알베르 카뮈: 부조리와 자유를 탐색하기 위한 인생의 교훈

### 알베르 카뮈의 7가지 인생 교훈
* 🎭 알베르 카뮈는 노벨 문학상을 수상한 프랑스 작가이자 철학자로, **'이방인', '페스트' 등의 작품**으로 유명합니다.
* 🤯 카뮈는 인간 존재가 혼돈스럽고 목적 없는 우주에 있다고 가정하는 **'부조리' 철학**의 핵심 인물입니다.
* 🕊 그는 인간은 자유로울 수밖에 없다는 사르트르의 견해와는 달리 **절대적 자유는 절대적 정의와 균형**을 이루어야 한다고 믿었습니다.
* 카뮈는 삶에는 고유한 의미가 없지만 **개인은 자유롭게 자신의 의미를 창조**할 수 있다는 사상을 주장했습니다.
* 🔓 첫 번째 교훈은 카뮈가 인생의 의미는 개인의 선택이라고 믿었듯이, **자신만의 삶의 의미를 만들어야 한다**는 것입니다.
* 🏞 또한 최종 결과에 집착하기보다는 **목표를 향해 노력하는 과정**을 즐기는 것이 중요하다고 강조했습니다.
* 🧠 카뮈는 무지를 악의 근원으로 간주하고 **지식과 이해를 추구해야 한다**고 강조했습니다.
* 🦁 마지막으로 그는 순응에 대한 반항을 주장하며 **자신에게 진실하고 자신만의 가치를 창조하는 것**이 중요하다고 강조했습니다.

프랑스의 작가이자 철학자, 노벨문학상 수상자인 알베르 카뮈는 자신만의 의미를 창조하고, 그 과정에서 행복을 찾고, 무지와 싸우고, 유연성을 포용하고, 사랑을 선택해야 한다고 주장했습니다.

Albert Camus is one of the greatest French
writers and thinkers. He was a philosopher, an author, and a journalist. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957,
and his most famous works are The Stranger, The Plague, The Myth of Sisyphus, The Fall,
and The Rebel. Camus is one of the most representative figures
of the philosophy of the “absurd” or “absurdism,” which is a philosophical movement having as
its central hypothesis that human beings exist in a purposeless, chaotic universe. Albert Camus is sometimes referred to as an
existentialist, but he rejected this term throughout his life because he wanted to
distance himself from the existentialism of Sartre. Camus considered that absolute freedom must
be balanced with absolute justice. Too much freedom leads to the situation when the strong
suppresses the weak, but too much justice kills freedom, and we need to live and let live,
while Sartre considered freedom as a constant

given that humans are condemned to be free,
and that it is possible to achieve social and political freedom and justice at the same
time, without compromise. As a promoter of the philosophy of the “absurd,”
Camus believed that life has no meaning, that the universe simply exists, and that it is
indifferent to people’s lives. We are like Sisyphus from Greek mythology,
forever carrying that heavy rock to the top of the hill, although we know the rock will
always fall down and our life's work is meaningless. Our condition might be tragic, but Camus considered
that this exact condition hides a blessing in disguise: life does not have a meaning,
but we are free to attribute it any meaning we want. His philosophy has inspired a lot of people
in dealing with the absurdity of life, and even today, his philosophy is extremely relevant,
which is why in this video we bring you 7 life lessons from Albert Camus, which can help
us appreciate the absurdity of life:

1) Create your own meaning for life.
Camus says, “You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.” According to the philosophy of the absurd, life is meaningless. Man’s existence is absurd as there is no justification for it. Regarding the meaninglessness of life, Camus seems close to Arthur Schopenhauer. However, Camus is different because he considered that human beings have the power to create their own meaning of life, while Schopenhauer didn’t consider that life can have a meaning at all. That life is suffering and human beings are driven by a powerful and invisible force called the Will and we don’t actually have any control over it. Camus believed that human values do not have a solid external component. Everything is man-made and Camus proposes three ways to deal with the absurdity of life: suicide, faith, or acceptance. Suicide and faith are irrational escapes from addressing the contradiction between the human

desire for meaning and the indifference of
the universe. By suicide, the person removes the physical
form that was in charge of finding the life’s meaning, and without the human mind, the absurd
cannot exist. Through faith, the human being embraces irrationality,
and arrives at a certain concept regarding life’s meaning, which defies rationality. Camus also considered faith a type of suicide,
namely a philosophical suicide, because faith defies rationality, irrationality being the
opposite of a philosophical argument. After removing suicide and faith as acceptable
ways to address the absurd, the only thing which remains is acceptance. Acceptance leads to individual freedom. You
can create new meanings, and you can even create yourself. Acceptance is, in essence, Camus’ core belief
in how someone should live their life. The sooner you accept that life has no absolute
meaning, and that it is only you who has the power to create its meaning, the sooner you
can become free, and only from that point can

you really start to live your life. There is no absolute meaning of life. The meaning of your life is different to the meaning of somebody else’s. To apply this lesson in your life, you should stop thinking that your life must be in this or that particular way, that you need to become a doctor, or you need to make a certain amount of money per year, or that you need to have so-and-so many children. Instead, you should delete all of these stories and consider that no one is watching you, that you are absolutely free to choose how your life will be. Your life has the meaning that you give to it, and you can change this meaning at any point. For example, if you spent the last 10 years working in a bank and life now feels boring, you might get stuck looking for the meaning of life in earning more and more money, in making your parents proud, or in making your colleagues and friends envious of you.

