What can a meaning outside my condition mean to me? I can understand only in human terms. What I touch, what resists me--that is what I understand. And these two certainties--my appetite for the absolute and for unity and the impossibility of reducing this world to a rational and reasonable principle--I also know that I cannot reconcile them. What other truth can I admit without lying, without bringing in a hope which I lack and which means nothing within the limits of my condition?
by Albert Camus
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In this excerpt, the author reflects on the human struggle to find meaning in existence. He grapples with the tension between the desire for absolute understanding and the realization that the world cannot be fully understood through rationality. This internal conflict underscores the limitations of human experience, highlighting how our grasp of reality is bound by our physical and emotional conditions.

Ultimately, the author questions the validity of any truths outside human experience, suggesting that admitting to them would require a false hope that does not resonate with his reality. This philosophical inquiry reveals a deep-seated struggle against the absurdity of life and the quest for significance in an inherently chaotic world.

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March 19, 2025

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