# Albert Camus



## Mindful (May 28, 2015)




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## Mindful (May 28, 2015)

He celebrated the ordinary.


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## there4eyeM (May 28, 2015)

A somewhat simplified description that does not do him and his works justice.


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## Mindful (May 28, 2015)

there4eyeM said:


> A somewhat simplified description that does not do him and his works justice.



Should inspire people to delve deeper.

I found it to be a concise description which made the point.


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## Treeshepherd (May 28, 2015)

_"We have enough freedom to realize we're living in a cage, but not enough freedom to escape it."_

I read The Plague a long time ago. I don't remember it in great detail, except that Camus had a genius for allegory. I've read lots of excerpts from him, which are always insightful. 

We take too much for granted, and we are creatures of habit. It takes a disaster or great tragedy to shake us out of our walking sleep. That was one theme of The Plague.


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## there4eyeM (May 28, 2015)

Mindful said:


> there4eyeM said:
> 
> 
> > A somewhat simplified description that does not do him and his works justice.
> ...


Not intended as a negative criticism of the poster. That Camus should get more attention would be positive. The comment was, indeed, to indicate much more was in his 'oeuvre'.


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## Treeshepherd (May 28, 2015)

"_The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion_."

words to live by


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## Treeshepherd (May 28, 2015)

Either life on Earth is a direct consequence of meaning, or life is utterly meaningless. Was that Camus' central question? 

Camus articulated the atheist position from the perspective of a philosopher (as opposed to a biologist). For Camus, life was not only meaningless but completely absurd. He often deals with the question of suicide. Is life worth living? Camus struggles with these questions and chooses to face the absurdity of life. To live is to rebel against absurdity.

I think, maybe there's a parallel there with the paganism of the Ancients. The gods didn't care about the lives of mortals, and therefore life for mortals often became absurd, like when an innocent person is stricken with disease for example. So, the mortal, like Oedipus, must confront the absurdity and be resigned to whatever fate that leads to.


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## G.T. (May 28, 2015)

Ehh...much to be desired


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## Treeshepherd (May 28, 2015)

G.T. said:


> Ehh...much to be desired



Indeed, your post leaves much to be desired.


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## G.T. (May 28, 2015)

Treeshepherd said:


> G.T. said:
> 
> 
> > Ehh...much to be desired
> ...


His worldview leaves much to be desired. It has lots of holes in it. Be a devils advocate for one moment and assume you dont agree - they will be apparent.


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## Treeshepherd (May 28, 2015)

G.T. said:


> His worldview leaves much to be desired. It has lots of holes in it. Be a devils advocate for one moment and assume you dont agree - they will be apparent.



Well, I'm not an atheist, so he doesn't represent my world view. Plus, he's a froggie (French). But, Camus is very thought provoking, IMHO.


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## G.T. (May 28, 2015)

not really. Atheism is an impossible conclusion within current human knowledge.

Agnosticism or faith is all you can be, while reasonable.

The other stuff he says also has holes, bit ill get around to the ditribe when I get a few


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## Abishai100 (Jun 4, 2015)

*Probability Pizza*


Camus did something very interesting in that he introduced the world to a dialogue-method of analyzing nihilism in a way that evaded the interests of other nihilism-oriented philosophers such as Machiavelli.

In Camus, we do find explorations of a consequenceless universe and transcendental logic.

For our modern world of profit-driven networking (i.e., Wall Street), friendship can be equated with prosperity, and Camus surely acquires great attention.

When we think of health, we think of systemic regularity, and when we think of the _philosophy_ of a profit-driven universe, we think of absolute predictability (which is connected oddly to nihilism).

The fictional comic book super-villain Mysterio (Marvel Comics) is a nemesis of the webbed-wonder Spider-Man and defies the norms of civilization by creating death-traps and sink-holes with deadly toys.  Mysterio represents our general fascination with uncertainty (and frustrating unpredictability).  In Mysterio, we find some of those uncomfortable features of daredevil courage challenged by natural uncertainties, and, hence, we may think of Camus and his approach to _analyzing_ moral apathy.

After all, doesn't Camus invite us to dissect confidence?





Mysterio


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## prison/con.net (Jun 4, 2015)

Htf can anyone look at the shining faces of happy kids and think that all is absurd? MOST things maybe, but not all


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## G.T. (Jun 4, 2015)

Nihilism is self defeating


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## Abishai100 (Jun 14, 2015)

*Bucket Belvedere*

Nihilism can seem self-defeating, but if we look at the numerous images of vigilantism-fantasies in modern-media (i.e., comic book adapted programs), we find a new age tendency to create 'structure limit rebelliousness,' suggesting that different forms of dialogue these days are leading to interesting talk about nihilism theory.

After all, weren't/aren't the Hell's Angels a sort of extra-governmental (or social nihilism) experimental group?

I dunno, I like pitting weird comic book characters against each other or even comic book stylizing characters from pop fiction and pulp fiction.

For example, if I pit Zorro (the outlander swashbuckling vigilante) against Freddy Krueger (the iconic finger-claw wielding horror film super-psychopath), how much better do I feel about *'competition polka'*?





