Have you ever asked a big question and gotten no answer at all?
Maybe you asked why the sky is blue, or why we have to go to school, or what the point of everything is. Albert Camus was a philosopher who spent his life thinking about what happens when humans look for meaning in a world that stays silent. He called this strange feeling the Absurd, and he believed it was the starting point for a truly brave life.
The Boy from the Sunny Shore
Albert Camus did not start his life in a library or a university. He was born in 1913 in Algeria, a country in North Africa that was then ruled by France. His family was very poor: they lived in a small apartment with no running water or electricity. His mother worked as a cleaner and could not read or write.
Young Albert spent his days playing soccer on the dusty streets or swimming in the bright, blue Mediterranean Sea. He loved the feeling of the hot sun on his skin and the cool water against his body. This connection to the physical world stayed with him forever. Even when his ideas got complicated, he always came back to the simple joys of being alive.
Imagine a beach in Algeria. The sand is white and hot. The water is so blue it looks like ink. You can smell the salt and the roasting chickpeas from a street stall. This was Albert's 'office' before he ever had a desk. He believed that the beauty of nature was the first thing we should ever learn about.
When Albert was just a baby, his father died in a great war. This meant he grew up in a house full of silence. Because his mother spoke very little, Albert became a sharp observer of the world. He noticed how beautiful life could be, but also how quickly it could be taken away.
When he was a teenager, he became very sick with a lung disease called tuberculosis. For a long time, he thought he might die. This experience changed him: he realized that life is fragile and that we cannot take a single day for granted.
Finn says:
"So, Camus didn't have all the answers, and he actually thought that was okay? That's a relief. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't know what's going on."
The Mystery of the Absurd
As he grew older, Camus began to write about a big idea he called Absurdism. To understand this, imagine you are standing at the edge of a vast, deep canyon. You shout, "What is the meaning of my life?" into the darkness. You wait for an answer, but all you hear is your own echo.
Camus said that humans have a natural hunger for order, reasons, and clear answers. We want to know why things happen. However, the universe does not seem to have a manual. It is vast, old, and very quiet. The Absurd is the friction between our loud questions and the world’s quietness.
Before he was a famous writer, Albert Camus was a star goalkeeper for his university soccer team! He once said, 'Everything I know most surely about morality and the duty of man, I owe to football.' He loved how soccer required teamwork, honesty, and dealing with the fact that sometimes you lose even when you play well.
Many people think this sounds a bit sad, but Camus did not think so. He believed that once we accept that the universe doesn't have a pre-written plan for us, we are actually free. We don't have to follow a script. We get to decide what matters to us right now.
Think about playing a game with no rules. At first, it might feel confusing. But then you realize you can make up your own rules. You can decide that the goal of the game is just to enjoy the way the grass feels under your feet.
In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.
The Story of the Rolling Stone
To explain his ideas, Camus used an old story from Greek mythology: the story of Sisyphus. In the myth, Sisyphus is punished by the gods. His task is to push a giant boulder up a steep mountain. Every time he reaches the very top, the boulder escapes his hands and rolls all the way back down to the bottom.
Sisyphus has to walk back down the hill and start over. He does this forever. For most people, this sounds like the worst punishment imaginable. It is a job that never ends and has no purpose. It is the definition of a "pointless" task.
Think of a chore you have to do every single day, like making your bed or clearing the table. Instead of thinking 'I have to do this again,' try to focus entirely on the movement. Notice the weight of the plates or the smoothness of the sheets. Can you find a way to enjoy the movement itself, even if the task never truly ends?
But Camus looked at Sisyphus differently. He focused on the moment when Sisyphus turns around and walks back down the mountain to get his rock. In that moment, Sisyphus is stronger than his rock. He knows exactly what his life is: it is the struggle of the climb.
Camus argued that we are all a bit like Sisyphus. We brush our teeth, we go to school, we do chores, and then we do it all again the next day. But if we decide that the effort itself is worth it, the punishment loses its power. We are not victims of the task: we are the masters of our own effort.
The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.
