Why Camus Matters
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Publishing:30th Apr '26
£65.00
This title is due to be published on 30th April, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
Explores how the writings of Albert Camus matter in the 2020s, as a profoundly independent thinker who addressed problems which trouble us today: those of nihilism, hatred, incivility, ecological collapse and authoritarianism
Albert Camus is a thinker who matters deeply for the 21st century.
Camus was a man of the Left, without believing in inevitable progress; he wrestled with nihilism but only in order to seek paths beyond it; he repudiated belief in God yet wrestled profoundly with religious questions; he defended “Western civilization” and adored the ancient Greeks, whilst denouncing reactionary politics; he explored the darkest human experiences, yet defended moderation, love and dialogue.
He matters today, firstly, because the problems he addressed remain ours: widespread cynicism and despair, democratic collapse, the rise of authoritarianisms, alienation from nature and a fascination with extremes. Secondly, because the solutions he explored to these problems were so highly original and balanced, relative to more widely-credited schools of thought: whether liberalism, Marxism, or fascism, or existentialism, postmodernism, or postcolonialism.
This book, written by an established expert on Camus’ work, can serve for new readers as an introduction to Camus’ philosophical ideas. More than another critical commentary. Why Camus Matters engages Camus in our contemporary debates, seeking in his thinking a thread out of the labyrinth of the global culture wars, and sources of democratic renewal.
Albert Camus is not to be read, he is to be lived. In a world where the Human can feel redundant, a mere subject, Matthew Sharpe reminds us that someone saw it all and he has a way out. Camus is not for our time, he is for all times. * Professor Stan Grant, Journalist and Chair of Australian-Indigenous Belonging at Charles Sturt University, Australia *
In our increasingly insane world, we desperately need voices of sanity. This timely study offers two such voices: that of its author, Matthew Sharpe, a philosopher of exemplary thoughtfulness and decency; and that of its subject, Albert Camus, a major novelist and playwright, essayist, and political theorist who has been overshadowed in the philosophical world of the last half-century by less moderate minds. Sharpe has done us a huge service in reminding us why Camus was once important, and sketching how, hopefully, he can be important again. * Ronald Beiner, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Toronto, Canada *
Why Camus Matters is a work of vital import. More than merely demonstrating the applicability of Camus today, in a world run mad with the resurgence of the authoritarian and nihilistic forces of the Early-Mid Twentieth Century, it provides roadmap for practices of humane lucidity and responsibility to others. Sharpe illuminates Camus as a model of humane rebellion and care, that asks us to uphold our values under the strain of hard times, while recognizing and even valuing are all too human limitations that makes this work precarious. * Eli Kramer, Associate Professor, University of Wroclaw, Poland *
ISBN: 9781350512498
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
208 pages