But most likely this is not a meaning you
chose, rather you got this meaning through your life circumstances; you didn’t choose
it. But it is you who can always turn your life
around: you can start over, redefine your own meaning, maybe this time you might choose
to explore the world, to change your career, to be a travel writer, and moving from country
to country, leaving behind your previous banking career. You never have to live your life in a pre-prescribed
way; it can be whatever you choose. 2) Don’t make happiness a distant goal.
According to Camus: “The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's
heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.” What most of us crave above all else is 'security',
the feeling that we are, at last, safe. We pin our hopes for security on a shifting
variety of goals: a happy relationship, a house, children, a good profession, respect,
a certain amount of money and so on.

When these become ours, we think we will finally be at peace. But happily ever after is not a realistic goal; we are never satisfied with the things we get. We will always want more. The more we chase for the things we believe we want, often the more unhappy we become. The secret is to learn to enjoy the process and to not mind so much about the goals. The more we can enjoy the process of achieving our goals, the happier we become, and the final goals can even start becoming irrelevant. As Camus said, we need to imagine Sisyphus as being happy. In the myth, Sisyphus is punished by the gods and sentenced to make him climb a rock to the top of a mountain only to see it fall over and over again. This can be seen as an analogy for modern life. Given these conditions, there is only one way to be happy: to focus more on the process.

on the joy of climbing the rock to the top, and to not worry about the fall. In the same way, we can learn to become happy in our daily life. For example, if you are a student and your goal is to graduate, instead of imagining yourself happy at the end of the university program with your diploma in your hand, it is better to make yourself love the process of learning, of going to school, meeting your colleagues, debating the class and so on. Do not wait for the moment you reach your goals to be happy, that moment of happiness is too short anyway; so rather you should learn to be present in the moment. 3) Don’t be ignorant. Camus tells us: “The evil that is in the world almost always comes from ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding.” Albert Camus lived at the beginning and during the middle of the 20th century, he had a tumultuous

life and he senses that the world is in need
of a new and simpler morality, based on fairness and team spirit. He was in France when the German tanks reached
Paris during World War 2. He couldn’t fight as a soldier during the
war because of his physical condition, but he fought with his pen. He joined the French
Resistance, and all his life he wrote on the behalf of the oppressed and against the authoritarian
regimes. During his lifetime, he did face evil, and
he came to the conclusion that the root of all the evil in this world is ignorance. In other words, the man with the right information
and knowledge would always choose to do no harm to others. We live in an interconnected world, and we
are social beings. Therefore, no man with enough intelligence would choose to harm others,
as the harm would come back to him eventually. The morality of absurdism is very much rooted
in empathy and the practical aspects of life, having a lot to do with fraternity between
people and the application of fairness principles.

We need to get informed before judging any action of another. Also, we need to learn to take things less personally. Not every attack against us is because of us. Maybe somebody else hurt that person, and that person doesn’t know how to deal with their own emotions. The only way we can break this vicious cycle of hate is by refusing to continue the hate. For example, imagine your spouse coming back home from work and getting angry at you for something very small, like why you forgot to take out the trash in the morning. Instead of replying back with the same anger, you should reply calmly and also try to get more information. Perhaps ask what happened in their work and what bothered them today. Being ignorant to other people and taking everything personally would be highly damaging to all relationships in your life. Therefore, try to get more knowledge about the lives of others and the emotions they go through, and try to break the cycles of hate.