How to Be a Rebel
During World War II, Camus lived in France while it was occupied by an enemy army. He joined the Resistance, a secret group of people who fought for freedom. He edited an underground newspaper called Combat. During this dangerous time, his philosophy moved from thinking about himself to thinking about others.
He developed the idea of the Rebel. For Camus, a rebel isn't someone who just breaks rules for fun. A rebel is someone who says "No" to unfairness. When you see someone being treated badly and you say, "That is wrong," you are acting as a rebel.
Mira says:
"It's like Camus is saying that because nothing is planned out for us, we have to be the ones to look out for each other. Our friendship is something we *create*, not just something that happens."
Camus believed that even if life has no built-in meaning, we can create meaning by helping each other. He called this Solidarity. If we are all stuck on this silent planet together, the best thing we can do is be kind and fight against suffering.
- Revolt: Refusing to give up even when things are hard.
- Freedom: Thinking for yourself instead of following the crowd.
- Passion: Living life as fully as possible, like enjoying a piece of fruit or a swim.
The world is fundamentally chaotic and has no meaning. We should just enjoy ourselves because nothing matters in the long run.
The world might not have a built-in meaning, but that gives us the responsibility to create our own meaning through kindness and justice.
Living in the Middle
Camus was often compared to another famous thinker named Jean-Paul Sartre. They were friends for a while, but then they had a famous argument. Sartre believed that people should join big political groups to change the world, even if it meant using some violence.
Camus disagreed. He was suspicious of any big idea that said it was okay to hurt people today for a "perfect world" tomorrow. He believed in Moderation. He thought we should try to do good in small, real ways right now, rather than waiting for a revolution.
Camus was a bit of a fashion icon without trying. He was often seen wearing a heavy trench coat with the collar popped up, holding a cigarette (which was very common then). People thought he looked like a cool movie star from a detective film, which helped make his difficult philosophy feel more 'cool' and relatable to young people.
He often said he felt like he was caught between two things: the beauty of the world (like the sun in Algeria) and the suffering of the world (like war and poverty). He didn't want to ignore the suffering, but he didn't want to forget the beauty either. He tried to hold both in his hands at the same time.
Through the Ages: The Idea of the Absurd
The Youngest Winner
In 1957, Albert Camus won the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was only 43 years old, making him one of the youngest people ever to receive it. When he gave his speech, he didn't talk about how great he was. Instead, he talked about how writers have a duty to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.
Even after becoming famous, Camus remained a bit of an outsider. He didn't like fancy parties or acting like a "big intellectual." He preferred to spend time with his friends, watch soccer matches, and walk by the sea. He never forgot the poor boy from Algiers.
Finn says:
"I wonder if he ever thought about the boulder while he was playing soccer. Like, you know the ball is going to go out of bounds eventually, but you play as hard as you can anyway."
Tragically, Camus died in a car accident in 1960. He was only 46. In his pocket, they found an unused train ticket: he had planned to take the train but decided at the last minute to drive with his friend instead. It was a sudden, quiet end to a life spent thinking about the unexpected nature of the world.
His books are still read by millions today. People turn to Camus when they feel lost or when the world feels like it doesn't make sense. He reminds us that even if we don't have all the answers, we can still choose to be brave, to be kind, and to enjoy the sun while it's out.
The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.
Something to Think About
If you were Sisyphus, what would you think about while walking back down the mountain?
There is no right or wrong answer here. Some people think he’d be planning his next push, while others think he’d be looking at the flowers on the hillside. What do you think makes the walk worth it?
Questions About Philosophy
Was Albert Camus an existentialist?
Why did he write about Sisyphus?
Is Absurdism the same as Nihilism?
Your Own Invincible Summer
Albert Camus reminds us that we don't need the universe to give us a permission slip to be happy. We don't need a grand plan to be kind. Like a goalkeeper waiting for the ball, or Sisyphus reaching for his stone, we can find our own rhythm in the mystery. The next time things feel a bit 'absurd,' remember that you are the one who gets to decide what happens next.