Albert Camus · Philosophy

The Only Serious Question: Suicide and the Leap

Camus’s starting move: the one truly serious philosophical problem is suicide - whether life is worth living once we admit it has no given meaning. He rejects both literal suicide and the ‘philosophical suicide’ of the religious leap, and finds a third answer in revolt.

What you'll be able to recall

You learned that Camus makes suicide the fundamental question (is life worth living without given meaning?), and that he rejects two answers: literal suicide (killing the questioner) and ‘philosophical suicide,’ the leap to God or an Absolute (killing the question). His third answer is revolt. Explain the…

Leads to Blaise Pascal.

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