Albert Camus (1913-1960)

Albert Camus (1913-1960)

Albert Camus (French pronunciation: [albɛʁ kamy] ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French-Algerian author, journalist, and philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.

Camus was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize for Literature "for his important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times". He was the second-youngest recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature, after Rudyard Kipling, and the first African-born writer to receive the award. He is the shortest-lived of any Nobel literature laureate to date, having died in an automobile accident just over two years after receiving the award.

Although often cited as a proponent of existentialism, the philosophy with which Camus was associated during his own lifetime, he rejected this particular label. In an interview in 1945, Camus rejected any ideological associations: "No, I am not an existentialist. Sartre and I are always surprised to see our names linked..."

Specifically, his views contributed to the rise of the philosophy known as absurdism. He wrote in his essay "The Rebel" that his whole life was devoted to opposing the philosophy of nihilism while still delving deeply into individual freedom.

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Quotes·Quotations by Albert Camus

Autumn

¶ Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.

Beauty

¶ At the heart of all beauty lies something inhuman.

Education

¶ Some people talk in their sleep. Lecturers talk while other people sleep.

Friends

¶ Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Walk beside me and be my friend.

Respect

¶ Nothing is more despicable than respect based on fear.

Winter

¶ In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Camus