Conversations in Philosophy: 'The Fall' by Albert Camus

Oct 13, 2025

Delve into the moral complexities of Camus's 'The Fall' as a retired lawyer grapples with his own hypocrisy in a bar. The podcast explores the dangers of ethical purity and how small acts of virtue can mask deeper flaws. Discover connections between Camus, Beauvoir, and Sartre, highlighting Camus's essays as insightful commentaries rather than rigid philosophy. The discussion also touches on his unfinished literary ambitions and the unique narrative style that makes his profound messages accessible.

15:49

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INSIGHT

Monologue As Philosophical Engine

Camus's The Fall uses a single dramatic monologue to produce philosophical ideas through lived experience.
The novel shows how everyday moments can trigger the existential 'why' that reveals absurdity.

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INSIGHT

The 'Why' That Reveals Absurdity

For Camus the sudden arising of 'why' transforms ordinary life into the absurd and forces new scrutiny.
The Fall treats a small rupture—an encounter or laugh—as the catalyst for moral crisis.

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INSIGHT

Reject Ethical Purity As A Guide

Jonathan Rée sums up the book's core moral: never trust those who claim ethical purity.
The Fall exposes how apparent righteousness can mask hypocrisy and dangerous self-satisfaction.

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Overview of The Fall's Monologue Structure

00:22 • 1min

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Camus and the Moment the Why Arises

01:39 • 1min

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Central Message: Beware Ethical Purity

02:56 • 2min

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The Narrator's Hypocrisy Revealed

05:22 • 4min

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Is Camus a Philosopher or Essayist?

09:02 • 55sec

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Camus's Unfinished Ambitions

09:57 • 37sec

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Camus's Literary Method and Education

• Mentioned in 34 episodes

The Plague

Albert Camus

The Plague, written by Albert Camus, is a philosophical novel that chronicles an outbreak of the bubonic plague in the coastal city of Oran, Algeria. The story is often interpreted as an allegory for the occupation of France during World War II and the rise of fascism. The novel follows Dr. Bernard Rieux and his colleagues as they battle the plague, highlighting themes of everyday heroism, the absurdity of human suffering, and the collective response to disaster. As the city is placed under quarantine, the citizens face isolation, despair, and eventually, a sense of social responsibility and solidarity. The novel explores existential and theological questions, particularly through the characters of Dr. Rieux and Father Paneloux, and concludes with a reflection on the enduring nature of human suffering and the importance of human solidarity in the face of adversity.

#182

• Mentioned in 99 episodes

The outsider

Colin Wilson

In 'The Outsider,' Colin Wilson examines the psyche of the Outsider through the lives and works of various literary and cultural figures such as Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ernest Hemingway, Hermann Hesse, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The book delves into the Outsider's experience of dislocation and his struggle to find meaning and purpose in a world that seems devoid of it. Wilson argues that the Outsider is a metaphysical man who seeks a transcending meaning and purpose for human existence, often feeling isolated and disconnected from society. The book is both a study of the Outsider's predicament and an impassioned call for a new form of existentialism that could provide a satisfying and objective religious understanding of life.

#56264

La chute

Albert Camus

Publié en 1956, 'La Chute' est le dernier roman complet d'Albert Camus. Il se compose d'une série de monologues dramatiques où Jean-Baptiste Clamence, un avocat parisien respecté, raconte sa vie à un inconnu dans un bar d'Amsterdam. Le roman aborde des thèmes tels que la recherche de sens dans un monde absurde, la nature de l'innocence et de la culpabilité, ainsi que l'aliénation dans le contexte de l'après-guerre.

#506

• Mentioned in 48 episodes

The Myth of Sisyphus

Albert Camus

In 'The Myth of Sisyphus', Albert Camus delves into the concept of the absurd, which arises from the conflict between humanity's desire for meaning and the apparent indifference of the universe. Camus argues that this absurdity does not justify suicide but rather requires a revolt against it. He introduces Sisyphus, a figure from Greek mythology condemned to eternally push a boulder up a mountain only for it to roll back down, as the ideal absurd hero. Camus suggests that Sisyphus's acceptance of his fate and his continued effort to push the boulder up the mountain, despite its futility, exemplify the human condition and the possibility of finding happiness in the face of absurdity. The essay also discusses other examples of absurd lives and includes an appendix on the works of Franz Kafka.

#2070

• Mentioned in 17 episodes

The rebel

Albert Camus

In 'The Rebel', Albert Camus delves into the nature of rebellion and revolution, exploring their motivations, historical developments, and philosophical implications. The book discusses how rebellion stems from a human rejection of normative justice and the absurdity of the world. Camus distinguishes between true and false freedom, critiques various historical and intellectual figures such as the Marquis de Sade and Friedrich Nietzsche, and analyzes the French Revolution and other revolutionary movements. He argues that while rebellion gives life its value and is a constant confrontation between man and his own obscurity, it often leads to totalitarianism and oppression if not tempered by moral and metaphysical limitations. The book emphasizes the importance of maintaining individual freedom and solidarity in the face of rebellion and revolution.

Never trust anyone who tries to be ethically pure. This is the message of Albert Camus’s short novel La Chute (The Fall), in which a retired French lawyer tells a stranger in a bar in Amsterdam about a series of incidents that led to a profound personal crisis. The self-described ‘judge-penitent’ had once thought himself to be morally irreproachable, but an encounter with a woman on a bridge and a mysterious laugh left him tormented by a sense of hypocrisy. In this episode, Jonathan and James follow Camus’s slippery hero as he tries and fails to undergo a moral revolution, and look at the ways in which the novel’s lightness of style allows for twisted inversions of conventional morality. They also consider the similarities between Camus’s novels and those of Simone de Beauvoir, and his fractious relationship with Jean-Paul Sartre.

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