Suicide in Albert Camus’ Existentialist Philosophy

ABSTRACT Albert Camus’ ideology of suicide emanates from human experience of absurdity and metaphysical nihilism. From the frustration of the oppressive social order to the ravaging physical and of psychological effects of indifference of nature to mankind and fallible individual actions, the choice of taking one’s own life becomes clear to be impressed upon us by experience of absurdity or meaninglessness of existence and of human endeavour. This work seeks to clarify if there are justifications for this unpleasant human act. Is suicide real solution to the identified human problems or do they multiply them? Is suicide an end in itself or a means to an end? Is there a justification to this end? Our author, Albert Camus toes the existentialists’ line in his approach to the perennial problem of justifications of suicide. Briefly that since existence precedes essence; there are no sufficient reasons to necessitate the act of suicide. By way of critical analysis, It was discovered that the reasons employed for the act, and by implication, justification of suicide places them at par or even far above human life. Self-preservation is the first precept of natural law. The modern philosophical movement of existentialism admits of life as a supreme value. For this reason, this work is of the view that since the reasons for suicide cannot be commensurate with life itself, they must be dejected as ethically unacceptable.