The existentialist theory of Albert Camus

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

Now, 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 the fundamentals of it, among which is the existentialist theory of Albert Camus. Next we will see the main aspects of this author's philosophy.

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Who was Albert Camus? Short biography

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

Upon reaching early adulthood he studied philosophy at the University of Algiers, and later, at the age of 25, he He moved to Paris, where he was involved in political movements and began to serve in the Communist Party. French. Shortly after, he was expelled from it because of his discrepancies on the objectives pursued in political action. During world war II

he actively participated in the underground press and he wrote part of the works that made him famous.

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

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Camus' existentialist theory

Camus' philosophical interests were a reflection of the troubled times in which he lived. On the one hand, the serious armed conflicts cast doubt on the idea of ​​progress caused by technological advances, and on the other, the great ideological movements seemed to show that he had lost a common frame of reference. The human being had lost a vector, a direction in which to move to reach goals pursued by all and unequivocally positive.

Existentialism explores this feeling of disorientation, as we will 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 shall 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 the existentialist theory of Albert Camus is the principle that life, in reality, has no meaning. It is a conclusion that the philosopher reaches simply by examining the arguments in favor of a meaning of life, and without finding a single reason why it should exist.

In turn, all recent scientific findings began to explain more and more patches of knowledge veiled up to that moment, which was not necessary the figure of a god that 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 hint at a contradiction within our existence. We believe that our lives have meaning, but this is false, and when reality gives us signs of this, we get frustrated, we perceive it as an attack on our identity and an existential crisis appears that generates a lot of discomfort.

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

4. Assuming nonsense

How to get to live well? The solution is to assume the absence of a sense built from outside and build it yourself. 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 have the freedom to assign a totally original meaning and proper to everything we do.

In this way, from the existentialism of Albert Camus each person has the responsibility of tracing his own history. Regardless of the objective facts that occur to you, you are the one who interprets his life trajectory according to the narrative that he has built about it.

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