It’s also important to realize that Camus was writing this in response to Nietzsche and Kierkegaard. Authors who had really expanded on an popularized nihilism and existentialism.
Kierkegaard tried to answer Nietzcsche’s nihilistic writings claiming that existence persists through faith, or something like it. Basically that we continue to live because we believe that living is important, and that gives it meaning.
Camus says, faith is dumb, living is dumb, but it’s not meaningless either. It’s just absurd, and we need to be comfortable with the absurdity.
EDIT: That said, I could still be misunderstanding Camus. I have read “Myth of Sisyphus” twice now and listened to it as an audiobook playing in the background more times than that, and it’s still a complete mess to pick apart. Camus’ writing is so dense with similes and metaphors and he takes the longest route to get to any point.
You’re not wrong.
It’s also important to realize that Camus was writing this in response to Nietzsche and Kierkegaard. Authors who had really expanded on an popularized nihilism and existentialism.
Kierkegaard tried to answer Nietzcsche’s nihilistic writings claiming that existence persists through faith, or something like it. Basically that we continue to live because we believe that living is important, and that gives it meaning.
Camus says, faith is dumb, living is dumb, but it’s not meaningless either. It’s just absurd, and we need to be comfortable with the absurdity.
EDIT: That said, I could still be misunderstanding Camus. I have read “Myth of Sisyphus” twice now and listened to it as an audiobook playing in the background more times than that, and it’s still a complete mess to pick apart. Camus’ writing is so dense with similes and metaphors and he takes the longest route to get to any point.