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IS ALBER CAMUS EXISTENTIALISM
Abdunabi Hotamov
PhD., associate professor.
Jizzakh State Pedagogical University.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11385111
Abstract:
This article briefly covers the humanitarian ideas of Albert
Camus, one of the great representatives of the existentialist philosophy. The
article shows that the issue of art occupies a central place in the existentialism of
Albert Camus.
Key words:
existentialism, humanism, alienation, absurdity, rebellion,
revolution, art, beauty, freedom, human rights, meaning of life.
Аннотация:
В данной статье кратко рассматриваются гуманитарные
идеи
Альбера
Камю,
одного
из
крупнейших
представителей
экзистенциалистской философии. В статье показано, что проблема
искусства занимает центральное место в экзистенциализме Альбера Камю.
Ключевые слова:
экзистенциализм, гуманизм, отчуждение, абсурд,
бунт, революция, искусство, красота, свобода, права человека, смысл
жизни.
Аннотация:
Ушбу мақолада экзистенциализм фалсафасининг йирик
вакилларидан бири Альбер Камюнинг инсонпарварлик ғоялари қисқача
ёритилган. Мақолада Альбер Камю экзистенциализмида санъат масаласи
асосий ўрин тутиши кўрсатиб ўтилган.
Калит
сўзлар:
экзистенциализм,
гуманизм,
бегоналашиш,
бемаънилик, исён, инқилоб, санъат, гўзаллик, эркинлик, инсон ҳуқуқлари,
ҳаётнинг маъноси.
Albert Camus (1913-1960) is a French philosopher and writer, one of the
representatives of secular existentialism.
As an existentialist-philosopher, Camus traveled the path from nihilistic
"absurd philosophy" to moral humanism. Camus, in his early writings, still
propagates his own philosophy of paganism. It honors the unity and harmony of
man with nature. And it shows that thanks to this unity and interaction, a person
develops in all aspects, achieves spiritual integrity, and becomes a real "I".
However, he begins to write about the current world as a world of injustice,
alienation, doomed to destruction and nonsense. Meursault, the hero of the play,
avoids all the dishes of bourgeois society. He puts his mother in the orphanage
because she can't take care of him. He looks at his mother's death with
indifference. Sitting next to his mother's coffin is boring for him. Meursault is
indifferent to all rituals. After his mother's burial, he begins an affair with the
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woman he lives with the next day as if nothing had happened. Meursault is also
indifferent to this woman. Merson has only a lustful relationship with this
woman. After that, he befriends a pimp. In the end, Meursault, for no apparent
reason, shoots and kills an Arab man walking by the sea. (This event takes place
in Algeria). In court, all his "immoral qualities" will be revealed, and Meursault
will be sentenced to death.
Why is Meursault like this and what is the meaning of the path he chose?
The meaning of this was Meursault's attempt to communicate with people in a
language free from falsehoods and pretenses. But it was not possible to do so.
Because language was created only to speak lies and express falsehood.
Therefore, he is condemned to stay away from others, keep silent, talk to
himself. Camus neither accuses nor acquits the stranger. The philosopher shows
that Meursault chose solitude and death in the path of sincerity and self-
expression. Thus, Camus believes that in this world, man considers himself a
"stranger", and only at the border of death he begins to feel free and happy.
In The Legend of Sisyphus, Camus raises the problem of the absurdity of
human life and suicide. According to Camus, the problem of suicide is the only
real serious problem of philosophy. Solving the question of what is the meaning
of life and whether life is worth living is an answer to the fundamental question
of philosophy, the philosopher says [1:481].
In this work, Camus tried to describe the life of depressed and suicidal
people of his time, referring to the image of Sisyphus in the ancient Greek myth,
to show them that life is a great blessing. According to the legend, due to his
cunning, Sisyphus was condemned by the Gods to lift a large stone to the top of
the mountain. No matter what Sisyphus does, the stone keeps falling down from
the top of the mountain. The gods condemned Sisyphus to such a punishment,
based on the fact that there is no worse punishment than useless and pointless
labor.
Camus first tries to connect suicide with nonsense (absurd). It shows that
suicide is, in a certain sense, the result of absurdity. According to Camus, suicide
is first prepared in the web of the soul as an individual phenomenon. Secondly,
the event that is usually called a reason is actually just an excuse.
