Abstract
This chapter focuses on Albert Camus’ struggle with the absurd as portrayed in a number of his works such as The Myth of Sisyphus, The Rebel, The Stanger, and The Plague. I begin my analysis by demonstrating that Camus was heavily influenced by Friedrich Nietzsche’s conception of nihilism. In the next part, I show how Camus advocated rebellion as a response to nihilism and vehemently opposed the tendency to resort to cynicism and despair. I then move to explore the type of humor that is rebellious by analyzing three short comedic texts that are both defiant and liberating. The final part of this chapter examines the educational value of rebellious humor and shows how it can assist us in the struggle against nihilism.
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Notes
- 1.
Nietzsche’s writings contain a great deal of irony and sarcastic humor. Moreover, in the chapter called “On the Higher Man” in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzsche mocked those who believe that laughing is our greatest sin on earth and emphasized the value of the laughing spirit against the dead weight of our culture and traditions. For a more detailed description of Nietzsche’s views on laughter see Chap. 7 in this book.
- 2.
Quoted in Boskin’s Rebellious Laughter: People’s Humor in American Culture, pp. 161–162.
- 3.
This clip can be viewed on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IHdaJOZe7E.
- 4.
The clip can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mCDZMWVWuc.
- 5.
Camus was a member of the French Resistance during the Second World War and later a journalist that covered the plight of the oppressed as well as a human rights activist.
References
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Gordon, M. (2014). Camus’ Struggle with the Absurd: Rebellion as a Response to Nihilism. In: Humor, Laughter and Human Flourishing. SpringerBriefs in Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00834-9_3
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