Project 2
Leah Greco
Professor Hammett
English 1302
Pr. 2 Rhetorical Analysis
07/31/2023
Word Count: 1,032
Albert Camus and Social Absurdity on the Depression Epidemic
Albert Camus, a French philosopher, moralist, and writer, who wrote many reputable published literary novels and essays based on absurdity and existentialism, claims that "understanding life as absurd is the first step to being fully alive" (Simpson). He resists utter hopelessness and argues that "lives are futile," but to be happy in life, relationships, food, friendship, and nature are needed for life to be worth living (De Botton). Time has dramatically evolved since Camus's time on Earth, but he witnessed the good, bad, and ugly of life while enduring a period of war and tragedy. The modern depression epidemic would be a topic of conversation Camus would take part in and share irrational absurdities like he did when he wrote The Fall, The Outsider, The Myth of Sisyphus, and The Plague, inspired by tragedy.
In The Outsider, Camus' writings are highly critical of pinched morality and concerns for money and family. Unique childhood and adulthood experiences greatly influenced Camus's philosophical perspectives on human nature, relationships, and the meaning of life (MacKay). A problematic upbringing did not prevent him from pursuing what mattered most. Instead, Camus persevered through the negative life experiences he was dealt with and became passionate about life in a uniquely optimistic way. This mysterious torment fueled his desire to teach and build knowledge to proceed with literary works on the absurd. To live on his terms, he rebelled against his upbringing, illness, and war. A famous quote by Camus reads, "You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of; you will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life (Camus)". Camus lived an impoverished life, endured an abusive home environment, survived a severe case of tuberculosis, and served in the French resistance in World War II, shaping his pessimistic but real philosophical views on life with a purpose (Aronson). His critical views on money and family make him less materialistic and less concerned about what others think of him and have done to him. Consuming too much energy in material things and ideations projected from others could poison the soul and moral reasoning for personal satiation.
Isolating and withdrawing from the world is a protective mechanism for depression, but it embodies emotional distress and pain over time (Tuffuor). In the writing of his book, The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus' quoted theme is, "Judging whether life is or is not worth living, that is the fundamental question of philosophy (Camus et al.)." Camus uses isolation metaphors in life, describing them as absurdly meaningless that will remain empty if not accepted. He has three principles to respond to the absurd condition of human life: physical suicide, philosophical suicide, and acceptance. He rejects physical and philosophical suicide as they are merely ways to escape the problem. To accept the absurd is to overcome it for man to commit to creating his own life, meaning, and purpose. His thoughts on suicide are controversial, but he believes facing the inevitability of death can help us appreciate life (Sus). Committing suicide implies "recognizing the absence of any profound reason for living, the insane character of that daily agitation, and the uselessness of suffering” (Camus). Despair will compel people to live more intensely and see that "there are more things to admire in men than despise." He recommends resisting despair and embracing life instead by pursuing satisfying activities despite their lack of meaning (Hendricks). Sisyphus found meaning in life even though he routinely pushed a boulder up a hill; people should also be able to do that. Camus understands that a life without meaning is not worth living (Sus). The metaphorical philosophies Camus portrayed in his everyday life and in his writings serve as a tool for others to use and think more critically regarding human emotion and distress. One cannot chase happiness and expect happiness, but one must accept and value what matters most to be happy. Living this way is likely to prevent dwelling in isolation and misery.
The suffering endured by all involved in the depression epidemic can be reflected based on Camus' book The Plague. Camus wrote about an epidemic utilizing a fictional character's point of view, Dr, Rieux, on a disease infecting his town, causing death and severe emotional effects in the community (Camus, The Plague). The Plague was written as a metaphor for "abstraction" in our lives: "all those impersonal rules and processes which can make human beings’ statistics to be treated by governments with all the inhumanity characterizing epidemics” (Sharpe). In modern times, mental health and depression would replace the bubonic plague while acknowledging the struggles to provide care and treatment in communities. The doctor from The Plague depicts the impact of depression, feelings of defeat, and emotional burnout as a health system caregiver during an epidemic, along with the townspeople of Oran.
As an existentialist, Camus gives us great insight into how we can best live our lives, from enjoying the drudgery of a dull and repetitive job to the more profound questions of life, death, and suicide. Camus was committed to individual moral freedom and responsibility. The Outsider speaks on the criticality of money and family as Meursault struggles against society’s opinion of his attitude and actions after the death of his mother. He believed each person has a purpose for what they should do, what to be, and how to live. Depression is a common problem and is nothing to be ashamed of, nor does it have to be faced alone. Dr. Rieux in The Plague served as an example of how a widespread disease epidemic caused him to feel guilt, consider himself a failure, and isolate himself in his own form of depression, being a caregiver during a tragedy. Life is what you make of it, and it deserves adequate attention, self-reflection, and a voice of change to help climb out of depression or even help someone else out of it. Sisyphus refused to isolate himself in suffering even though he underwent a daily repetitive cycle of punishment in The Myth of Sisyphus. Camus's literary works will remind us why life is worth living and guide us to live happier lives even in a depression epidemic.
Works Cited
Aronson, Ronald. "Albert Camus." The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2022). <https://plato.stanford.edu/cgi- bin/encyclopedia/archinfo.cgi?entry=camus>.
Camus, Albert. The Myth of Sisyphus and other essays. Trans. Justin O'Brien. New York: Vintage Books, 1991. <chrome- extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/http://www2.hawaii.edu/~freeman/courses/phil360/16.%20Myth%20of%20Sisyphus.pdf>.
—. The Plague. 1st American. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1948.
De Botton, Alain. "Philosphy - Albert Camus." The absurd philosophy of Albert Camus presented in a short animated film (2015). <https://www.openculture.com/2015/05/the-absurd-philosophy-of-albert-camus.html>.
Hendricks, Scotty. "Albert Camus on suicide, absurdity, and the meaning of life." Big Think - Personal Growth (2023). <https://bigthink.com/personal-growth/the-meaning-of-life-albert-camus-on-faith-suicide-and-absurdity/#:~:text=Our%20lives%20are%20meaningless%20and,be%20solved%20like%20any%20other.>.
Kellman, Steven G. Critical Insights: Albert Camus. Ed. Salem Online. 1st ed. Salem Press Incorporated, 2011. 2011. <https://online-salempress-com.comlib.idm.oclc.org/toc.do?bookMetaId=CICamus>.
MacKay, Michael. "Albert Camus: A Rebel with a Cause." Metamorphosis Fall 2010 (2019). <http://metamorphosis.coplac.org/index.php/metamorphosis/article/view/248>.
Mayer, Claude-Helene (Ph.D.). "Albert Camus – A Psychobiographical Approach in Times of Covid-19." Frontiers in Psychology (2021). <https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.644579/full>.
Sharpe, Matthew. "Guide to the Classics: Albert Camus' The Plague." The Conversation (2020). <https://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-albert-camus-the-plague-134244>.
Simpson, David. "Albert Camus: The Absurd." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2022). <https://iep.utm.edu/albert-camus/#SSH5ci>.
Sus, Viktoriya (MA Philospohy). "Albert Camus on the Meaning of Life: Faith, Suicide, and Absurdity." Philosophy (2023). <https://www.thecollector.com/albert-camus-meaning-of-life/>.
Tuffuor, Akosua N. and Payne, Richard. "Isolation and Suffering Related to Serious and Terminal Illness: Metaphors and Lessons From Albert Camus' Novel, The Plague." Journal of Pain and Symptom Management 54.3 (2017): 400-403. <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0885392417303159>.
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