Maciej Kałuża

This essay examines the idea of the absurd, not only as a metaphysical, individual experience — the main focus of existentialism — but also as a form of reaction to politics (something existentialist thinkers developed in their post-war writings). Two different ways of seeing this experience are taken into account, reaching back to Albert Camus’ study of the absurd in relation to politics of 1940’s as well as a more recent study of political melancholy by Lieven De Cauter. In the final part of the essay, reactions to the experience (political and cultural — not purely philosophical — feeling of loss of meaning) are reconsidered in the context of Camus’ ideas of resistance and rebellion. Although Camus’ remarks were predominantly related to the dangers of political ideology emerging from a feeling of loss, the author claims that contemporary experience might be also relate to contemporary situations connected to the environmental crisis.

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The article presents the concept of evil, as developed in the literary as well as philosophical works of Albert Camus. After a short, preliminary notice on the relationship between literature and evil, the article presents two spheres, in which the problem of evil was grasped by the author of The Rebel. In the main part of the article, the complexity of the problem of evil, as represented by Jean-Baptiste Clamence from The Fall is shown. It is seen as a development of the concept of evil from The Plague, with the potency to disseminate onto others. It is also perceived, as something resulting from severe trauma of the main character. In conclusion, I claim, that the problem of evil, as experienced by Clamence may be understood as a still relevant metaphor of contemporary culture, struggling with passivity against the rise of social evil.

In the presented essay, I would like to focus on the relationship between force and power. The idea that power, without resorting to forceful, even violent solutions, is less problematic, is both deceitful and dangerous. Once accepted, it can cause an oversight of violence‐free but possibly harmful forms of power. My focus in the article will be on the two reinterpretations of Master‐Slave dialectics, as presented by Alexandre Kojève and Albert Camus. This will be presented with reference to the position of Hannah Arendt and her remarks on power and force. In conclusion, I will be abstemious: my goal is rather to diagnose and bind the existentialist judgement with the contemporary situation and suggest that thinking outside the force‐power relationship may be continuously fruitful and an important part of reflection on the nature of political power.