, is the man condemned to death$

That reolt -ies life its alue$ Spread out oer the

+hole len-th of a life, it restores its ma2esty to that life$

To a man deoid of blinders, there is no finer si-ht than

that of the intelli-ence at -rips +ith a reality that tran

scends it$ The si-ht of human pride is une6ualed$ 3o

dispara-ement is of any use$ That discipline that the

mind imposes on itself, that +ill con2ured up out of

nothin-, that facetoface stru--le hae somethin- e4

ceptional about them$ To impoerish that reality +hose

inhumanity constitutes man!s ma2esty is tantamount to

impoerishin- him himself$ % understand then +hy thedoctrines that e4plain eerythin- to me also debilitate

me at the same time$ They reliee me of the +ei-ht of

my o+n life, and yet % must carry it alone$ At this 2unc

ture, % cannot conceie that a s.eptical metaphysics can

be 2oined to an ethics of renunciation$

Consciousness and reolt, these re2ections are the con

trary of renunciation$ Eerythin- that is indomitable

and passionate in a human heart 6uic.ens them, on the

contrary, +ith its o+n life$ %t is essential to die unrecon

ciled and not of one!s o+n free +ill$ Suicide is a repudiation$ The absurd man can only drain eerythin- to the

bitter end, and deplete himself$ The absurd is his e4

treme tension, +hich he maintains constantly by solitary

effort, for he .no+s that in that consciousness and in

that daytoday reolt he -ies proof of his only truth,

+hich is defiance$ This is a first conse6uence$

* * *


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%f % remain in that prearran-ed position +hich con

sists in dra+in- all the conclusions :and nothin- else

inoled in a ne+ly discoered notion, % am faced +ith

a second parado4$ %n order to remain faithful to that

method, % hae nothin- to do +ith the problem ofmetaphysical liberty$ no+in- +hether or not man is

free doesn!t interest me$ % can e4perience only my o+n

freedom$ As to it, % can hae no -eneral notions, but

merely a fe+ clear insi-hts$ The problem of >freedom as

such> has no meanin-$ For it is lin.ed in 6uite a dif

ferent +ay +ith the problem of *od$ no+in- +hether

or not man is free inoles .no+in- +hether he can

hae a master$ The absurdity peculiar to this problem

comes from the fact that the ery notion that ma.es the

problem of freedom possible also ta.es a+ay all its meanin-$ For in the presence of *od there is less a problem

of freedom than a problem of eil$ @ou .no+ the alterna

tie1 either +e are not free and *od the allpo+erful is

responsible for eil$ r +e are free and responsible but

*od is not allpo+erful$ All the scholastic subtleties hae

neither added anythin- to nor subtracted anythin- from

the acuteness of this parado4$

This is +hy % cannot -et lost in the -lorification or

the mere definition of a notion +hich eludes me and

loses its meanin- as soon as it -oes beyond the frame ofreference of my indiidual e4perience$ % cannot under

stand +hat .ind of freedom +ould be -ien me by a

hi-her bein-$ % hae lost the sense of hierarchy$ The

only conception of freedom % can hae is that of the

prisoner or the indiidual in the midst of the State$ The

only one % .no+ is freedom of thou-ht and action$ 3o+

if the absurd cancels all my chances of eternal freedom,

it restores and ma-nifies, on the other hand, my freedom

of action$ That priation of hope and future means an

increase in man!s aailability$

"efore encounterin- the absurd, the eeryday man

lies +ith aims, a concern for the future or for 2ustifica

tion :+ith re-ard to +hom or +hat is not the 6uestion$

(e +ei-hs his chances, he counts on >someday,> his re

tirement or the labor of his sons$ (e still thin.s that

somethin- in his life can be directed$ %n truth, he acts

as if he +ere free, een if all the facts ma.e a point of

contradictin- that liberty$ "ut after the absurd, eery

thin- is upset$ That idea that >% am,> my +ay of actin-

as if eerythin- has a meanin- :een if, on occasion, %

said that nothin- has)all that is -ien the lie in

erti-inous fashion by the absurdity of a possible death$

Thin.in- of the future, establishin- aims for oneself,

hain- preferences)all this presupposes a belief in

freedom, een if one occasionally ascertains that one

doesn!t feel it$ "ut at that moment % am +ell a+are that

that hi-her liberty, that freedom to be, +hich alone can

sere as basis for a truth, does not e4ist$ 5eath is there

as the only reality$ After death the chips are do+n$ % am

not een free, either, to perpetuate myself, but a slae,and, aboe all, a slae +ithout hope of an eternal reolu

