Monsieur Pas de Merde is unsure how long this will be available, but enjoy this excellent reading of Camus’ famous work.
The Myth of Sisyphus (French: Le Mythe de Sisyphe) is a 1942 philosophical essay by Albert Camus. The English translation by Justin O’Brien was first published in 1955.
Influenced by philosophers such as Søren Kierkegaard, Arthur Schopenhauer, and Friedrich Nietzsche, Camus introduces his philosophy of the absurd, that life is inherently devoid of meaning and consequently absurd, but humans will nevertheless forever search for meaning.
Camus compares the absurdity of man’s life with the situation of Sisyphus, a figure of Greek mythology who was condemned to repeat forever the same meaningless task of pushing a boulder up a mountain, only to see it roll down again.
The work can be seen in relation to other absurdist works by Camus: the novel The Stranger (1942), the plays The Misunderstanding (1942) and Caligula (1944), and especially the essay The Rebel (1951).
Camus began work in 1940, during the fall of France, when millions of refugees fled from advancing German armies. This helped him in understanding the absurd, although the essay rarely refers to this event.[2] He then wrote a preface for the essay while in Paris in 1955, which is included in the translated version by Justin O’Brien. Camus states that “even if one does not believe in God, suicide is not legitimate.” – Source: Wikipedia
