Editing Albert Camus (section)

===Existentialism===
Even though Camus is mostly connected to [[absurdism]],{{sfn|Sherman|2009|p=3}} he is routinely categorized as an [[Existentialism|existentialist]], a term he rejected on several occasions.{{sfnm|1a1=Sharpe|1y=2015|1p=3|2a1=Sherman|2y=2009|2p=3}}

Camus himself said his philosophical origins lay in ancient Greek philosophy, Nietzsche, and 17th-century moralists, whereas existentialism arose from 19th- and early 20th-century philosophy such as [[Søren Kierkegaard]], [[Karl Jaspers]], and [[Martin Heidegger]].{{sfnm|1a1=Foley|1y=2008|1pp=1–2|2a1=Sharpe|2y=2015|2p=29}} He also said his work, ''The Myth of Sisyphus'', was a criticism of various aspects of existentialism.{{sfn|Foley|2008|pp=2}} Camus rejected existentialism as a philosophy, but his critique was mostly focused on [[Sartre]]an existentialism and – though to a lesser extent – on religious existentialism. He thought that the importance of history held by Marx and Sartre was incompatible with his belief in human freedom.{{sfnm|1a1=Foley|1y=2008|1p=3|2a1=Sherman|2y=2009|2p=3}} David Sherman and others also suggest the rivalry between Sartre and Camus also played a part in his rejection of existentialism.{{sfnm|1a1=Sherman|1y=2009|1p=4|2a1=Simpson|2y=2019|2loc= Existentialism}} David Simpson argues further that his humanism and belief in human nature set him apart from the existentialist doctrine that [[existence precedes essence]].{{sfn|Simpson|2019|loc= Existentialism}}

On the other hand, Camus focused most of his philosophy around existential questions. The absurdity of life and that it inevitably ends in death is highlighted in his acts. His belief was that the absurd – life being void of meaning, or man's inability to know that meaning if it were to exist – was something that man should embrace. His opposition to Christianity and his commitment to individual moral freedom and responsibility are only a few of the similarities with other existential writers.{{sfnm|1a1=Sharpe|1y=2015|1pp=5–6|2a1=Simpson|2y=2019|2loc= Existentialism}} Camus addressed one of the fundamental questions of existentialism: the problem of suicide. He wrote: "There is only one really serious philosophical question, and that is suicide."<ref>"You cannot give coherence to murder if you refuse it to suicide. A spirit penetrated by the idea of the absurd undoubtedly admits the murder of fatality, but would not be able to accept the murder of reasoning. In comparison, murder and suicide are one and the same thing, which must be taken or left together." {{Cite book |title=L'Homme revolté |trans-title=The Rebel |publisher=Gallimard |location=Paris |date=1951 |page=17 |language=fr}}</ref>
Camus viewed the question of suicide as arising naturally as a solution to the absurdity of life.{{sfn|Aronson|2017|loc=Introduction}}