A Conceptual Analysis of “The Absurd” in Albert Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus

This thesis explores Albert Camus’ concept of “the absurd” as articulated in The Myth of Sisyphus. Although Camus claims to describe only an “absurd feeling”, the analysis shows that he in practice develops a conceptual framework that transforms the feeling into a philosophical position. The absurd arises in the tension between the human demand for meaning and the universe’s silence – an inherently relational and thus conceptual formulation. Camus moves beyond mere emotional description by defining the origins and consequences of the absurd, ultimately outlining an “absurd attitude” as a response. This transition – from feeling to concept to existential stance – suggests a more systematic philosophical project than Camus openly admits. In contrast to interpretations like Avi Sagi’s, which reduce the absurd to merely a subjective experience, this study supports a reading closer to that of Thomas Pölzler’s, where the absurd is understood as a philosophical concept with practical implications. The conclusion is that The Myth of Sisyphus presents not only a diagnosis of modern meaninglessness but also a structured, if paradoxical, philosophy of how to live without illusions – an “absurd philosophy” rooted in but not limited to the absurd feeling.