Albert Camus

Albert Camus was a French philosopher, author, and journalist born on November 7, 1913, in Mondovi (present-day Dréan), French Algeria. He is commonly associated with existentialism, although he rejected the term and instead considered himself an absurdist. This refusal to be labeled was reflective of his fierce independence and commitment to individual thought. Raised in a poor family, Camus lost his father during World War I and was raised by his mother, whose illiteracy and deafness had a profound impact on his understanding of justice and the human condition. He attended the University of Algiers, where he studied philosophy and played goalkeeper for the university's football team before tuberculosis ended his athletic aspirations. This illness shaped his outlook on life and mortality, themes that permeate throughout his works. Camus rose to prominence with his 1942 novel "The Stranger" ("L'Étranger"), a narrative that explores themes of absurdity, alienation, and the arbitrary nature of justice. That same year, he published "The Myth of Sisyphus" ("Le Mythe de Sisyphe"), an essay where he introduces his philosophy of the absurd and contemplates if life is worth living in a universe devoid of higher meaning. During World War II, Camus was active in the French Resistance and edited the underground newspaper "Combat." His later works include "The Plague" (1947), "The Fall" (1956), and a collection of short stories titled "Exile and the Kingdom" (1957). His writings consistently confront the fundamental questions of existence, morality, and what it means to be human in an indifferent world. Camus was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957, recognized for his significant contribution to the literary world and for his writings illuminating the problems of the human conscience in our era. His life was tragically cut short when he died in a car accident on January 4, 1960. Camus remains an influential figure in contemporary philosophy and literature, and his works continue to inspire and challenge readers around the world.