As our species developed consciousness, they also became aware of their existence. That opened the door to a question that became what is subjectively, the most fundamental branch of study. That question is “What is the meaning of life?” And that study is Philosophy.
The 20th-century philosopher and author Albert Camus tried to answer this question. He answered that with what became the Absurdism theory, which claims that existence is absurd. That implies that the world lacks purpose, yet one can’t live without it. According to Absurdism the search for meaning only puts one in conflict with the universe.
In his first book, “The Stranger” Camus wants to convey what life is like for someone who embraces the finitude of life and thus the meaninglessness of it. We get a generously written first-person view of a man we may consider a sociopath, living according to the reality of Absurdism.
The book touches deeply on a nerve in all of us. We all fear a lack of purpose, and Camus forces us to confront those feelings within us, and we are left to our own devices to create an answer for our own lives. I know I was.
A Life of Indifference
Camus gives us a chance to experience life through the eyes of one whose lack of meaning took complete control over his life.
The book tells us the story of a man called Meursault, a citizen of Algeria, written in a first-person perspective. It starts right away with the piercing words: “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know.”, we jump right into the deep end of Absurdism. The character’s lack of care for his mother’s death and the combination with the melancholic realistic effects it has on his life are strong images of one whose already gone.
Throughout the book Meursault is indifferent to every external event that is happening, he acts, marries, kills, and even dies out of indifference. While it may seem extreme and unrealistic, the book does such a terrific job of showing reality through his lens and genuine truth that it seems to the reader as if those events truly don’t matter.
Events in the plot that would otherwise be dramatic are reduced to ordinary situations, events seem to happen in the background of the fleeting and normative illustrations of the senses.
Subjects that contain spiritual, religious, and deep meanings (marriage, murder, etc) are being trampled to commonalities when one sees them as they are and gives up hope.
The Outsider
The Stranger gives a strong description, not only of the meaninglessness of life but a portrait of a society that plays a game they call “life”.
A game with rules and actions you are expected to do, and once you are not playing by those rules you risk not playing in the game at all.
When one manages to see life as it is, he will inevitably be overwhelmed by the fluidity and lack of explanation of it all, he will naturally experience panic and a craving for order. Being in that situation is like having to complete a puzzle without the right pieces, something is just missing.
Being in such a state, we may have a hard time living our daily life. we are dancing on the line of insanity and our psyche takes a toll. Continuing to live in that manner is thus borderline impossible. Making you choose between delusion or the weight or embracing the weight of reality upon your shoulders.
Camus is arguing that when one is living on that border, perhaps the most real place of all, he embraces a hopeless indifferent way of living, deciding to stay outside of society’s “game”, and that can make him an outsider in life itself.
Personal Note
“The Stranger” is a difficult book. Not because of the length of it or the complexity, for it’s quite short and to the point. The labor comes from having to face our demons that may come up in the process.
Camus isn’t giving us a clear answer on how to deal with the absurdity of life; instead, he makes us feel what it’s like when one is being depleted by it.
When facing our fears, we have a choice. We can either run away towards safety to the old and known. Or, we can stand up, face reality as it is, and use it as fuel to live our lives to the fullest.
The finitude of humanity can be a gift or a curse. It can either free us from the shackles of purpose and make us courageous towards leading a life of endorsement and tranquility. Or it can be the vehicle that leads to our psyche’s destruction. It’s up to us to embrace it and fight, standing tall during the ups and downs that come with it. To keep hoping.
I was on commuting to work when finishing the book. It touched me so deeply and put me in a state where I was faced to think about what is purpose at all. I had to think clearly and analytically.
I asked myself “What kind of meaning am I searching for?” And that made me realize that I was searching for influence in the scope of the universe, and since the universe is infinite, and humanity is finite, anything I can potentially accomplish will be swallowed in eternity as if it never happened.
That made me think about meaning from a new point of view, I had to find something that will encompass purpose in a defined finite place. My train of thought led me to the only place that can meet this condition, and that is the present, I can only influence the present under the conditions of space and time.
One doesn’t find meaning in the action he takes but in the way he makes them. I’ve learned to display more love, whether it’s through my work, writings, relationships, and myself.
Meaning is found when we influence something of value, since we can’t influence the infinite universe, we need to focus on influencing others. Doing good with what one has, even on the smallest scale.
Favorite Quotes
“I may not have been sure about what really did interest me, but I was absolutely sure about what didn’t.”
“I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world.”
“I had only a little time left and I didn’t want to waste it on God.”
“Since we’re all going to die, it’s obvious that when and how don’t matter.”
“Have you no hope at all? And do you really live with the thought that when you die, you die, and nothing remains?” “Yes,” I said.”