Chapter 3 Camus and the History of Modern Western Philosophy

In: Brill's Companion to Camus
Author:
Kimberly Baltzer-Jaray
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Albert Camus’s question: “What is it like to exist in an absurd world, where one is alienated from the workings of the universe, the minds of others, and even in some ways from one’s own mind?” did not trouble earlier modern philosophers like David Hume and Immanuel Kant. Nevertheless, Kimberly Baltzer-Jaray shows how Camus develops his post-absurdist thought on the basis of metaphysical and epistemological conclusions of these 18th century thinkers. For Baltzer-Jaray, Camus “explored how we live and breathe the consequences of Hume and Kant”. For her, we can understand Camus’s themes of absurdity and alienation and his proposal of revolt as a practical resolution of epistemological dilemmas introduced by these earlier modern predecessors. In the light of their reflection on the limits of human knowledge, Camus should be positioned as a thinker who explores the individual consequences of living without appeal to absolute theological or rationalistic claims in a difficult attempt at finding meaning in a post-metaphysical world.

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