Albert Camus’s Best Quotes
Albert Camus is one of the most influential, prolific existentialist authors of all time. Born in 1913, he had a short life–he was only 46 years old when he died–but his profound understanding of the human condition and his mastery of “The Absurd” in his writings left a lasting legacy on philosophy.
Here are his best quotes.
“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.”
Unpacking the Quote: Sometimes, overthinking things can be counterproductive. Happiness is one of those things. We don’t want to fall victim to “analysis paralysis”–constantly analyzing how we can maximize our happiness. Instead, we should learn to enjoy the little moments that make up every day. We can think of the future, sure, but we must live in the present. It’s about the journey, not the destination. Enjoy it.
“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.”
Unpacking the Quote: The second and third sentences of this quote explain the first. No matter how hard life knocks us down, there’s something within all of us pushing right back and telling us to get back up again. You see this in truly resilient people–they’ll overcome unimaginable hardships because they have no other choice. And that’s exactly what Camus believed–the only logical choice is to keep on living.
“Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is.”
Unpacking the Quote: Like other creatures, humans are just animals. But there’s something that sets us apart from other animals–our uniquely innate sense to find our identity and purpose. This is what existentialists call “the human condition”. It’s also why Camus’s contemporary Jean-Paul Sartre called existentialism a humanism; humans are constantly searching to become something greater and find a greater purpose among our fellow human beings. This existential crisis is unique to humans, and sometimes makes us reject our biological nature.
“Should I kill myself, or have a cup of coffee? But in the end one needs more courage to live than to kill himself.”
Unpacking the Quote: The first part of this quote can appear tongue-in-cheek, but look no further than the second sentence for its true meaning. If we’re to accept that the universe and our lives are devoid of any meaning, what’s the significance of any choice that we make? Having a cup of coffee, killing myself… doesn’t make a difference, I guess. Wrong. For Camus, the most courageous thing we can do is to revolt against the meaninglessness of life, to keep living. Suicide is not an option.
“Live to the point of tears.”
Unpacking the Quote: The biggest theme Camus reckoned with in his writings was the “absurdity” of life. Because there is no meaning, our very existence is absurd. What should we even do? But for Camus, life does not end at absurdity. It begins at absurdity. We must live our lives in spite of the fact there is no meaning, and make our own. Revolting in such a manner should, at some point, bring us to tears–simply because we could be so brave in the face of absurdity.
“There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide.”
Unpacking the Quote: …And all other philosophical questions come afterward, says Camus. We can argue morality, we can argue the dimensions of the world, we can argue what kind of future we should build, but none of it matters if we don’t answer the first question: is life worth living? The answer, for Camus, is always yes.
“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”
Unpacking the Quote: Remember, for Camus, just because the world is devoid of meaning doesn’t mean we should give up and die. In fact, we should commit the greatest act of rebellion: keep living. We should face the absurdity of life and find meaning within ourselves; we should break out of the chains of our unfree world and become as free as we possibly can.
“I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world.”
Unpacking the Quote: This is one of the final lines of The Stranger. It’s followed shortly thereafter by “I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again.” At this point at the end of the book, the protagonist Meursault accepts the absurdity of life, and of his fate. For context, when he realizes this, he’s on his way to his own execution. But that doesn’t matter–he has finally accepted that the universe is indifferent to him, and there’s not really any rational meaning behind his fate. This is ultimately a comfort to him.
“When I look at my life and its secret colors, I feel like bursting into tears.”
Unpacking the Quote: “Like that sky. It’s rain and sun both, noon and midnight,” Camus continues in this quote. It’s evocative of a theme you’ll encounter again and again in his writings: life is so full of possibilities to experience, you should consider yourself lucky to experience them all. This goes for the highest highs, and the lowest lows. If life has no meaning, then the meaning has got to be in our lived experience. And at the end of our lives, we should be able to die a happy death looking back on it all.
“I do not believe in God and I am not an atheist.”
Unpacking the Quote: This is an interesting one. I think it’s so interesting because if you read enough existentialism, you’ll see that it can be approached and interpreted in many different ways–from Roman Catholic Kierkegaard to Atheist Sartre. So why does Camus refuse to claim a theological label? I think it’s up to interpretation. But his writings provide a good enough start. The universe is devoid of meaning, and so the best way to make our own meaning is uncertain. After staying alive, the answer to every other problem is uncertain. Who is Camus to say God doesn’t exist?
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