Albert Camus, French philosopher, “Sometimes, carrying on, just carrying on, is the superhuman achievement”

When Albert Camus, a French author, dramatist, journalist, and philosopher, won the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature, “for his important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times,” some wondered why it hadn’t gone to the likes of André Malraux or Jean-Paul Sartre. Both of them and others had already analyzed the absurdity of the world and the lives we lead before him.

Author Charles Rolo explained in The Atlantic that “[Camus’] originality lay firstly in finding the world’s absurdity not a cause for despair but, paradoxically, a spur to happiness.”

The superhuman achievement of just carrying on

The self-described “artist, not a philosopher,” approached through his works the hypocrisy in ourselves and irrationality of the world, drawing on ideas he “found current in the streets.” The absurdity of everything that life throws at us can be soul crushing and being resilient in the face of those challenges often seems to require a superhuman strength.

However, as he wrote in his work ‘The Fall’: “Sometimes, carrying on, just carrying on, is the superhuman achievement. The realization that life is absurd cannot be an end, but only a beginning.”

Resilience, “just carrying,” on is an act of defiance, rebellion. Camus felt that our need to revolt is one of human nature’s “essential dimensions.” To just roll over and accept is suicide.

This idea of moving forward despite facing reverses was expressed in his work ‘Sisyphus’ as well. The mythical story of the man by the same name constantly pushed a boulder up the hill only to see it roll back down again. However, for Camus this wasn’t reason for despair, quite the contrary.

“The struggle toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy,” Camus wrote.

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