Albert Camus is one of the most famous and broadly read existential philosophers, but interestingly considered himself neither an existentialist nor a philosopher at all. Born in Algeria, Camus was a skilled writer, essayist, and playwright, but also an influential political figure who was active in the Resistance. His ideas on absurdity, revolt, and suicide have become indispensable to the study of existentialism. 

My presentation next week will be on his 1942 novel The Stranger. Please note that depending on your translation, the book might alternatively be titled The Outsider and I may use these terms interchangeably.

The novel is quite short and Camus’ philosophy is woven throughout, so I recommend reading the entire novel if you have time. I have selected a few chapters for required reading, however, which I believe most embody some of the themes I will be touching on in my presentation.

I have also assigned an excerpt from The Myth of Sisyphus, which I believe will provide some foundation for Camus’ understanding of the absurd.

I know it is a lot but if you have time, I really recommend looking at chapters 1, 4, and 5 from Albert Camus: From the Absurd to Revolt, which give a background on Camus’ political beliefs and his relationship with Jean-Paul Sartre.

Camus’ frank yet elegant prose never ceases to absorb me, and there are few authors of which I am familiar who manage to imbue their characters with more authenticity or honesty. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Best,

Alex

Readings:

Camus_The Myth of Sisyphus_The Myth of Sisyphus

Camus, The Outsider_Part 1_Chapter Five

Camus, The Outsider_Part 1_Chapter Six

Camus, The Outsider_Part 2_Chapter Five

Camus, The Outsider_Afterword

Optional/Recommended:

Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus_An Absurd Reasoning_Absurdity and Suicide

1_The Absurd

4_Camus and Political Violence

5_Camus and Sartre

Slides/Presentation:

Absurdity & Paradox

Herman Hesse’s Der Steppenwolf (1927) is not usually found among the existentialist canon (Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man makes it into Gordon Marino’s anthology, but not this one) but nevertheless has a unique voice as a post-World War I existentialist novel, preceding Jean-Paul Sartre’s Nausea and released in the same year as Martin Heidegger’s Being and Time.

Hesse believed that this work was misunderstood by most people. Steppenwolf was meant to be an optimistic and hopeful novel of recovery and healing, instead of what was apparently taken as a denunciation of life by the mid-20th Century youth identifying with the middle-aged protagonist Harry Haller. What Hesse thought was the question, his audience had taken for an answer. The source of this healing, to Hesse, is a kind of unseriousness to life: what is called “humour” in the novel. This anticipates what Simone de Beauvoir will call “seriousness” in The Ethics of Ambiguity, which will be our main philosophical text of focus this week.

With the exception of the families of the landlady and the academic, Steppenwolf ‘s characters are unique in that they may all just be a reflection or part of Harry himself. Harry, in turn is a reflection of the author himself, who throughout his life also entertained thoughts of suicide throughout his life. I have linked, along with the novel excerpt, a short faux-autobiographical essay by Hesse himself which will provide some context into what Hesse believed his personal challenges were.

[Excerpt from Steppenwolf]
[Life Story Briefly Told, by Herman Hesse]
[Chapter II of The Ethics of Ambiguity, by Simone de Beauvoir]

(As a side note, Much of the scholarly work on this novel refers heavily to the psychoanalytic theories of Carl Jung to interpret what the characters represent for Harry as different aspects of his psyche that allow him to relate with and overcome himself. While acknowledging the influence that Jungian theory had on Hesse, I won’t be discussing Jung, although if any of you know the field better than I do, I’d be very grateful if you could provide some detail on what terms such as “animus” and “individuation” are.)