Situating Camus

Abstract

Hayden establishes the relationship between the life of Albert Camus and the social-political contexts of his thought and work. The chapter explores Camus’s diagnosis of the human crisis of modernity, which also introduces several of the themes crucial to his ethical and political thinking — the absurd, nihilism, truth, dignity and revolt. Setting out the principal elements of Camus’s life in order to better understand the nature of his work, this chapter offers an important overview of the central historical events that informed his development as a writer, artist and politically-engaged public figure.