--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Yes, there was an element of abstraction…" description: "\"Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. But when an abstraction starts to kill you, you have to get to work on it.\" — Alb..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b0/albert-camus-47_abstraction_yes-there-was-an-element-of-abstraction_42500.jpg" --- # Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in… ![“Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. But when an abstraction starts to kill you, you have to get to work on it.” quote by Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b0/albert-camus-47_abstraction_yes-there-was-an-element-of-abstraction_42500.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b0/albert-camus-47_abstraction_yes-there-was-an-element-of-abstraction_42500.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b0/albert-camus-47_abstraction_yes-there-was-an-element-of-abstraction_42500.jpg) > “Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. But when an abstraction starts to kill you, you have to get to work on it.” [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When abstract ideas about suffering become oppressive, they must be confronted directly rather than ignored. **In simple terms:** Abstract suffering must be faced. Key Takeaway Confront oppressive abstractions. Themes existentialism psychology resilience philosophy self-awareness Mood reflective determined Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal crisis - mental health struggle - creative block - ethical dilemma Key Concepts abstraction misfortune agency work Practical Applications - therapy - self-help - philosophical counseling Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize when an abstraction is harming you? - What steps can you take to work through oppressive ideas? A Different Perspective Some argue that focusing on abstractions can provide necessary distance to process grief. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/) [Abstraction Unreality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction-unreality-460426/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Misfortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfortune/) [Misfortune Abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfortune-abstraction-460424/) [Misfortunes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfortunes/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) [Unreality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unreality/) [Unreality Misfortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unreality-misfortune-460425/) ## Related quotes > [When the soul suffers too much, it develops a taste for misfortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/when-the-soul-suffers-too-much-it-develops-a-taste-for-misfortune/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Whoever gives nothing, has nothing. The greatest misfortune is not to be unloved, but not to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/whoever-gives-nothing-has-nothing-the-greatest-misfortune-is-not-to/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [For there is merely bad luck in not being loved; there is misfortune in not loving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/for-there-is-merely-bad-luck-in-not-being-loved-there-is-misfortune/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [There is merely bad luck in not being loved; there is misfortune in not loving. All of us, today, are dying of this misfortune.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/there-is-merely-bad-luck-in-not-being-loved-there-is-misfortune-in/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The world expects of Christians that they will raise their voices so loudly and clearly and so formulate their protest that not even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-world-expects-of-christians-that-they-will-raise-their-voices-so/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Happiness is often only a pity for one's own misfortune.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/happiness-is-often-only-a-pity-for-one-s-own-misfortune/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“If war is the test of reality, than all poetry is unreal; but in that case unreality is a virtue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/if-war-is-the-test-of-reality-than-all-poetry-is-unreal-but-in-that/) [Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/) > [The stripping away of illusion and the struggle to find personal reality can be likened to the peeling of an apple. As one peels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-l-young-sowers/the-stripping-away-of-illusion-and-the-struggle-to-find-personal/) [Meredith L. Young-Sowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-l-young-sowers/) > [“If war is the test of reality, then all poetry is unreal; but in that case unreality is a virtue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/if-war-is-the-test-of-reality-then-all-poetry-is-unreal-but-in-that/) [Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/) > [“unreality is a condition of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-bitov/unreality-is-a-condition-of-life/) [Andrei Bitov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-bitov/) > [“To refute him is to become contaminated with unreality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/to-refute-him-is-to-become-contaminated-with-unreality/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Why do photographers photograph? To make unreality visible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-jay/why-do-photographers-photograph-to-make-unreality-visible/) [Bill Jay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-jay/) > [“Created visions of experiencing unreality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicdo/created-visions-of-experiencing-unreality/) [VicDo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicdo/) > [It was so emotional to step onto the Millennium Falcon set because that was the play set we all had when we were kids.