Sartre and Camus

Jassim Taqui

One aspect of Collin Wilson’s “Outsider” is his exploration of Jean-Paul Sartre and Camus. Sartre was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism and Marxism. His work influenced sociology, critical theory, postcolonial theory, and literary studies.

He was awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature despite attempting to refuse it, saying that he always declined official honors and that "a writer should not allow himself to be turned into an institution."

Albert Camus was a French philosopher, author, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His works include The Stranger, The Plague, The Myth of Sisyphus, The Fall, and The Rebel.

Camus was born in French Algeria to Pieds Noirs' parents. He spent his childhood in a poor neighborhood and later studied philosophy at the University of Algiers. He was in Paris when the Germans invaded France during World War II in 1940. Camus tried to flee but finally joined the French Resistance where he served as editor-in-chief at Combat, an outlawed newspaper. After the war, he was a celebrity figure and gave many lectures around the world. He married twice but had many extramarital affairs. Camus was politically active; he was part of the left that opposed the Soviet Union because of its totalitarianism. Camus was a moralist and leaned towards anarcho-syndicalism. He was part of many organizations seeking European integration. During the Algerian War (1954–1962), he kept a neutral stance, advocating for a multicultural and pluralistic Algeria, a position that caused controversy and was rejected by most parties.

Philosophically, Camus's views contributed to the rise of the philosophy known as absurdism. He is also considered to be an existentialist, even though he firmly rejected the term throughout his lifetime.

In the sixties of the 20^th century, the Communist Party of Iraq whose cater was in Basra owned both Sartre and Camus. The Christians of Syria and Lebanon translated in Arabic the major works of Sartre and Camus, contributing to the spread of French philosophy and literature. The French cultural trends continue even today in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and North Africa.