Episode 34 – Camus with Robert Zaretsky
On today’s show, Sean talks with Robert Zaretsky, a professor at University of Houston and the author of A Life Worth Living: Albert Camus & the Quest for Meaning.
In 1957 French-Algerian writer, Albert Camus was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was 44 years old, the second youngest person to ever receive the award. Fifteen years earlier, during the height of World War II, Camus stunned the world with the essay, The Myth of Sisyphus, and the novel, The Stranger. Camus explores the idea of finding meaning in life, especially during times of great struggle like war, the plague, and personal tragedy. Camus was a free thinker and a champion of the human experience. Camus ultimately teaches us that we should avoid ideologies and rather search for meaning in our relationships with others and in our love of life.
What You’ll Learn:
- he life of Albert Camus, especially his role in the French Resistance during World War II
- How to continue moving forward with our lives when things happen that we did not expect
- How to find meaning in struggle
- Why it’s important to rebel against injustice by avoiding a revolution
- How we find meaning through relationships
- Why love for others and love of life is the ultimate source of our happiness
Books & Resources
- A Life Worth Living: Albert Camus and the Quest for Meaning
- The Plague by Albert Camus
- The Stranger by Albert Camus
- The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus
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