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A review by brontherun
Lyrical and Critical Essays by Albert Camus
3.0
There is a great song by Jonathan Larson in tick tick BOOM that asks the question of whether you will choose to live your life with fear or love. Aside from their great scores and humor, this is why Broadway musicals are so popular – they lead us to a seemingly obvious path to attempt. Philosophy, on the other hand, has the potential to stymie us in our decisions as likely as it is to help us journey forward. Camus would have us consider a life path based on either optimism or love. Not as obvious a choice there. And regardless, Camus and other “great” philosophers are unlikely to help us get there in an reasonable amount of time, certainly not in an evening, or week, or the months it took to fully digest the volume Albert Camus Lyrical and Critical Essays .
Having read The Stranger years ago, and having being told by a teacher Camus was a genius, I had read it more to understand enough to meet the teachers expectations (i.e. pass the test), and both enjoyed it and had no reason to doubt their estimation of Camus. Now, reading his essays, I can appreciate his often brilliant writing while realizing that his philosophies and view points are not ones that I would align with my life ethos. He was a misogynist, a Francophile to an unbelievable amount, and had an ego that was so shockingly large I’m astounded that the interviewers could fit in the same room with both him and it in order to conduct the question and answer session.
However, he is a great philosopher-writer, even if I would personally deem him not a very good man. So here are a few pieces of what you can expect if you delve into the waters of his essays, which are not as warm and welcoming as the beaches of Algiers:
“For every man has a deep instinct that is neither for destruction nor creation. Simply the longing to resemble nothing.”
“Suddenly he realizes that tomorrow will be the same, and, after tomorrow, all the other days. And he is crushed by the irreparable discovery. Its ideas like this that kill one.”
“For there is only misfortune in not being loved; there is misery in not loving. All of us, today, are dying of this misery. This is because blood and hatred lay bare the heart itself; the long demand for justice exhausts even the love that gave it birth. In the clamor we live in, love is impossible and justice is not enough.”
“Someone who insists on always being right will always feel alone against everyone else; it is impossible to live with others and be right at the same time.”
Having read The Stranger years ago, and having being told by a teacher Camus was a genius, I had read it more to understand enough to meet the teachers expectations (i.e. pass the test), and both enjoyed it and had no reason to doubt their estimation of Camus. Now, reading his essays, I can appreciate his often brilliant writing while realizing that his philosophies and view points are not ones that I would align with my life ethos. He was a misogynist, a Francophile to an unbelievable amount, and had an ego that was so shockingly large I’m astounded that the interviewers could fit in the same room with both him and it in order to conduct the question and answer session.
However, he is a great philosopher-writer, even if I would personally deem him not a very good man. So here are a few pieces of what you can expect if you delve into the waters of his essays, which are not as warm and welcoming as the beaches of Algiers:
“For every man has a deep instinct that is neither for destruction nor creation. Simply the longing to resemble nothing.”
“Suddenly he realizes that tomorrow will be the same, and, after tomorrow, all the other days. And he is crushed by the irreparable discovery. Its ideas like this that kill one.”
“For there is only misfortune in not being loved; there is misery in not loving. All of us, today, are dying of this misery. This is because blood and hatred lay bare the heart itself; the long demand for justice exhausts even the love that gave it birth. In the clamor we live in, love is impossible and justice is not enough.”
“Someone who insists on always being right will always feel alone against everyone else; it is impossible to live with others and be right at the same time.”