Influence of

Sources

Olivier Todd. Albert Camus. Une Vie, p. 103. Gallimard (Paris)(1996).

Infloox.

Notes

Notes

"Plotinus and St. Augustine attract him. These heroes are closer to his heart, his body and his intellect than Descartes, Kant and Hegel." (Todd, p. 103)
(Translation from French provided by Google Translate.)

The influence of St. Augustine of Hippo

2010/1/14, 04:59

violac

When Camus was writing his thesis, he focused mainly on two North African authors: Plotinus and St. Augustine of Hippo. According to one analysis, "The neoplatonism of Plotinus was based on his belief in a cosmological connection between God and the world. St. Augustine embraced this idea in his Confessions, where Camus saw the possibility of personal experience becoming the “constant point of reference for a ‘literary and philosophical undertaking.” These two genres merge in St. Augustine’s autobiography as they to in Camus’ writing."

It should be noted that during this period, Camus strongly declared himself an atheist. However, he was so strongly influenced by St. Augustine's writings, that when Camus came out with his own work, "Christian Metaphysics and Neoplatonism", he "ultimately combined the idea of the absence of God with the concept of a natural longing for salvation and meaning that only God can provide. This paradoxical situation would define the ‘absurd’ character of existence and inform all of Camus future writing."