| View Larger Image | The Myth of Sisyphus: And Other Essays | Paperbackby Albert Camus (Author)
| List Price: | $14.00 | | Price: | $9.89 | | You Save: | $4.11 (29%) | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | Paperback | | Publisher: | Vintage | | Page Count: | 224 Pages | | Publication Date: | May 07, 1991 | | Sales Rank: | 11,058th |
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FEATURES | - ISBN13: 9780679733737
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CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 53 reviews)
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An Insight into the Mind of the Atheist by Raghfar (UK)  3 Stars
November 17, 2009
Atheism, Randomness, and Nihilism:
When one finds himself in this world that we live, he asks what is it for? Why did it arise? What is the reasoning/meaning behind it? For the atheist who begins from a position of illogicality, namely that there is no God, then has the choice of continuing in the path of illogicality or he can choose to be logically consistent after his initial fallacy. If they choose the path of logic after the initial fallacy they arrive ultimately to the question; why does anything occur? They reply; out of nothing but randomness => A mere absurd chance event. There is no reason for the world to be as it is, it just turned out randomly to be so; it could have out of chance been otherwise. The very act of giving rise to this world was itself random, nothing but some freak meaningless event.
From this position the consistent atheistic thinker then reaches a point that ultimately life has no meaning as such, and therefore ultimately absurd and valueless. There arises a question for him: is this absurd and meaningless life worth living? Or is suicide a more `sane' option, i.e. is suicide more inline with atheistic thought? Hence Albert Camus - the Myth of Sisyphus => "there is only one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide".
So ultimately the atheistic becomes a radical pessimist, and even a nihilist, with no belief in any absolute truth or reality and therefore morality - he becomes a Machiavellian (that is if he is a consistent thinker). He has no belief in ultimate meaning, unless he finds meaning in "meaninglessness", and in the "absurdity of existence." Whereas the Monotheist finds ultimate meaning and value in all things, the atheist finds meaninglessness and absurdity in all things.
However this is for the consistent atheistic thinker, it appears that most atheists are not consistent in their thinking. Such atheistic thinkers accept the initial illogicality; that of atheism itself, but then as they did from the beginning continue their path of illogicality and inconsistency. These thinkers instead of concluding the necessary conclusion which atheism inevitably brings (that of ultimate randomness and therefore the belief that if the world has any rationality then it is irrationally rational) bring inconstancy into their thinking by accepting such things as hope, meaning and purpose into their lives. These characteristics, which are ultimately theistic characteristics, can only be achieve by the atheist by inconsistency of logic and ultimately by self-deception.
It appears that this book by Albert Camus is insightful in bringing to light the thinking and mentality of a somewhat "consistent atheistic" thinker. In this sense (and perhaps only in this sense) this book deserves to be read.
3 stars.
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On Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus by J. Polkowske (Texas, USA)  5 Stars
October 22, 2009
The book's primary focus is The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus' explanation on his philosophy of the absurd--which begins with a meditation on Suicide, namely with the concept that, if the universe is devoid of order or meaning, is Life worth living? In this, he openly acknowledges many of his predecessors and contemporaries who have similarly faced this question. But, instead of taking the claim that meaningless life is not worth living, Camus responds with a unique take on the entire subject, by merely positing a way out of the despair by means of reaffirmation of the value of personal existence, through a life lived with dignity and authenticity. Truly an eye-opening and idealistic work, with many ideas that an open mind would find akin to the sweetest of treats.
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Why not buy Camus Collection instead? by Not Available  1 Stars
August 19, 2009
This book is 212 pages long and The Myth of Sisyphus occupies first 138 pages. Rest of the pages consist of smaller essays namely Summer in Algiers, The Minotaur, or the Stop in Oran, Helen's Exile, Return to Tipasa, and The Artist and His Time. This book was published in 1991.
There is a Camus collection by Everyman's Library which consists of The Plague, The Fall, Exile and the Kingdom, The Myth of Sisyphus, and Reflection on the Gullotine. This book was published in 2004.
Both these books are by same translator (Justin O' Brien) i.e. they are the same and if you buy from Amazon they will cost just about the same (yes the listed price for second book is higher but you'll find folks selling them for cheap). Yes, the first book has few "other essays" that aren't in the second one but hey those are rather short essays (all of them combined is 74 pages). On the other hand, second book provides you with four more masterpiece of Camus. Logic says, go with the second one...and get more of Camus for just about the same price!
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Climb again, Sisyphus. by D.H. 5 Stars
August 11, 2009
Camus' essay on the absurd state is a well-developed, deeply interesting foray into art, literature, philosophy, and well, life. His examination is an interested and impassioned presentation of man's response to a sudden lucid realization of their previously irrational mode or state of being. The tone of many of his fictional works (The Stranger, The Fall, and The Plague come foremost to mind), are dark and often unsettling accounts of the tragic encounter of solitary men or woman with a vast, unforgiving yonder. Though similar tones occasionally suggest themselves in this work as well, we also find one of the best demonstrations of Camus optimistic bent towards life. The work ultimately suggests, despite all, that we have within us that which also allows us to push forth. A simple conclusion? Not necessarily. Read to see how or why he draws his ends, and why even in his essays, he remains so widely read today.
Also see: 'The Rebel'
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Enough to Push You over the Edge... by Joshua Charles Copeland (Grand Junction, CO)  2 Stars
July 04, 2009
To use a euphemism, intellectual masturbation. Did the writer really expect this essay to actually connect with and help anyone? According to Camus, the world is nonsensical, we all die, dead is dead, no afterlife, and we leave no lasting impressions when we go. But if you live life "to the fullest" spending your time like an actor playing different roles, or, if you get a bird's eye view of your daily grind, and realize how pointless your life is, you will then be happy and content. A complete non sequitur. From what i've read Camus lived anything but a cloistered life, but this "cure" to suicidal ideation is written from the perch of a study or a library, not of real concrete life. I used to work in the mental health profession, and if a client came in to me as a threat to him or herself, and i gave them this essay, i would soon be out of a job.
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| The Stranger
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Through the story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on an Algerian beach, Camus explored what he termed "the nakedness of man faced with the absurd." First published in 1946; now in a new translation by Matthew Ward.
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| The Fall
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