There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy.

Il n'y a qu'un problème philosophique vraiment sérieux: c'est le suicide. Juger que la vie vaut ou ne vaut pas la peine d'être vécue, c'est répondre à la question fondamentale de la philosophie.

Albert Camus

The Myth of Sisyphus

Buy The Myth of Sisyphus at Amazon Buy The Myth of Sisyphus at Amazon

More information about this quote

Topic

Suicide Purpose of life Philosophy

Author

Albert Camus

Source

The Myth of Sisyphus

Medium

Essay

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

French

Time

1942 1940s 20th century

Occupation

Nobel laureate Philosopher Writer

From

France Europe

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Camus, Albert. The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays. 1942. Translated by Justin O'Brien, Vintage; Translation Edition, Nov. 6, 2018.

Current Citation

Camus, Albert. The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays. 1942. Translated by Justin O'Brien, Vintage; Translation Edition, Nov. 6, 2018.

Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote by Albert Camus

You know what charm is: a way of getting the answer yes without having asked any clear question.

Albert Camus

The Fall

Buy The Fall at Amazon Buy The Fall at Amazon
More information about this quote
Topic
Charm Persuasion

Author

Albert Camus
Source
The Fall
Medium
Novel
Genre
Philosophical literature
Statement Type
Definition
Language
French
Time
1956 1950s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Camus, Albert. La Chute [The Fall]. 1956.

Current Citation

Camus, Albert. The Fall. Translated by Justin O'Brien. Vintage, 1991.

Another quote from the 1940s

You've got to be taught
Before it's too late
Before you are six, or seven, or eight
To hate all the people your relatives hate
You've got to be carefully taught.

Rodgers and Hammerstein

More information about this quote
Topic
Hate Prejudice and bias

Author

Rodgers and Hammerstein
Source
You've Got to Be Carefully Taught South Pacific
Medium
Song Musical
Genre
Great American songbook
Language
English
Time
1949 1940s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Hammerstein, Oscar, II. "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught." South Pacific. Composted by Richard Rodgers. 1949, Majestic Theatre, New York City, New York, USA.

Another quote about Purpose of life

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.

Henry David Thoreau

Walden; or, Life in the Woods

Buy Walden at Amazon Buy Walden at Amazon
Read Walden at Project Gutenberg
More information about this quote
Topic
Simple living Introspection Life lessons Purpose of life

Author

Henry David Thoreau
Source
Where I Lived, And What I Lived For Walden; or, Life in the Woods
Genre
Autobiography and memoir
Language
English
Time
1854 1850s 19th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Thoreau, Henry David. "Where I Lived, And What I Lived For." Walden; or, Life in the Woods. Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1854.

Current Citation

Thoreau, Henry David. "Where I Lived, And What I Lived For." Walden and Civil Disobedience. Signet, 2012.

Another quote from 1942

I have learned that if you must leave a place that you have lived and loved and where all your yesterdays are buried deep—leave it any way except a slow way; leave it the fastest way you can. Never turn back and never believe that an hour you remember is a better hour because it is dead. Passed years seem safe ones, vanquished ones, while the future lives in a cloud, formidable from a distance.

Beryl Markham

West with the Night

Buy West with the Night at Amazon Buy West with the Night at Amazon
More information about this quote
Topic
Letting go of the past

Author

Beryl Markham
Source
West with the Night
Genre
Autobiography and memoir
Language
English
Time
1942 1940s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Markham, Beryl. West with the Night. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1942, ch. 11.

Another quote originally in French

Things are always at their best in their beginning.

Blaise Pascal

More information about this quote
Topic
Things get worse

Author

Blaise Pascal
Statement Type
Precepts and axioms
Language
French
Time
1656 1650s 17th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Pascal, Blaise [published as Louis de Montalte]. "February 25, 1656." Les Provinciales ou Les Lettres Escrites [The Provincial Letters]. 1657, letter 4.