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One must imagine Sisyphus happy.

Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus, 1942

Philosophy

The story behind the card

These are the closing words of The Myth of Sisyphus, a 1942 essay by Albert Camus (1913–1960), the Algerian-born French writer. Camus calls the clash between our hunger for meaning and a world that offers none 'the absurd'. In Greek myth Sisyphus, king of Corinth, cheated death and was condemned for ever to push a boulder up a hill, only to see it roll back down. Camus pictures him walking back to the rock, fully aware of his fate and refusing false hope. For Camus that clear-eyed persistence is a form of revolt.

Türkçe oku
Sisifos'u mutlu düşünmek gerekir.
Albert Camus, Sisifos Söyleni, 1942

Bu cümle, Cezayir doğumlu Fransız yazar Albert Camus'nün (1913–1960) 1942'de yayımladığı Sisifos Söyleni denemesini kapatır. Camus, anlam arayan insanla ona hiçbir anlam sunmayan dünya arasındaki çatışmaya “uyumsuz” (absürt) der. Yunan mitolojisinde Korint kralı Sisifos ölümü kandırmış, ceza olarak da her seferinde geri yuvarlanan bir kayayı sonsuza dek tepeye itmeye mahkûm edilmiştir. Camus onu kayasına dönmek için yokuştan inerken düşünür: Yazgısının farkındadır ve boş bir umuda sığınmaz. Camus'ye göre bu açık gözlü direniş bir başkaldırıdır.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Albert Camus
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