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challenges of [his] unique age” (Makau and Arnett viii). Sometimes these constructive responses result in the destruction of an interpersonal relationship. Camus’s engagement with his historical moment eventually led to a conflict of philosophical positions with such celebrated individuals as Jean Paul Sartre (as already mentioned) and Simone de Beauvoir. Camus’s friendship-ending disagreement with Sartre was driven by a difference in philosophical beliefs rather than by a breakdown in the interpersonal dynamics of the relationship. But it was also driven by their conflicting visions for post–World War II France; Sartre was a staunch supporter of the Soviet-style communism, whereas Camus was seeking a third way between the communism of the East and the capitalist system of the West.
Whatever one calls the contemporary historical moment—a moment of absurdity, a postmodern moment, a moment of contention over virtue and narrative—one possible by-product of living in such a moment is interpersonal conflict. As the events of the twentieth century unfolded, leading to the end of the modern era, more and more voices began seeking an answer to the question of whether meaning was found within metanarratives or within human experience and relationships. Camus’s break with Sartre is a brief glimpse of how Camus foreshadowed the coming postmodern era. Sometimes when one prioritizes a narrative over an interpersonal relationship, one finds that the particular relationship is no longer sustainable in light of the new commitments.
The following outline demonstrates how this text expands the previously established points that Albert Camus’s deep ethical commitments position him as a philosopher of communication in an age of absurdity. Building upon the foundation established in this introduction, chapter 1 explores a potential consequence of taking action in the midst of absurdity. Camus’s novel The Fall, the focus of the chapter, provides a fictional example of what occurs when one loses trust in the social practices of a changing historical moment, often leading one to experience “existential homelessness.” Each of this study’s chapters serves as a building block to better understand Camus’s unique contribution to the theory of communication ethics. The idea of the fall emerges as a metaphor that assists