4) Be a rebel
To quote Camus: “I rebel; therefore I exist.” In the vision of Albert Camus, a rebel is
someone who learned to say no. We need to get rid of the desire to please
others, because we would waste our life otherwise. We have only one life to live and we need
to live it more authentically. As an avid reader of Nietzsche, Camus considered
that life must be lived fully, in a free way, that we need to create our own values and
learn to be more in the present. Also, we should not be satisfied in just following
a standard way of living, we need to try unexplored paths in life and have more courage to rebel
against traditional values. However, Camus differentiated himself from
Nietzsche. Camus stood for a balance between freedom and justice and he didn’t embrace
the irresponsible freedom preached by Nietzsche. But, nevertheless, he was seduced by the Nietzschean
call for authenticity and for the courage

to break with the traditional norms. Your freedom to be who you are and express
yourself is too precious to be traded for money or for a higher status in society. It would make you feel unhappy and would add
stress to your life, affecting you mentally and even physically. Give yourself the space to create something
new instead of trying to be what everyone expects you to be. To be alive means to rebel. Because we are all different, what was once
good for somebody may be no good for you at all today. So it is important to know yourself in order
to know when to rebel. For example, imagine you are given a new job
to manage a small team in a company. The previous manager was holding meetings
regularly, maybe 3 times per week, to make sure everybody is following the rules. Let’s consider you are a person who hates
meetings, considering them a complete waste of time because nothing gets done and people
don’t even take notes most of the time.

Therefore, knowing who you are, you should
decide to rebel against this tradition. You should talk to your superior and tell
them that you want to implement a new type of management, with at least one quick catch-up
chat per day with each member. One-on-one conversations are always much more effective,
because you can ask much more direct questions and be very specific. While in a meeting,
there is a lot of time wasted with introductions and pleasantries. Plus, people tend to be less
direct and authentic in a meeting room compared to one-on-one conversations. With that in mind, you should try to push
your way in life. It will be much more rewarding in the long
run than following the traditional ways of doing things blindly. Spend time with yourself.
As Camus so succinctly put it: “Solitude, a luxury of the rich.” Throughout his writings, Camus discusses loneliness,
despair, and themes of being alone.

In today’s world, we live in crowded cities. We travel in crowded buses and trains, and only the rich have the chance to buy luxury cars or can afford to live in spacious houses set apart from the world. Even when you work from home, if you are not rich enough, you may well have to share your living space with other people. Therefore, the surest way to live in solitude is to have enough money to afford to live alone, to travel alone, to work alone, and to spend your holidays on private beaches instead of crowded shores. Money can buy you solitude, although it doesn’t buy you an absurd life. However, solitude makes it possible for you to have enough time with yourself to meditate on the absurdity of life, to find out that life has no meaning but the one you give it. There are many ways out there to get rich, but it is equally common for rich people to be so stressed out because of their businesses that they don’t have time for themselves.

Therefore, it is important to cultivate a habit of finding a window of time during your day in which you can be by yourself. For example, instead of lunching with your colleagues during the work day, you can opt for a sandwich to enjoy while wandering in a small park beside your office. Or you can wake up one hour earlier to enjoy the sunrise and meditate on the absurdity of life before your family awakes. Solitude might be a luxury for the rich, but we can sneak solitary moments into our routine, no matter our income. 6) Be flexible. In the words of Camus: “Blessed are the hearts that can bend; they shall never be broken.” In Camus’ view, it is very important to be flexible and tolerant in life. Flexibility doesn’t just help us in dealing with heartbreaks of romantic relationships, but also in facing some of the world’s biggest tragedies, including war.

The one who can survive in extreme situations
is the one who can adapt the best, according to the theory of evolution itself. Also, some scientists even consider that flexibility
is at the heart of human intelligence. Aron Barbey, Professor of Psychology at The
University of Illinois, proposed that the brain’s dynamic properties drive human intelligence. Making smart decisions adapted to the circumstances
can prevent our heart from being totally broken, and in time, we can heal. Camus learned this from his own life experience
when he faced the terror of World War II, when he confronted the stubbornness of his
communist associates from whom he later separated, the clashes between the French colonial forces
and the Arabs in Algeria, and so on. He learned that decisions can be tough and
what was a good approach for one situation may not be for another, that the world is
always changing, and we need to adapt to new circumstances. We should open our eyes to what is in front
of us, be more compassionate towards others.

and show more empathy. Flexibility is a very important skill in every
field, including our relationships. Change is inevitable, and in order for a relationship
to grow, it is very important that both partners adapt to the changes. For example, if you don’t have a job because
you are looking for the perfect one, and your partner has just lost theirs, then you might
try to lower your expectations and accept any job you can get in order to assure a comfortable
life for both of you. For the sake of the relationship, it is better
to be flexible and find ways to solve the problems, even if it means compromising your
career goals. If you were stubborn in this situation, you
would not only put your finances at risk, but also your relationship. 7) Choose love.
In our final quote from Albert Camus for this video, he says: “Nothing in life is worth
turning your back on, if you love it.” Albert Camus was a womanizer, having multiple
affairs with different women.