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rian-johnson/it-was-so-emotional-to-step-onto-the-millennium-falcon-set-because/) [Rian Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rian-johnson/) > [I was too tired to think. I merely felt the town as a unique unreality. What was it? I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Albert Camus > [“The whole town rushed outside to celebrate this crowded minute when the time of suffering had ended and the time of forgetting had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-whole-town-rushed-outside-to-celebrate-this-crowded-minute-when/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Generally, I like all islands. There, it is easier to rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/generally-i-like-all-islands-there-it-is-easier-to-rule/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Being is good, but getting rich is better… If the gods had only the riches of men's adoration, they would be as poor as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/being-is-good-but-getting-rich-is-better-if-the-gods-had-only-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Having been, not only mutilated in our country, wounded in our very flesh, but also divested of our most beautiful images, for you gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/having-been-not-only-mutilated-in-our-country-wounded-in-our-very/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I've seen of enough of people who die for an idea. I don't believe in heroism; I know it's easy and I've learned it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-ve-seen-of-enough-of-people-who-die-for-an-idea-i-don-t-believe-in/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The best are led to make greater demands upon themselves. As for those who succumb, they did not deserve to survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-best-are-led-to-make-greater-demands-upon-themselves-as-for-those/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Then he asked me if I wasn’t interested in a change of life. I said that people never change their lives, that in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/then-he-asked-me-if-i-wasn-t-interested-in-a-change-of-life-i-said/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Life is meaningless, but worth living, provided you recognize it's meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/life-is-meaningless-but-worth-living-provided-you-recognize-it-s/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Thinking of the future, establishing aims for oneself, having preferences-all this presupposes a belief in freedom, even if one occasionally ascertains that one doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/thinking-of-the-future-establishing-aims-for-oneself-having/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I explained to him, however, that my nature was such that my physical needs often got in the way of my feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-explained-to-him-however-that-my-nature-was-such-that-my-physical/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-only-way-to-deal-with-an-unfree-world-is-to-become-so-absolutely/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“We love people not because for good they did for us, but for good we did for them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/we-love-people-not-because-for-good-they-did-for-us-but-for-good-we/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [You have so much inside you, and the noblest happiness of all. Don’t just wait for a man to come along. That’s the mistake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/you-have-so-much-inside-you-and-the-noblest-happiness-of-all-don-t/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The desire for possession is insatiable, to such a point that it can survive even love itself. To love, therefore, is to sterilize the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-desire-for-possession-is-insatiable-to-such-a-point-that-it-can/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) [Explore all 1,600 Albert Camus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## More Abstraction quotes > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/) [Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/) > [The premises from which we begin are not arbitrary ones, not dogmas, but real premises from which abstraction can only be made in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/the-premises-from-which-we-begin-are-not-arbitrary-ones-not-dogmas/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth-a-fact-and-an-abstraction/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [But we must not underestimate the potency of the mathematical process of abstraction. A surprising variety of things happen to have both magnitude and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banesh-hoffmann/but-we-must-not-underestimate-the-potency-of-the-mathematical-process/) [Banesh Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banesh-hoffmann/) > [Sometimes I start in a very realistic fashion, and as I go on from one painting to another of the same kind, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/sometimes-i-start-in-a-very-realistic-fashion-and-as-i-go-on-from-one/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [I like residing in abstraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/i-like-residing-in-abstraction/) [Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/) > [Cancer begins and ends with people. In the midst of scientific abstraction, it is sometimes possible to forget this one basic fact. Doctors treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-goodfield/cancer-begins-and-ends-with-people-in-the-midst-of-scientific/) [June Goodfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-goodfield/) > [Computer Science is a science of abstraction -creating the right model for a problem and devising the appropriate mechanizable techniques to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-aho/computer-science-is-a-science-of-abstraction-creating-the-right-model/) [Alfred Aho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-aho/) > [In 'Self Comes to Mind' I pay a lot of attention to simple creatures without brains or minds, because those 'cartooned abstractions of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/in-self-comes-to-mind-i-pay-a-lot-of-attention-to-simple-creatures/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [Don't get stuck on the level of words. A word is no more than a means to an end. It's an abstraction. Not unlike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/don-t-get-stuck-on-the-level-of-words-a-word-is-no-more-than-a-means/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Holidays are in no sense an alternative to the congestion and bustle of the cities and work. Quite the contrary. People look to escape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/holidays-are-in-no-sense-an-alternative-to-the-congestion-and-bustle/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [ I'd say that \[Louis\] Brandeis practiced a kind of a "living originalism," to use the title of Jack Balkin's great book. He said you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/i-d-say-that-louis-brandeis-practiced-a-kind-of-a-living-originalism/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [When novels deal in abstractions, they generally go off the rails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/when-novels-deal-in-abstractions-they-generally-go-off-the-rails/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [“our perceptions of the external world are habitually clouded by the verbal notions in terms of which we do our thinking. We are for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/our-perceptions-of-the-external-world-are-habitually-clouded-by-the/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) [Browse all 562 Abstraction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. 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