Video and Podcast Resources On Albert Camus' The Myth Of Sisyphus
sixteen lectures in both formats covering every key idea of the work
The very first philosophical text I ever read was Albert Camus work The Myth of Sisyphus, back when I was a high school student. My uncle Aimé had a copy, and I was interested in Greek mythology, so I asked him if I could borrow it. I had no idea at the time that I made that request that it was a book of philosophy, and at that time, I would estimate that I understood perhaps at best one-tenth of it.
Of course, I since went on to study philosophy, and in my college days, I was particularly captivated by the broad Existentialist movement, within which Camus (despite his disavowal of that term, based on a rather idiosyncratic interpretation of its meaning on his part) figures as one of the important figures. Over the years, as I developed and taught online classes on Existential Philosophy and Literature, I produced videos and podcast episodes that my students could use as resources to help them better understand the text.
I didn’t originally cover the entire work. But earlier this year, I filled in all the gaps, and now have resources on every part, idea, and argument within this important early work of Camus. So here they are. If you’d like to tackle this tricky book, perhaps they’ll be of use to you!
Suicide As A Philosophical Problem | watch video | listen to podcast
Belief, Truth, And Action | watch video | listen to podcast
The Feeling And Passion Of The Absurd | watch video | listen to podcast
The Absurd, What It Is | watch video | listen to podcast
Existentialism, The Absurd, And Escape | watch video | listen to podcast
Freedom In The Absurd | watch video | listen to podcast
Ethics Faced With The Absurd | watch video | listen to podcast
An Ethics Of Quantity | watch video | listen to podcast
A Sketch: Don Juanism | watch video | listen to podcast
A Sketch: Drama and The Actor | watch video | listen to podcast
A Sketch: Conquest and the Conquerer | watch video | listen to podcast
The Absurd, Art, And Philosophy | watch video | listen to podcast
Ephemeral Creation | watch video | listen to podcast
Dostoevsky, The Absurd, And Existentialism | watch video | listen to podcast
Imagining Sisyphus Happy | watch video | listen to podcast
Hope And The Absurd In Kafka | watch video | listen to podcast
Down the line, I’m hoping to produce resources on other main works of Camus, in particular his later book The Rebel, which changes the problem and interpretation of the absurd significantly. I’d also very much like to do his Letters To A German Friend, which since they are shorter, might come first.
Fantastic! Existential Absurdism seems like an umbrella philosophy to me. Embrace the absurd contradiction between our inherent need as humans for meaning and justice, vs the complete inability of the universe to provide it for us. First we exist, then we find our meaning, constrained always within the absurd contradictions of the human condition.
I haven’t yet reviewed your resources so you may have already addressed this comment in the resources provided. The version of Sisyphus, that I read had an introduction by Albert Camus, in which he says he has progressed beyond several of the positions which he wrote in Sisyphus. But that he remains faithful to the exigency which prompted them. I know you have a lot on your plate so this would only be on my wishlist to go on your back burner of projects ☺️, but I would love to know your thoughts on how Albert Camus might have approached the themes he raised in Sisyphus if he had written the book later in his life; i.e., your thoughts on how he progressed beyond his positions based on his later writings. Maybe a short online course?😊 Thanks again for organizing these posts all in one place, I plan to work may way through them.