Chapter 5 Albert Camus and Soren Kierkegaard

In: Brill's Companion to Camus
Author:
Eric Berg
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Eric Berg’s chapter on the influence of Kierkegaard on Camus’s œuvre begins with a thorough analysis of the sources and means by which Kierkegaard became visible within French philosophy and consequently, to Camus himself. Kierkegaard is initially a negative figure for the French author: a thinker whose appearance in The Myth of Sisyphus is dictated by the need to show “devastating consequences of religious hope when confronted with the absurd”. For Berg, this critique reflects a contestable understanding of Kierkegaard’s theology, shaped by Camus’ limited acquaintance with the Lutheranism of the Danish philosopher. Nevertheless, Berg lists five areas where Camus’s style of thinking converges with that of Kierkegaard: the use of theological language, a cyclical writing plan, the demand for intellectual limits, irony and indirect communication, and Camus’ treatment of death as a trigger for the absurd.

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