THE RESTLESS SOUL’S SEARCH FOR AN EXISTENTIAL JUSTIFICATION: AN EXPLORATION OF THE MEANING OF LIFE CONSIDERING FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY AND ALBERT CAMUS

Human identity, its relationship to the universe, and the implications of death are significant to philosophical inquiry. Though such questions elude complete resolution, they are crucial to how individuals navigate lives. Failure to address them leads to a crisis of meaning in most people, confronting them with the absurd. This thesis examines Fyodor Dostoevsky’s faith and Albert Camus’ rebellion, aiming to address contemporary metaphysical concerns through the two thinkers’ responses to the absurd. While definitive answers may be elusive, I argue that Camus’ love for life and humanity creates a meaning that humans can comprehend, and therefore, is to be preferred to Dostoevsky’s embracing of faith, because human love is the only certain source of salvation and meaning that humanity can attain in the face of transcendental uncertainty. I believe that our instinctive attachment to life and each unique experience help fill the void left by the absence of transcendental meaning. Ultimately, acknowledging the limits of reason, embracing this void with reverence, and remaining open to the unknown allow for growth and exploration within life’s mysteries.