Episode #228 ... Albert Camus - Kafka and The Fall
5/12/202531 min
Today we talk about Camus' book The Fall and what the main character represents in his larger project. We also talk about someone Camus deeply admired, Franz Kafka, and how to think of the images he created in his work. We talk about the experience of the modern individual in relation to politics. We also talk about what Camus and Kafka disagreed on. Hope you love it. :)
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsStephen West· Host0:00
Hello, everyone. I'm Stephen West. This is Philosophize This!. Patreon.com/philosophizethis. Also, if you're on Substack and you like to read philosophical writing on there, I've been taking some of the writing from this show, tightening it up so it reads well, and then posting it on Substack for people to find it there. There will be other philosophical writing that goes on there in the future, so if you want to support the show, Philosophize This! on Substack is a way to go, too. That said, I hope you love the show today. So this whole series so far has been about this project that Camus dedicated his life to, where he wants to affirm the kinds of creatures that we are without falling into the trap of system building. If in The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus shows us the importance of lucidity in the face of the absurd, if in The Plague he shows us how when we take seriously the kinds of creatures we are, it leads to solidarity with our fellow people, if in The Rebel he shows us how, as creatures, we have certain lines that can't be crossed, and that by saying no to something, we affirm the lines that cannot be crossed in the human dignity of others, if these are all uncontroversial statements to make about what it is to be a human being, then in Camus' next book, The Fall, he's going to extend this line of reasoning to the concepts of judgment and human error, or, or fallenness, you could say, if you wanted to put it in more religious terms. That nobody out there is beyond judgment or beyond making mistakes, but man, isn't it so common for people to rationalize their behavior or create elaborate systems in their life, all in an attempt to avoid both of these things? Do you know anybody like that in your life? It should be said, we've already talked about the plot points of The Fall on this podcast.