Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre

             Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre; these names are synonymous with the leftist views of existentialist in the mid-twentieth century. Such names resound in the halls of philosophy with other greats such as Plato and Aristotle. World War II brought these two together in France during the early 40's. This pair of philosophical greats would often discuss the nature of the world at Café de Flores on the Boulevard St. Germain, known as the "The Left Bank." The two of them founded there friendship on shared existentialistic ideals: the universe is brutally apart from reason, there is no divinity, and that freedom surmounts a basic despair. They also accepted the idea that solidarity/humanism is the guiding value in life.
             These values are evident in Camus's first work from "The Absurds," L'Etranger. Camus viewed the absurd not as a negative, not a synonym for "ridiculous," but instead the true state of existence. Camus believed that accepting the view that life is absurd is to embrace a "realistic" view of life: the absence of universal logic. Many mistakenly believe Camus saw no meaning in life. This is not true, even Camus searched for "meaning" in life, but not in manners familiar to most. For Camus, meaning was in the human experience and absurdity does not render life meaningless.
             In L'Etranger Camus's main character, Meursault, is not a hero, has no "true" love affair, and the pursuit of money and power never enters into the story. Meursault is an honest atheist, willing to accept his life as it happens. "Cela m'est égal" Meursault views life as one might a movie. No matter what happens, "It's all the same to me." He's not a stranger but rather an observer without an emotional connection to the world. Meursault is to Camus a true existentialistic creature of society during his time. Both Sartre and ...

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Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 02:24, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/11872.html