"There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide."
Camus answers this statement in this essay and gets awarded the Nobel Pri"There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide."
Camus answers this statement in this essay and gets awarded the Nobel Prize for it. He takes the philosophy of French Existentialism to its extreme and arrives at Absurdism. Serious thought is put into the dilemma of continued existence, and this thought is difficult to follow. However, its conclusion is plain enough to understand: even without purpose, meaning, hope, god, a future... man should keep living.
Where this essay will likely fail for most contemporary readers is its constant reference to outside texts. Citations of works by other philosophers, religious books, or classical literature strengthen his arguments. The references obfuscate the way to the conclusion. Nevertheless, when distilled, the philosophy of this essay is profound.
Recommended to readers who enjoy philosophical essays, recommend looking at the Wikipedia entirely for others.
There are many, many interesting quotes in this essay. Here are some that do not require much context:
"We get into the habit of living before acquiring the habit of thinking."
"there is no truth, but merely truths."
"All things are not explained by one thing but by all things."
"There, too, there are several ways of committing suicide, one of which is the total gift and forgetfulness of self."
"A fate is not a punishment."
"I leave Sisyphus at the foot of the mountain! One always finds one's burden again. But Sisyphus teaches the higher fidelity that negates the gods and raises rocks. He too concludes that all is well. This universe henceforth without a master seems to him neither sterile nor futile."
Source material for the excellent movie "LIVE DIE REPEAT" (also called "Edge of Tomorrow") this book is page-turning action combined with a war-time gSource material for the excellent movie "LIVE DIE REPEAT" (also called "Edge of Tomorrow") this book is page-turning action combined with a war-time ground hog's day scenario. The translation from the original Japanese is superb.
Following the main protagonist's inner monologue about life, war, and developing into the perfect soldier are entertaining. The why and how the aliens invaded the earth is interesting, but not elaborated on and also the limit to the hard science fiction in the book. This is more an action book using science fiction as a vehicle for plot development, than the other way around.
It's a quick and fun read; if you enjoyed the movie, this is different, but you'll likely enjoy it.
Some quotes:
"Good ideas don’t stand a chance against good bureaucracy."
"I don’t care how many lives you have, if you followed the orders of every officer fresh from the academy, you’d end up getting bored of dying."
“You shouldn’t assume everything you don’t understand is a message”
“Our lives should be written in stone. Paper is too temporary—too easy to rewrite.”
"If there’s a heaven, it’s a cold place. A dark place. A lonely place."
"All around you, your friends are breathing in and out without a second thought while you drown alone in a sea of air."
It is not often that a fictional book can explain philosophy better than works on philosophy; it does so here. What philosophy exactly? I'm not sure..It is not often that a fictional book can explain philosophy better than works on philosophy; it does so here. What philosophy exactly? I'm not sure... the book deals with the topics of "heaviness" and "lightness" as applied to love, politics, and the general disposition of the human being. However, the character development of the novel's protagonist is so superbly melancholy, the philosophy only hits you later.
The writing is in a class by itself. Ideas, sayings, or passages are repeated (often verbatim) many times throughout the book, and instead of being superfluous, they are essential for both character development and the reader's understanding. The slightly anachronistic style events are narrated in seems odd, but works so well with the shifting perspectives of the protagonists.
I listened to the English version of this book (translated from Czech). Great, but sobering, book. ...more
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