Zorro

Freddy vs. Jason


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## Bfgrn (Jun 14, 2015)

"It is the job of thinking people not to be on the side of the executioners"
Albert Camus

Nothing is more despicable than respect based on fear.
Albert Camus


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## Abishai100 (Jun 25, 2015)

*Hackers*

I like drawing parallels between existentialism and absurdism and nihilism.

Sometimes they all seem the same, especially if you follow my philosophy --- laziness.

However, existentialism can be likened to transcendentalism easier, while absurdism and nihilism can be likened to atheism easier.

The great writer-philosopher Frantz Fanon found inspiration from the concepts illuminated by Camus, and Algerian revolutionaries found inspiration from the branches created by Fanon.  Modern age politics is guided much by absolute profiteerism which borders on the absurd (i.e., Burger King in Afghanistan).

What would Camus say about the modern-age ghost Internet hacker?




Hackers


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## midcan5 (Jun 26, 2015)

"I like people who dream or talk to themselves interminably; I like them, for they are double. They are here and elsewhere."  Albert Camus, The Fall

One of my favorite authors, I was recently perusing his notebooks which I still have in the hardback editions of long ago.

Reading that opens the mind - Books Page 7 US Message Board - Political Discussion Forum

Reading that opens the mind - Books US Message Board - Political Discussion Forum
Reading that opens the mind - Books US Message Board - Political Discussion Forum


"I shall tell you a great secret, my friend. Do not wait for the last judgment, it takes place every day." Albert Camus

"Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is." Albert Camus

"If murder is in the nature of man, the law is not intended to imitate or reproduce that nature. It is intended to correct it. Now, retaliation does no more than ratify and confer the status of a law on a pure impulse of nature. We have all known that impulse, often to our shame, and we know its power, for it comes down to us from the primitive forests." Albert Camus

"Sixty years ago, in the decade following the Second World War, the French-Algerian writer Albert Camus was an international cultural hero. The Nazis and the atomic bomb had destroyed the historic illusion that there were limits to the damage civilized human beings could or would inflict on one another. Humanity, as an enterprise, had never seemed a more desolating proposition than at this moment. Postwar Europe produced a multitude of writers who reflected the mood of the times, but none spoke more directly to it than Camus." 

Empire s Wasteland Boston Review
.


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## Abishai100 (Jun 27, 2015)

*A.I. Memories: Brainiac*

What would Camus say about A.I. (Artificial Intelligence)?

Philosophers who analyze A.I. theories talk about the intellectual implications of re-creating human consciousness.  They ask questions such as, "Would a conscious robotic species wish to serve humanity or defect and seek independence?"

The human mind is partially focused on categorizing and valuating stored perceptions (or memories).  When the Polaroid instant camera was first invented, consumers were very happy about being able to instantly produce photos while on-the-go.  Polaroids catered to a human interest in recording and distributing recorded perceptions/observations (or memories).

If a hypothetical A.I. robotics species made their own types of instant cameras and photos, what would Camus say about the absurdity of replicating memories?




Instant Camera


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## there4eyeM (Jun 27, 2015)

He would say there is nothing absurd for machines. 'Artificial' intelligence is obviously something expressly and consciously made by man. At most, it is merely an extension of the human existential situation. Nothing new has been added.


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## Abishai100 (Jul 8, 2015)

*Philosophy of Solubility: Absurdism Antecedents*

There is an intriguing extrapolation of absurdism that is explored in "The Stranger" (Camus) in terms of social meaning and communication anthropology:

If I imagine that an object's reflection seen in a hypothetical 'funny-mirror' appears smaller but with the same shape and proportions as the reference object reflected, I can posit that (perhaps imaginary) mirror-axes of symmetry can (in theory) create dimensions that are proportionally equivalent but different in scale.  In "The Stranger" (Camus), we find characters roaming around society and contemplating the social value of communicating/conveying perspectives on pure _*similarity* _(rather than congruence).

If objects in the real world have quantifiable relational values and connections based purely on similarity rather than congruence, then absurdism raises interesting questions about observations of *solubility* and how they are relevant to analysis (or understanding) of interaction (and compatibility).

An interesting modern-era pop culture avatar that represents social fascination with solubility and compatibility is Sandman (Marvel Comics), a super-villain who can shape-shift because his body is comprised entirely of sand.  Sandman encourages readers to contemplate the social meaning of metamorphosis.

How does Sandman motivate us to assess the applicability of *metamorphosis* themes to "The Stranger" (Camus)?  What does absurdism tell us about the relationship between solubility and metamorphosis?

Such questions perhaps illuminate the academic value of comparing Camus to Kafka.






The Metamorphosis (Kafka)


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## Abishai100 (Jul 19, 2015)

*Perception Potluck*

Camus' approach to philosophy and his work with absurdism and its applications to nihilism can potentially serve as a blackboard method for understanding obsession, paranoia, and demoralization.

Why does Hollywood (USA) plan movies such as "Suicide Squad" (Jared Leto)?

Is there something in human nature that creates a natural curiosity about certainty?





Black Manta (New Earth Comics)


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