It would have been the existentialist philosopher Albert Camus's birthday today. I can still recall the rush of excitement, and even anguish that I felt on reading his books for the first time, due to the fierce but courageous nature of the questions that he poses to the reader. Camus was, and still is for me, one of those writers that ensures that when you finish one of his books, you emerge a distinctly different person from the one you were when you began it. His ideas about how many people live their lives in a kind of "Bad Faith" style has always felt like a warning for me, and something to be aware of at all times. In modern parlance, he would simply say that most people are phoneys, who say they believe something but their behaviour is completely the opposite. Or are dominated by denial. Either way, it's exhilarating stuff.
Below are a sample of some of his quotes:
"The slave protests against the condition of his state of slavery; the metaphysical rebel protests against the human condition in general."
"Some of us are left with the knowledge that love can never wait. A shared bed, a hand in yours, that's the only thing that matters."
"Nothing is more despicable than respect based on fear."
