“If there is no God, if all things are permitted, I am responsible for everything. The recognition that the world is absurd liberates me—I am free, but this freedom carries total responsibility for my actions.”
—
Albert Camus
The Myth of Sisyphus (1942); The Rebel (L'Homme Révolté, 1951)
Commentary
Camus accepts Dostoevsky's logic but inverts its conclusion: yes, if God is dead, all things are permitted. But this does not justify nihilism or cruelty. Rather, our absolute freedom demands absolute responsibility. We must choose and act with full awareness of our freedom.
Camus distinguishes between freedom (which is total) and justification (which is limited). We are free to act as we wish, but not free from the consequences or the moral weight of our choices.
Commentary
Camus accepts Dostoevsky's logic but inverts its conclusion: yes, if God is dead, all things are permitted. But this does not justify nihilism or cruelty. Rather, our absolute freedom demands absolute responsibility. We must choose and act with full awareness of our freedom.
Camus distinguishes between freedom (which is total) and justification (which is limited). We are free to act as we wish, but not free from the consequences or the moral weight of our choices.