Albert Camus — Quote from The Myth of Sisyphus
“The absurd does not liberate; it binds. It does not authorize all actions. Everything is permitted does not mean that nothing is forbidden.”
The Myth of Sisyphus (1942)
Concepts: absurd, freedom, meaning
Resonant Quotes
- “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort o...” — Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science Nietzsche's death of God and Camus's absurd both confront the void left when meaning collapses — Nietzsche with angui...
- “Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.” — Søren Kierkegaard, The Concept of Anxiety Kierkegaard's anxiety as the dizziness of freedom and Camus's absurd that binds rather than liberates both locate the...
- “Beyond a certain point there is no return. This point has to be reached.” — Franz Kafka, The Trial Both authors identify a threshold where philosophical recognition transforms into existential commitment—Camus's absu...
- “If God does not exist, everything is permitted.” — Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov Camus directly refutes Dostoevsky's formula by arguing that the absence of transcendent meaning creates ethical const...
- “There are only two things. Truth and lies. Truth is indivisible, hence it can...” — Franz Kafka, The Zuerau Aphorisms Camus's paradox of absurd constraint mirrors Kafka's epistemological paradox—both reveal how apparent liberation (nih...
- “The miracle that saves the world, the realm of human affairs, from its normal...” — Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition Both philosophers reject nihilistic conclusions from meaninglessness, with Camus maintaining ethical constraints with...
- “The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convi...” — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism When the distinction between fact and fiction collapses (Arendt), the absurd condition Camus describes becomes not in...
- “The quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning. Uncertainty is the ver...” — Erich Fromm, Man for Himself The absurd binds rather than liberates (Camus), while uncertainty impels growth (Fromm) — both reject the false comfo...