He married his first wife to save her from
her drug addiction, just to find out later that she was cheating on him with her doctor. In time, Camus developed a very libertarian
view over romantic love, and he often seemed to choose love over commitment. However, he was at the same time a very tolerant
and gentle person, having regrets when his second wife went through a severe depressive
episode due to his cheating, and so, at the end of his life, he focused more on his wife
and children. He valued love above all, and he considered
that love is our only duty in life. Often, love puts us in extreme situations,
and we might have to choose between love and being moral, like falling in love with somebody
married, or when we are married and we fall for somebody else. According to Camus, when love clashes with
this sense of duty or commitment, then it is love we should listen to. It might also not be worthy to stay in a marriage
where there is no love.

Love is an act of rebellion, and it is the force of life, giving us a shield of protection against being broken by the absurd. To apply this lesson in our life, we need to live more in the present, to learn to express our love for other people more often, without pondering too much about what the future will bring to those relationships. For example, if you have a high-paid job and you travel on a business trip to a distant country and you meet somebody you fall in love with, but you must come back to your home country due to your contract, then you should take a leap of faith and find ways to remain there, even quitting your job. Nothing in life is worth turning your back on if you love it. If you enjoyed this video, please make sure to check out our full Philosophies for Life playlist. And for more videos to help you find success and happiness using ancient philosophical wisdom, don’t forget to subscribe.

7 Life Lessons From Albert Camus (Philosophy of Absurdism)

Philosophies for Life is all about giving ancient wisdom for modern living.
We are dedicated towards giving out life-changing philosophical ideas that will help you improve all the aspects of your life - spirituality, finance, relationships, mental and emotional. 

I must create a system or be enslaved by another mans; I will not reason and compare: my business is to create. - William Blake

Philosophies for Life

알베르 카뮈의 부조리주의 철학

알베르 카뮈는 인간의 존재가 목적 없는 우주에 있다는 '부조리'의 철학으로 유명한 프랑스의 작가이자 철학자입니다.

그는 실존주의자라는 꼬리표를 거부하고 절대적 자유와 절대적 정의의 균형을 중요하게 생각했습니다.

카뮈는 삶의 부조리에 대처하는 세 가지 방법으로 자살, 믿음, 수용을 제시했는데, 수용은 개인의 자유와 삶의 의미를 창조하는 힘의 열쇠입니다.

인생에는 절대적인 의미가 없으며, 그 의미를 정의하고 자유롭게 선택하는 것은 각자의 몫입니다.

먼 목표를 쫓기보다는 목표를 달성하는 과정을 즐기는 데 집중해야 진정한 행복을 찾을 수 있습니다.

무지는 세상의 많은 악의 뿌리이며, 이해가 없는 선한 의도는 해로울 수 있으므로 이해는 매우 중요합니다.

알베르 카뮈의 부조리주의와 도덕 철학

2차 세계대전 당시 프랑스 레지스탕스 전사였던 알베르 카뮈는 세상의 모든 악의 근원은 무지이며, 증오의 악순환을 끊는 열쇠는 공감하고 더 이상의 증오로 대응하지 않는 것이라고 믿었습니다.

그는 판단하기 전에 정보를 얻고 관계를 손상시키지 않기 위해 덜 개인적으로 받아들이는 것이 중요하다고 강조했습니다.

또한 카뮈는 전통적 가치에 대한 반항을 주장하며 진정성, 자유, 자신만의 가치 창조의 삶을 장려하는 동시에 자유와 정의 사이의 균형을 강조했습니다.

전통적인 규범에 반항하는 것의 중요성

나 자신이 될 자유는 소중하며 돈이나 사회적 지위 때문에 희생되어서는 안 됩니다.

직장에서 새로운 관리 스타일을 구현하는 예에서처럼, 자신을 이해하는 것은 언제 반항해야 하는지 아는 데 매우 중요합니다.

고독하게 살 수 있는 경제적 여유가 있으면 삶을 되돌아볼 수 있는 기회가 될 수 있지만, 경제적 상황에 관계없이 자신을 위한 시간을 갖는 것을 우선순위로 삼는 것이 중요합니다.

삶에서 고독과 유연성의 중요성

고독의 순간을 기르는 것은 소득에 관계없이 모든 사람에게 중요하며, 일상에 통합될 수 있습니다.

카뮈가 강조한 것처럼 유연성은 인생의 도전에 직면하고 현명한 결정을 내리고 개인적인 성장을 위해 매우 중요합니다.

유연성 외에도 사랑을 선택하고 변화에 열린 자세를 갖는 것은 인간관계와 전반적인 웰빙에 필수적입니다.

사랑과 헌신에 대한 카뮈의 자유주의적 관점

카뮈는 첫 번째 아내의 마약 중독을 돕기 위해 결혼했지만, 나중에 아내의 외도를 알게 되었습니다.

그는 헌신보다 사랑을 우선시했지만 두 번째 아내에게 상처를 준 것을 깊이 후회했습니다.

결국 그는 가족에 집중했고, 사회적 규범에 반항하는 한이 있더라도 사랑을 인생의 가장 중요한 의무로 여겼습니다.