Project 2 

Camus and The Coronavirus Disease

 

      Albert Camus was a French philosopher who was best known for his belief on life and the absurdity of it all. Camus’ perception of absurdity is that “life had no meaning, that nothing exists that could ever be a source of meaning, and hence there is something deeply absurd about the human quest to find meaning” (Maquire). Therefore, it can be said that there is no logical explanation for the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and no rational solution to the inevitable effects of the virus. Throughout history, humans have fought to find a cure to various viruses in order to prolong human longevity. By analyzing Camus’ philosophy, it can be found that doing this is an absurd act that does not allow humans to seek out the meaning of life in a natural way by forcing them to face an inevitable death. French philosopher, Albert Camus, would argue that there is no cure to ending the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and that there is no rational reason for a social epidemic.

        The COVID-19 epidemic started in December of 2019, and as of April 2020, more than 52,900 fatalities have occurred, and more than a million cases of COVID-19 have been recorded from 181 varying countries (Rodela et al. 2). These statistic adequately illustrate how COVID-19 has substantially affected everyday life. This is not the first case of a pandemic recorded in human history, the Black Death first appeared in 1349 in Europe, and from 1347 to 1351, it took a toll on 30-60% of all Europeans (Wade). Albert Camus presented his work titled, “The Plague” (1947), which inspired an absurd outlook on pandemics and their effects on human life. “The Plague” explores the lives of the people effected from the disease and interprets the overall meaning of life. The meaning behind this novel can applied to the Black Death and COVID-19; therefore, establishing that Camus would view COVID-19 as life and preventing it is absurd. In the novel, The Plague, it explores the unbiased way life treats humans by stating “Thus each of us had to be content to live only for the day, alone under the vast indifference of the sky” (Camus). This quote can be interpreted that the universe is impartial to life, and nothing can change that. Seeking a way to change life is meaningless, because life does not care about the status one might be or the importance of one’s existence.

        Camus’ interpretation of a pandemic in his novel, The Plague, not only analyzes the physical effects of the plague but instead the psychological toll. In The Plague, Jean Tarrou describes his decision in choosing life over death by exclaiming “All I maintain is that on this earth there are pestilences and there are victims, and it's up to us, so far as possible, not to join forces with the pestilences” (Camus). An article by Mark Kingwell titled, “DISCIPLES OF DISEASE; OPINION” analyzes this quote by stating “Not all plagues are physical, after all. Unwasted time is a form of resistance, especially when the hours drag” (Kingwell). By examining the psychological toll a pandemic takes on a person allows for an analysis of the absurdity of the situation at hand. The situation allows for a larger picture to be pointed out, one that is many times overlooked. A pandemic is a test to a person’s community and self-reflection. Camus perfectly illustrates in his work that a pandemic questions ordinary life and mundane habits and the question of the importance of that once it is taken away.

        During Camus’ life he explored the existential meaning of life, and it is evident throughout his work and can be applied to life now. Ever since life has been documented humans have attempted to find meaning through various ways. It can be inferred that through exploring Camus’ novel, The Plague, that humans yearn to find meaning. Humans attempt to find meaning through religion, community, and many other factors. Since there is no definite answer to life, Camus presents that humans occupy absurdity and to escape it one must discover what suicide means to humans. In an article published on the Philosophy Break website, it analyzes this meaning of life by exploring that “By approaching life with full consciousness, with vitality and intensity, by becoming the masters of our absurd fate — this is how we answer the question of suicide, how we defy futility and establish what it means to live” (Maden). Through this logic it allows for humans to ponder absurdity, an example of this can be found in The Plague “A pestilence isn't a thing made to man's measure; therefore we tell ourselves that pestilence is a mere bogy of the mind, a bad dream that will pass away. But it doesn't always pass away and, from one bad dream to another, it is men who pass away…” (Camus). The plague explores these ideas and allows the reader to digest the absurdity presented and to allow interpretation.

        Albert Camus was a brilliant philosopher with complex ideas on what life truly means. Camus’ perception on absurdity can still be debated and applied to the world today. With the social epidemic of COVID-19, it begs the question of how Albert Camus would interpret it. To put it simply, Camus would find it absurd to seek a cure. To avoid the inevitable is human nature but it is absurd to continually seek it out. Camus’ novel, The Plague, is still relevant today with COVID-19 affecting daily life. Albert Camus’ philosophy on life is to live as much of your life as you can while you have it. To attempt to rationalize a social epidemic is pointless, it is absurd. Staying home to quarantine and to be pulled away from society is a rational decision and it allows for self-reflection. Albert Camus would find rationalizing the social epidemic that is COVID-19 as absurd, he would believe that living life to its fullest extent and making the most of what we can do as a functioning society with COVID-19 still affecting daily life is the best that humans can do.