Q0090
“There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide.” — Albert Camus (The Myth of Sisyphus)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: The Myth of Sisyphus. Theme: meaning.
English
There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to The Myth of Sisyphus and files it under Philosophy of the Absurd. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Albert Camus
Albert Camus (1913–1960) was a French-Algerian writer and thinker associated with the absurd: the tension between the human demand for meaning and a world that does not supply it. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957 and rejected being labeled an existentialist in the Sartrean sense, while remaining central to twentieth-century debates about revolt, justice, and lucid living without appeal to transcendence.
How to read this passage
Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Viktor Frankl and Ludwig Wittgenstein), meaning is framed through Logotherapy and Analytic Philosophy. Some passages define meaning; others warn how it fails; still others relocate it inside habit, community, or language. This passage enters that discussion through meaning, life.
Concepts in this quote
- Meaning
- Meaning appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat meaning as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
- Life
- Philosophy quotes about life ask what makes a life good, meaningful, or worth examining—questions that drive ethics, religion, and everyday decision.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Albert Camus. (n.d.). There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0090
MLA: Albert Camus. “There is but one truly serious philosophical problem,….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0090.
Chicago: Albert Camus. “There is but one truly serious philosophical problem,….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0090.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “There is but one truly serious philosophical problem,…”?
The passage is attributed to Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus. The archive attributes this English wording to The Myth of Sisyphus and files it under Philosophy of the Absurd. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Albert Camus mean by meaning?
Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Viktor Frankl and Ludwig Wittgenstein), meaning is framed through Logotherapy and Analytic Philosophy. Some passages define meaning; others warn how it fails; still others relocate it inside habit, community, or language. This passage enters that discussion through meaning, life.