tion, +ithout recourse to contempt$ And +ho +ithout

reolution and +ithout contempt can remain a slaeideal> rin-s false in

this connection$ %t is not een his ocation, but merely

the third conse6uence of his reasonin-$ (ain- started

from an an-uished a+areness of the inhuman, the

meditation on the absurd returns at the end of its itinerary

to < the ery heart of the passionate flames of human

reolt$

* * *

Thus % dra+ from the absurd three conse6uences,

+hich are my reolt, my freedom, and my passion$ "y the

mere actiity of consciousness % transform into a rule of

life +hat +as an initation to death)and % refuse

suicide$ % .no+, to be sure, the dull resonance that i

brates throu-hout these days$ @et % hae but a +ord to

say1 that it is necessary$ 0hen 3iet7sche +rites1 >%t

clearly seems that the chief thin- in heaen and on

earth is to obey at len-th and in a sin-le direction1 in

the lon- run there results somethin- for +hich it is

+orth the trouble of liin- on this earth as, for e4ample,

irtue, art, music, the dance, reason, the mind)some

thin- that transfi-ures, somethin- delicate, mad, or di

ine,> he elucidates the rule of a really distin-uished

code of ethics$ "ut he also points the +ay of the absurd

man$ beyin- the flame is both the easiest and the

0hat matters is coherence$ 0e start out here from acceptance ofthe +orld$ "ut riental thou-ht teaches that one can indul-e in

the same effort of lo-ic by choosin- against the +orld$ That is 2ust

as le-itimate and -ies this essay its perspecties and its limits$

"ut +hen the ne-ation of the +orld is pursued 2ust as

ri-orously, one often achiees :in certain Nedantic schools

similar results re-ardin-, for instance, the indifference of +or.s$

%n a boo. of -reat importance,2e 3hoi$, Jean *renier establishes

in this +ay a eritable >philosophy of indifference$>

hardest thin- to do$ (o+eer, it is -ood for man to 2ud-e

himself occasionally$ (e is alone in bein- able to do so$

>Prayer,> says Alain, >is +hen ni-ht descends oer

thou-ht$> >"ut the mind must meet the ni-ht,> reply

the mystics and the e4istentials$ @es, indeed, but not

that ni-ht that is born under closed eyelids and throu-hthe mere +ill of man)dar., impenetrable ni-ht that

the mind calls up in order to plun-e into it$ %f it must

encounter a ni-ht, let it be rather that of despair, +hich

remains lucid)polar ni-ht, i-il of the mind, +hence

+ill arise perhaps that +hite and ir-inal bri-htness

+hich outlines eery ob2ect in the li-ht of the intelli

-ence$ At that de-ree, e6uialence encounters pas

sionate understandin-$ Then it is no lon-er een a

6uestion of 2ud-in- the e4istential leap$ %t resumes its

place amid the a-eold fresco of human attitudes$ For

the spectator, if he is conscious, that leap is still absurd$%n so far as it thin.s it soles the parado4, it reinstates

it intact$ n this score, it is stirrin-$ n this score, eery

thin- resumes its place and the absurd +orld is reborn

in all its splendor and diersity$

"ut it is bad to stop, hard to be satisfied +ith a sin-le

+ay of seein-, to -o +ithout contradiction, perhaps the

most subtle of all spiritual forces$ The precedin- merely

defines a +ay of thin.in-$ "ut the point is to lie$


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camus, albert-an absurd reasoning (doc)

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