Existentialism,
Albert Camus,
and
The Stranger
Albert Camus (1913 - 1960),
a French philosopher of the absurd,
novelist, and dramatist
Albert Camus
 born in Algeria in 1913

Occupied by France
 settled in Paris and studied
philosophy and literature
 one of the principal persons of the
existentialist movement
 Writings affected by the time period,
especially the horrors of WWII

Trying to find meaning among death
and destruction
Camus,
cont.
 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 life.
 Said he was not an existentialist,
but his works reflect the
philosophy (preferred absurdist)
The Stranger
 Published
in 1942 (in French)
 Setting: Algiers
 Main character: Meursault
(mare-sew)
 The story focuses on what
happens after the death of
Meursault's mother
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.”
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.”
**Take a minute with a partner and break down this definition.
Write your own version of the definition.
What is Existentialism?
• Word first appeared in the 1940s
• Branch of philosophy based on the situation of
the individual in an absurd/
irrational/meaningless universe
• Humans have free will
• People are responsible for their actions and judge
how they affect others.
• Belief in no God and no ultimate meaning
• no afterlife; meaning is created by our choices
and those of the people around us
• Humans must define their own natures—
there is no unifying/universal human nature
BACKGROUND
Jean-Paul Sartre, in his lecture “Existentialism and Human
Emotions,” formed the slogan “Existence precedes
Essence.” He illustrated this slogan with four points:
1.
1. We have no predetermined nature or essence that
controls what we are, what we do, or what is valuable.
2.
2. We are radically free to act independently of
determination by outside influences.
3.
3. We create our own human nature through these free
choices.
4.
4. We also create our values through these choices.
More Existentialist Themes
 Identities are constructed by the
individual consciousness only.
 Values are subjective—no preset
right or wrong.
 Humanity doesn’t ultimately
matter in the grand scheme of
things, but our choices do affect
those around us

“Good deeds” should be done for
their own merit, not to earn points
on a divine scoreboard
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/
 meaninglessness
 of the human existence.
Moral Individualism
There are no universal, objective
standards for right and wrong.
 Morality is subjective
 The individual is responsible for all
of the consequences of one’s
actions.
 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.

Emotions and
Existentialism



Again, existentialism developed
during and after WWII
Anxiety stems from our
understanding and recognition
of the total freedom of choice
that confronts us every
moment, and the individual’s
confrontation with nothingness.
Alienation and Estrangement
from other people, human
institutions, from the past and
future—we only exist in the
here and now
Absurdism
 The
existentialist says that life is
ABSURD
 Nothing can explain or
rationalize human existence.
 The efforts of man to find
meaning in this life will fail
because life has no identifiable
meaning/purpose.
 Humans exist in a (possibly)
meaningless, irrational universe,
and any search for order will
bring them into direct conflict
with the universe.
Discuss: The myth of Sisyphus
“The struggle itself toward the heights
is enough to fill a man’s heart. One
must imagine Sisyphus happy.” –Albert
Camus