1. Albert Camus Albert Camus (1913 - 1960), a French philosopher of the
Camus became a towering moral philosopher and writer - one of the principal personages of the existentialist movement.
Born in Algeria in 1913; settled in Paris and studied philosophy and literature
most famous (and often considered his greatest) play is Caligula was written in 1938, when he was twenty five…tells the story of a mad Roman emporer who, devastated by the death of his beloved sister, dealws with his discovery of absurdity by creating an absurd world, turning his kingdom upside down in an orgy of sex and violence. He grasps for the impossible…exceeds all limits…and is eventually assassinated.
We’re going to be hearing a lot about “THE ABSURD”…which is a staple in Camus’s idea of existentialism. THE ABSURD, as experienced and explained by Camus, means that people are basically strangers, homeless, alienated, condemned to futility…pretty depressing, right? So, why not, like Caligula, just go mad, live a life of total indulgence, eat and drink all you want, etc.etc…? According to Camus, suicide, aimless pleasure, empty faith should be rejected and instead one must learn to live with the absurd and to love life.
Directed his work to his own times, the crisis-ridden twentieth century. Unprecedented horrors of WWII and the images of Auschwitz and Hiroshima had wounded much of the older faith in optimism, progress and moral certainty. His plays were controversial, but appealed to a generation searching for moral bearings after the upheaval of war. situations, dilemmas and painful choices confronting the characters of the plays. Works deal with problems Work is characterized by simple plots, effectiveness of dialogue and dramatic effects, extreme of racism, political corruption, the exploitation of women, and, above all, the hypocrisy of American life.
His plays were the ideal vehicle for the presentation of existential ideas…the depiction of extreme dramatic situations and the expression of their ideas became inseparable. These ideas were able to reach a far wider and more varied audience than his often more difficult philosophical works.
Jean Paul Sartre was his contemporary, and his works were equally energized by existentialist themes...
Albert Camus ( ),
a French philosopher of the
absurd, novelist, and dramatist

3. Albert Camus
born in Algeria in 1913

5. Algiers was founded in the 900s C.E. by Muslim settlers.
In 1830 the French took control of Algiers.
Arab locals were pushed aside by settlers from France, Spain, and Italy.
Algeria was under French rule until 1962.

6. Pied Noir – Black Foot
term referring to French citizens who lived in French Algeria before independence or more specifically….
Pieds-Noirs includes European settlers who were born in Algeria
When is this first mentioned in the novel?

7. Camus was a pied-noir (“black foot”), a term for a person of European descent living in Algeria.
The uneasy French-Algerian relations greatly affected both Camus’ politics and his novel The Stranger.

8. Set primarily in Algiers, after invasion and colonization by the French.
Narrative conveys dark humor and pessimism of young generation who resent French presence in Algeria.
Written after World War I and before World War II, absurdity and hopelessness is visible throughout
Set in small beach town outside of Algiers.

9. Albert Camus ( )
Born in Algeria to a working class colonial family
Father was killed in WWI
Mother: mute, illiterate, supported family by cleaning houses
Was able to study due to scholarships
Joined the Communist party in 1934 (left it two years later)
Established the Theater for the Worker in Algiers
Took part in Resistance in France
Later edited journal Combat
Nobel prize in 1957 for: illuminating the problems of the human conscience in our time”
Died in a car accident in 1960

10. Principal works: The Stranger (1942) The Myth of Sisyphus (1942)
Caligula (1944)
The Plague (1947)
The Fall (1956)
Exile and the Kingdom (1957)

11. Camus

12. Tried to become a teacher but failed (twice).
Took odd jobs: police clerk, meteorologist, salesman, and actor.
Became a journalist for Algerian newspaper that criticized the colonial French government.
Began writing book reviews, plays, and novels.
Wrote The Stranger in 1942 and became a well-known author.
Awarded Nobel Prize for literature in 1957.
Died in random automobile accident 1960. 

13. Father died in WWI fighting in France
Almost died of tuberculosis at 17.
Gifted student - settled in Paris and studied philosophy and literature
One of the principal persons of the existentialist movement
Writings often considered controversial
Writings affected by the time period, especially the horrors of WWII

14. Work is characterized by simple plots, effectiveness of dialogue and dramatic effects, extreme of racism, political corruption, the exploitation of women, and, above all, the hypocrisy of American life.

15. A Poem by Stephen Crane A man said to the universe: “Sir I exist!”
“However,” replied the universe,
“the fact has not created in me a sense of obligation.”

