The Fall by Albert Camus
In their second episode, Alex and Steven look at Albert Camus' final novel, The Fall, and use it to explore questions centring around moral responsibility and mental health; for example, how should we judge ourselves without feeling punitive guilt, how can we avoid falling prey to a bitter, misanthropic cynicism and what kind of integrity can we achieve given our moral frailty.
Further Resources:
- Books by Albert Camus are available on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=albert+camus&i=stripbooks-intl-ship&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
- Brian T. Fitch's 'The Fall: a matter of guilt' is a very readable, yet thorough engagement with the central themes of the novel; in particular, Fitch is excellent at examining the ambiguities both moral and textual: https://www.amazon.com/Fall-Matter-Twaynes-Masterwork-Studies/dp/0805744525/ref=sr_1_4?Adv-Srch-Books-Submit.x=0&Adv-Srch-Books-Submit.y=0&dchild=1&qid=1631977168&refinements=p_27%3Afitch%2Cp_28%3Athe+fall&s=books&sr=1-4&unfiltered=1
- Robert Zaretsky's 'A Life worth Living: Camus and the Quest for Meaning' describes the key themes that Camus was wrestling with as he tried to live as meaningful and as committed a life as possible: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Worth-Living-Albert-Meaning/dp/0674970861/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=a+life+worth+living+camus&qid=1631977471&s=books&sr=1-1
- An excellent Camus podcast: Albert Camus Radio • A podcast on Anchor
- Dick Keyes' 'Seeing Through Cynicism: A Reconsideration of the Power of Suspicion' is written from a religious perspective, but even for secular readers, it is an insightful examination and expose of the limitations of cynicism: https://www.amazon.com/Seeing-Through-Cynicism-Reconsideration-Suspicion/dp/0830833889/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3T39BR7ISTNTO&dchild=1&keywords=seeing+through+cynicism&qid=1631977698&sprefix=seeing+through+cyni%2Caps%2C240&sr=8-1
- Karen Horney's seminal work of neo-psychoanalysis, 'Neurosis and Human Growth' includes her explanation of the 'tyranny of the should' and how our moral ideals can become too perfectionistic and cause self-hate: https://www.amazon.com/Neurosis-Human-Growth-Struggle-Self-Realization/dp/0393307751/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2B5EPTL1KGGHH&dchild=1&keywords=neurosis+and+human+growth&qid=1631977954&sprefix=neurosis+and+%2Caps%2C242&sr=8-1
- John Carroll's 'On Guilt: The Force Shaping Character, History and Culture' looks at guilt as a psychological, social and historical phenomenon, so we can understand it not only as an internal state, but a dynamic force shaped by wider cultural factors: https://www.amazon.com/Guilt-Shaping-Character-History-Morality-ebook/dp/B084T794VH/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=on+guilt+john+carroll&qid=1631978155&sr=8-1
