Q0091
“I rebel — therefore we exist.” — Albert Camus (The Rebel)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: The Rebel. Theme: dignity.
English
I rebel — therefore we exist.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to The Rebel 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
Kantian and rights-based ethics make dignity central; other traditions speak of face, honor, or Buddha-nature. Politics asks how institutions honor or violate dignity. This passage enters that discussion through dignity.
Concepts in this quote
- Dignity
- Dignity names the worth that persons claim simply as persons—and the respect that worth demands.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Albert Camus. (n.d.). I rebel — therefore we exist. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0091
MLA: Albert Camus. “I rebel — therefore we exist..” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0091.
Chicago: Albert Camus. “I rebel — therefore we exist..” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0091.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “I rebel — therefore we exist.”?
The passage is attributed to Albert Camus, The Rebel. The archive attributes this English wording to The Rebel 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 dignity?
Kantian and rights-based ethics make dignity central; other traditions speak of face, honor, or Buddha-nature. Politics asks how institutions honor or violate dignity. This passage enters that discussion through dignity.