Neither victims nor executioners
Camus as public intellectual
pp. 221-244
Abstract
As a public intellectual—a writer who engaged publicly with matters of public importance—Albert Camus made significant contributions to a wide range of critical public debates in post-war France. In this chapter, Foley examines Camus's attempt to introduce a moral vocabulary into the principal political debates of his time. Through an examination of Camus's on-going debates with Simone de Beauvoir, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Jean Paul Sartre, and in particular Camus's career as an essayist and journalist, Foley argues that Camus's refusal to offer a philosophical justification for violence sets him apart from fellow writers on the Left at that time and also is indicative of his exemplary contribution as a public intellectual.
Publication details
Published in:
Fives Allyn, Breen Keith (2016) Philosophy and political engagement: reflection in the public sphere. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.
Pages: 221-244
DOI: 10.1057/978-1-137-44587-2_12
Full citation:
Foley John (2016) „Neither victims nor executioners: Camus as public intellectual“, In: A. Fives & K. Breen (eds.), Philosophy and political engagement, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 221–244.