Sequence of conformism and Revolt in Albert Camus’ The Plague: A psycho-analytical confrontation of religious exploitation in the contemporary society

Abstract

The twentieth century French philosopher, Albert Camus, in his reflection on the nature of human existence asserts the legitimacy of asking if man’s life has any meaning. Even if it does, he continues, is that meaning reassuring enough for one to keep struggling to live? In response to these reflections, existentialism agrees that the only meaning that life can have is the meaning created by an individual himself through his choices and actions. It therefore becomes necessary that man’s choices and actions should be his and not another’s, given that the individual is a surer and a trusted source of reason than religion, government or any social institution. Above all, man is most himself when he is authentic which is to say that his actions must be solely informed by his choices. But many a time, we find conformists who are thoughtlessly playing out the role that social and religious structures have established for them without any critical attempt to articulate such a condition; such people are considered “nothing” in existential terms. Put differently, such people do not exist which presupposes the need for their revolt against conformism. Thus, Camus’ The Plague is weaved around the dialectics of conformism and revolt respectively. Against this backdrop, this study—a hasty reflection on Camusian principles on existentialism—will explore the sequence of conformism and revolt as presented in The Plague.

Keywords

• conformism
• revolt
• philosophy
• existentialism
• plague