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human beings may hope for a life that provides a unity of meaning, what is often discovered is a “unity of contraries” (Buber, Way 111), revealing an absurd existence that results from the contradictions in every aspect of living. In November 1942, Camus made the following entry in his notebook:
Development of the absurd:
- 1. if the basic concern is the need for unity;
- 2. if the world (or God) cannot suffice.
It is up to man to forge a unity for himself, either by turning away from the world, or within the world. Thus are restored a morality and an austerity that remain to be defined. (Notebook IV 41)
The reality of the absurd provides a common theme that serves as a background concern for each of Camus’s works explored in this text. Camus’s use of absurdity as a metaphor becomes a lens through which thinkers today can view their own historical moment.
The understanding of the term metaphor as used in this text is informed by the work of Paul Ricoeur, who wrote, “[T]his is the function of metaphor, to instruct by suddenly combining elements that have not been put together before” (33). In many ways, this notion of metaphor can be understood as a sort of interruption to the routine of daily living. Michael Hyde, in his work addressing “rhetorical interruptions,” made this suggestion: “[S]hould it not be the case that when conscience calls, rhetoric ought to answer, even if the word of the poet is yet to come and even if what one has to say is out of step with the party line?” (77). Combining these ideas, one concludes that this understanding of metaphor allows the world to be reinterpreted in a new and different fashion. Camus’s use of the metaphor of absurdity serves such a purpose: to provide a unique lens through which one can make better sense of human existence.
In the communication discipline, the work and thought of Albert Camus has mostly served as a secondary resource. As of this writing, only two sources explore absurdity as a guiding metaphor for developing a contemporary communicative ethic (Sleasman, “Philosophy”; Sleasman,