The existentialist theory of Albert Camus

This philosopher developed one of the most influential theories about the meaning of life.

Existentialism is one of the philosophical currents that have most influenced contemporary thought and the history of psychology. that have most influenced contemporary thought and the history of psychology. Because of its influence, for example, appeared the Humanistic Psychology of Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, among others, authors who emphasized the importance of the subjective aspects of consciousness.

However, in order to understand what existentialism is, it is not enough to know the mark it left on a part of Psychology. It is preferable to know its foundations, among which we can find the existentialist theory of Albert Camus. Next we will see the main aspects of the philosophy of this author.

Who was Albert Camus? Brief biography

Camus was born in French Algeria in 1913.. Because of the death of his father in World War I, he grew up with his mother in an environment of great poverty and precariousness.

When he reached early adulthood he studied philosophy at the University of Algiers, and later, at the age of 25, he moved to Paris, where he became involved in political movements and began to join the French Communist Party. Shortly thereafter he was expelled from it because of his disagreements on the objectives pursued in political action. During the Second World War actively participated in the clandestine press and wrote some of the works that he and wrote some of the works that made him famous.

Some time after the end of the armed conflict, in 1957, he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. He died in a car accident at the age of 46.

The existentialist theory of Camus

Camus' philosophical interests were a reflection of the convulsive era in which he lived. On the one hand, serious armed conflicts called into question the idea of progress brought about by technological advances, and on the other the great ideological movements seemed to show that a common frame of reference had been lost. that a common frame of reference had been lost.. The human being had lost a vector, a direction in which to move in order to reach goals pursued by all and unequivocally positive.

Existentialism explores this feeling of disorientation, as we shall see in the main characteristics of Albert Camus' theory.

1. The subjective sense of meaning

Albert Camus begins by recognizing that human beings spontaneously develop a very strong sense of purpose, linked to their own identity. In other words, we internalize the idea that life has meaning.without anyone having to educate us in that direction. In turn, as we will see, this gets us into trouble without hardly knowing why, without realizing that we have fallen into a trap from the beginning.

2. The absence of the meaning of life

In turn, another of the main components of Albert Camus' existentialist theory is the principle that life, in reality, has no meaning. It is a conclusion that the philosopher comes to simply by examining the arguments in favor of a meaning of life, and without finding a single reason why it should exist.

At the same time, all the recent scientific findings were beginning to explain more and more plots of knowledge that had been veiled until then, so that there was no need for the figure of a god who could give meaning to humanity. Camus thought that we are entirely human, and as such we are alone..

3. The contradiction of life

The two previous elements insinuate a contradiction in the Heart of our existence. We believe that our lives have meaning, but this is false, and when reality gives us signs of this, we become frustrated, we perceive it as an attack on our identity and an existential crisis appears that generates a lot of discomfort. an existential crisis appears that generates a lot of discomfort..

Thus, for Camus, to live in a desirable way implies overcoming this contradiction, looking beyond it and accepting the tension that causes the emptiness of meaning.

4. Assuming nonmeaning

How can we live well? The solution lies in assuming the absence of a meaning constructed from outside and constructing it oneself. This is the revolutionary idea inherited by many thinkers interested in self-realization. If the absence of a meaning in life can be suffocating, at least it is an indicator that we enjoy it is an indicator that we are free to assign a totally original meaning to our lives. and proper to everything we do.

Thus, from the existentialism of Albert Camus, each person has the responsibility to trace his own history. Independently of the objective facts that happen to him, it is one who interprets his vital trajectory according to the narration that he has constructed about this one.