Ever feel like you’re just pushing a rock up a hill? Most people use that phrase to describe a soul-crushing job or a workout that never ends, but for Albert Camus, it was the literal definition of the human condition. In 1942, right in the middle of the Second World War, he dropped The Myth of Sisyphus, an essay that basically told the world: "Yeah, life is meaningless. So what?"
It's a weirdly bold take. Most philosophers try to find the "point" of everything. Camus went the other way. He leaned into the void. Honestly, it’s probably the most rebellious thing you can read when you’re feeling burnt out.
The Core of the Absurd
The whole book revolves around one concept: the Absurd.
Imagine you’re standing in a silent room, screaming for an answer, and the room just stays silent. That's it. That’s the Absurd. It’s the friction between our human need for logic, order, and meaning, and the "unreasonable silence" of the universe. Camus doesn't think the universe is actively mean or trying to hurt us. It’s just indifferent. It doesn’t care about your Five-Year Plan or your moral compass.
A lot of people hear this and get depressed. They think Camus is being a nihilist. But he’s actually doing the opposite. Nihilism says "nothing matters, so why bother?" Camus says "nothing matters, so let's have a party." Sorta.
He lays out three ways to deal with this realization. First, you could just give up—physical suicide. He rejects this because it’s a "confession" that life is too much. It’s a surrender. Second, you could commit "philosophical suicide," which is basically turning to religion or some overarching ideology that pretends the Absurd doesn't exist. He thinks that’s just lying to yourself.
The third option? Rebellion.
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Pushing the Rock with a Smile
The Greek myth Camus uses is pretty bleak on the surface. Sisyphus is a guy who pissed off the gods—specifically for being too clever and trying to cheat death—and his punishment was to roll a massive boulder up a mountain. Every time he gets to the peak, the rock rolls back down. Forever.
It is the ultimate "pointless" task.
But Camus focuses on the moment Sisyphus walks back down the hill to get his rock. That’s the moment of consciousness. Sisyphus knows he’s stuck. He knows the rock will fall. By knowing it and continuing anyway, he becomes superior to his fate. He isn't a victim; he’s a rebel.
"The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart," Camus writes. He famously finishes the essay by saying we must imagine Sisyphus happy. It’s a wild mental flip. If you stop expecting the rock to stay at the top, the rolling becomes your own. You own the struggle.
Why 1940s France Still Matters in 2026
You might wonder why a book written by a guy in a trench coat 80 years ago is still trending. Look around. We live in a world of algorithmic loops. You wake up, scroll, work, eat, scroll, sleep. Repeat. It can feel deeply Sisyphian.
Camus was writing during the Nazi occupation of France. If anyone had a reason to feel like life was a chaotic, meaningless mess, it was him. Yet, he stayed in the French Resistance. He didn't let the "absurdity" of war turn him into a puddle of despair. He used it as fuel.
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There’s a common misconception that Absurdism is just "Existentialism Lite." It’s not. Jean-Paul Sartre, Camus’s one-time friend and later rival, believed we create our own meaning ($existence precedes essence$). Camus was more skeptical. He wasn't sure we could ever truly "create" a meaning that wasn't just another delusion. He just wanted us to live in the tension of the silence.
Quantifying the Freedom
If nothing has inherent meaning, you are technically the freest person alive.
- Quantity over quality: Camus suggests that if there’s no "grand purpose," then the goal is just to experience more. See more things, feel more things, live more intensely.
- No future-tripping: If the "end goal" (the top of the mountain) is a lie, the only thing that is real is the present moment of pushing.
- Total Autonomy: You aren't beholden to a "destiny." You’re just a person with a rock.
The Don Juan and the Actor
Camus doesn't just talk about the guy with the rock. He gives examples of "Absurd characters" who live this out in the real world.
He talks about Don Juan, the legendary seducer. Most people see Don Juan as a guy looking for "The One" and failing. Camus sees him as a guy who knows there is no "The One," so he loves as many people as possible, fully and repeatedly. He doesn't hope; he just lives.
Then there’s the Actor. The Actor lives a hundred lives in a few hours. They know their performance is fleeting. It’ll be gone when the curtains close. But they give it everything anyway.
This isn't an invitation to be a jerk or a flake. It’s an invitation to stop waiting for a "reward" at the end of life and start valuing the experience itself.
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Applying the Absurd to Your Monday
So, how do you actually use The Myth of Sisyphus? It’s not just for philosophy seminars.
If you’re stuck in a dead-end project, stop looking for the project to "fulfill" you. Accept that it’s a rock. The fulfillment comes from your refusal to let the boredom break you.
When you stop demanding that the world make sense, you stop being disappointed when it doesn't. Your flight is delayed? The universe isn't out to get you. It’s just the Absurd. Grab a coffee, watch the people in the terminal, and realize that you are the master of your own reaction to the chaos.
Real-World Action Steps
If you want to actually "live" the philosophy of Camus, start with these shifts:
- Identify your "Rock": Write down the repetitive, mundane tasks in your life that drain you. Instead of wishing they’d disappear, try to do them with total, focused consciousness. See if the "weight" changes when you stop resisting it.
- Practice "Scientific Indifference": Next time something "unfair" happens, don't ask "Why me?" There is no why. Just acknowledge the event as a data point in an indifferent universe and decide your next move based on your own values, not a desire for cosmic justice.
- Audit your "Philosophical Suicides": Are you staying in a situation or a belief system because you’re scared of the void? Be honest about where you’re trading your freedom for a false sense of security.
- Read the Source: Don’t just take a summary's word for it. Pick up a copy of the essay. It’s surprisingly short, though Camus can be a bit of a dense writer when he gets into the weeds of criticizing other philosophers like Kierkegaard or Chestov.
Living with the Absurd is like a muscle. It’s hard at first. The silence of the world feels heavy. But eventually, you realize that if nothing matters on a cosmic scale, you are finally free to care about what matters to you on a personal one. The rock is still there, but you’re the one deciding how to push it.
Further Reading and Context:
- The Stranger by Albert Camus (The fictional companion to these ideas)
- The Rebel by Albert Camus (His later work on political rebellion)
- The 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature citation for Camus's "clear-sighted earnestness" in illuminating the problems of the human conscience.