17. EXISTENTIALISM
“A body of ethical thought centering about the uniqueness and isolation of individual experience in a universe indifferent or hostile to man, regarding human existence as unexplainable, and emphasizing man’s freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of his acts.”
Write your own version of the definition.

18. What is Existentialism?
The word first appeared in 1941
Branch of philosophy based on the situation of the
individual in an absurd or meaningless universe
where humans have free will
Existentialists argue that people are responsible
for and the sole judge of their actions as they affect
others.
It is absolutely necessary that we consider the tenets of existentialism in the context in which it was created -- in this case, the context is world war II. In the late 1940s the new philosophy captured the imagination of europe and america. Though the roots of existentialism had preceded this period, it became a self-conscious (deliberate) philosophy in its own right only after world war II. It is this very difficult and often dismal period of which existentialism is a product.
Unlike earlier and later philosophies, existentialism wasn’t a concrete and dogmatic system, but more of a mood -- an outlook that contained related themes. Because of the diversity of positions associated with existentialism, there is no hard and fast definition for existentialism…Certain themes common to virtually all existentialist writers can be identified, though. We can look at the similarity of outlook and a common approach to particular problems of human existence.
Some of the beliefs they shared, which we’ll look at closely in a few minutes, are concerns centered on the uniqueness of individuals and their situations, a preoccupation with anxiety, absurdity, crisis situations, value definition, and choice-making. There is a stress on concrete individual existence and, consequently, on subjectivity, individual freedom, and choice.
Believed that human beings must define their own nature -- there is no such thing as “human nature” -- nothing that connects us. We can’t rely on any sort of convention as a guide to understanding...Each person must be courageous enough (and that is the key…that it takes a certain courage to move toward authenticity or awareness) to define his or her own existence, since it is completely unique to them. Then, once that existence is defined, the individual must take the responsibility for making their own choices. In this view, humans are what they do.
even though it’s hard to define, there are certain recurring themes...
Individuals must not allow their choices to be
constrained by ANYTHING -- not even reason or
morality. One has the ultimate freedom to choose,
which leads to the notion of nonbeing, or nothingness

19. BACKGROUND
Sartre, in his lecture “Existentialism and Human Emotions,” formed the slogan “Existence precedes Essence.” He illustrated this slogan with four points:
We have no predetermined nature or essence that controls what we are, what we do, or what is valuable for us.
We are radically free to act independently of determination by outside influences.
We create our own human nature through these free choices.
We also create our values through these choices.

20. The Basic Existentialist Standpoint:
Existence precedes essence.
Essence: the basic, real, and invariable nature of a thing or its significant individual feature or features
Man exists without a predetermined purpose
Man is a conscious subject rather than a thing to be predicted or manipulated.
Man exists as a conscious being, and not in accordance with any definition, generalization, or system.

21. More Existentialist Themes
Identities are constructed by the individual consciousness only.
Values are subjective- no preset right or wrong.
We are all condemned to be free.

22. Death: According to Existentialists
Simply put: Life is short, then you die. Death is the final nothingness.
According to Sartre, death is an absurd birth…it is nothing but the wiping out of my existence as a conscious being.
Death shows the absurdity of the human existence.

23. Moral Individualism
There are no universal, objective standards for right and wrong.
No objective, rational basis exists for moral decisions.
The individual must decide which situations are to count as moral situations.
The individual is responsible for all of the consequences of one’s actions.

24. Choice and Commitment
Humanity’s primary distinction is the freedom to choose; the choices an individual makes create his or her nature.
Choice is inescapable; even the refusal to choose is a choice.
Freedom of choice involves commitment; one must accept the risk and responsibility of following that commitment.

25. Absurdity
The doctrine that human beings live in essential isolation in a meaningless and irrational world.
Absurdists do not believe suicide is the answer. You should choose to make the most of what you have while you’re living.
I am my own existence, but…this existence is absurd.
The human situation is ambiguous, rather than rational or something that can be understood or explained.
Existentialists usually believe in the absurd.

26. It is absurd for humans to search for meaning in the universe because ultimately no meaning exists.
“The absurd is born out of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world.”
We should engage in living, and reconcile the fact that we live in a world without purpose.
The beauty which people encounter in life makes it worth living

27. Camus’ Nobel acceptance speech:
“The writer’s function is not without its arduous duties. By definition, he cannot serve today those who make history; he must serve those who are subject to it.”