A prefiguração do Absurdo nos escritos de juventude de Albert Camus

Abstract

The present research aims to reflect about the Absurdity, central concept of the philosophical essay The Myth of Sisyphus: Essay on the Absurd (1942), in dialogue with the youthful writings, The Other Side and the Right (1937) and Marriage in Tipasa (1939), works by the French-Algerian philosopher Albert Camus (1913-1960). Camus’ philosophy is marked by the limitation of reason in apprehending reality, restricting itself to describing appearances, changes, and movements of the Becoming. The image is designated for the representation of the rational obstacle, functioning as an argumentative resource in order to build the philosophical concept, through successive images that illustrate the transitoriness of reality. In this way, the concept of the Absurd is formed from the imagetic representations that illustrate the negative condition of human existence. The images refer to the ways that the Absurd affects the human being. First, in the sensible form called "feeling of Absurdity", then in the intellectual form, named "notion of Absurdity", a Camus’ expression that denotes the concept of Absurdity. Finally, the paper moves towards the analysis of the youthful writings in the light of the Absurd, in order to unveil the presence of the concept since the first writings of Albert Camus, indicating the conceptual link between the works analyzed.