Camus approaches the problem of absurdity and suicide more as a
psychologist than a philosopher. He writes: "A sense of absurdity awaits us at
every corner." This feeling cannot be seen or felt in the dim light of its own
atmosphere. This imperceptibility is remarkable." [1:482]. An imperceptible,
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hard-to-notice feeling of absurdity can be partially perceived in the
consciousness devices necessary for this or that feeling.
Camus raises the issue of human rights and freedoms in "The Rebel". He
said that rebellion is the work of a person who is aware of his rights, is aware of
everything, and is knowledgeable. Rebellion occurs primarily in societies that
are far from good. For people living in subjugated societies, rebellion is one of
the important dimensions of their existence. In the process of realizing oneself
as a human being, rebellion also appears. According to Camus, rebellion plays
the same role in human life as thought does in Descartes' philosophy. ("I think,
therefore I exist"). That is, "I am rebelling, therefore I exist." Rebellion and
revolution are the fate and fate of modern man, says Camus. Therefore, rebellion
as an element of civilization informs any civilization. Because the revolution is
introduced in civilizations, not in conditions of tyranny and terror.
Camus sees history as "metaphysical", "historical" and "artistic" types of
rebellion. And how can a person exist and retain his humanity? - tries to find an
answer to the question. What should a person do to find justice, find truth,
inspire confidence in people, and celebrate goodness and beauty? - asks the
question. Camus focuses on art to solve these problems. According to him, only
art has the ability to express the content and perspective of the rebellion. And
the artist has the ability to change the world according to his calculations and
perspective. Camus tries to develop new humanist ideas that unite all people
and serve to ensure their freedom. The ideal of universal communication should
be the ideal of every artist, says the philosopher. Camus, in the spirit of F. M.
Dostoevsky, puts forward the rule that beauty saves the world. Beauty does not
revolutionize, says Camus, but the day will come when the revolution will need
beauty. Camus praises human nature and the beauty of the universe, and denies
injustice.
His humanism does not aim to make man completely happy, but to make
him conscious, to free him from the metaphysical, moral and political
superstitions and falsehoods that surround him, as well as to free him from
various dogmas and false ideas. Beauty cannot serve any party, any state. It
serves only freedom and love. Beauty and freedom can liberate people from
captivity, enrich them meaningfully, morally, emotionally and intellectually, and
help them achieve social justice.
Stoic motives are strong in Camus' worldview. It is seen in man's call to
revolt against the absurdity of his existence and evil. In later periods, Camus
began to understand the concept of rebellion not only as a denial of the
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absurdity of existence, but also in the sense of introducing universal values such
as freedom, solidarity, love, that is, as phenomena that find expression in art. At
the same time, Camus emphasizes the opposition of rebellion and revolution,
and therefore art and revolution.
Camus shows that all historical revolutions that established new strict
orders were hostile to art. Because art embodies rebellion against all kinds of
complexity. In his works, the artist gives unity and form to the world, tries to
eliminate its chaos by himself, and tries to find beauty in the vast and ugly world.
The beauty created by the artist helps people to love this world.
Analyzing the relationship between art and reality, Camus criticizes
formalism for its distance from the world. And at the same time, he accuses
realism of being completely obsessed with life. According to Camus, the true
style of mature art should be free from these two contradictions and one-
sidedness.
Camus emphasizes that there are two forms of protest in the 20th century -
revolution and art. Among these, the philosopher gives priority to art, glorifies it.
Camus sees in art the real face of rebellion, the eternal creative protest against
what has been created up to that time. Camus says that the artist expresses the
spirit of the age and the aspirations of the people and is responsible for them.
Thus, in his philosophy, Camus calls people to rebel against absurdity. However,
Camus's rebellion is a spiritual-spiritual rebellion related to the existence and
living of an individual. Camus did not see in society a powerful social force that
opposes absurdity and alienation. And that's why everyone showed the need to
fight against absurdity and alienation, to build their own life.
References:
1.Камю А. «Миф о Сизифе», «Эссе об абсурде». Хрестоматия по философии:
учебное пособие. М. : «Проспект», 1998. Стр.-481.
2.Камю А. «Миф о Сизифе», «Эссе об абсурде». Хрестоматия по философии:
учебное пособие. М. : «Проспект», 1998. Стр.-482
