Abstraction Quote by Catherine Camus
![“You end up beating your head against a wall again, it doesn't work. Not if you make an abstraction of man. That's why [Albert] Camus is more a la mode now, because he always says 'yes, but there's man. That's the first thing, because myself, I'm a man.' And that's what solidarity .” quote by Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f06/catherine-camus-12238_abstraction_you-end-up-beating-your-head-against-a-w_1547558.jpg)
“You end up beating your head against a wall again, it doesn't work. Not if you make an abstraction of man. That's why [Albert] Camus is more a la mode now, because he always says 'yes, but there's man. That's the first thing, because myself, I'm a man.' And that's what solidarity .”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Unknown source, possibly podcast or article
Human struggle repeats futile attempts when abstracting humanity; solidarity emerges from acknowledging shared manhood.
In simple terms: Futile effort without solidarity.
Key Takeaway
Embrace solidarity, recognize shared humanity.
Themes
solidarity
human nature
existentialism
Mood
reflective
thoughtful
Type
philosophical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- personal conflict
- social movements
- mental health
- teamwork
Key Concepts
Camus
abstraction
identity
Questions to Reflect On
- How does recognizing shared humanity change your actions?
- What role does solidarity play in overcoming repeated failures?
A Different Perspective
Abstraction may oversimplify complex human experience.
![“[Albert Camus] started thinking through sensation. He could never think with artefacts or with cultural models because there were none. So it's true to say that his morality was extremely 'lived', made from very concrete things. It never passed by means of abstractions . It's his own experience…” quote by Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/07a/catherine-camus-12238_abstraction_albert-camus-started-thinking-through-se_1084847.jpg)
![“I couldn't ever act or think on behalf of what my father [[Albert Camus]] would have said or done. He's an artist, he considers himself an artist, and so he takes on the responsibility of speaking for those who are not given the means or the opportunity.” quote by Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/872/catherine-camus-12238_art_i-couldn-t-ever-act-or-think-on-behalf-o_48718.jpg)
![“One thing that is evident is that [Albert] Camus could never be a 'neutral' man. This is because he was committed; look at his real physical involvement in the Resistance. He took part, there, in the combat against Nazism.” quote by Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a13/catherine-camus-12238_combat_one-thing-that-is-evident-is-that-albert_2250437.jpg)
![“The First Man is [Albert Camus] posthumous last work. But in fact, in a certain way, it is his first, because in it you find the signs of his commitments, and of the whole way of writing as well. This mixture of austerity and sensuality, the will to speak for those not able to speak for themselves.” quote by Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/055/catherine-camus-12238_able_the-first-man-is-albert-camus-posthumous_1989492.jpg)
![“We must remember that [Albert] Camus wrote not even a third of what he had wished to.” quote by Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/dff/catherine-camus-12238_remember_we-must-remember-that-albert-camus-wrote_1911909.jpg)
![“I think for [Albert] Camus his mother was more than just that. She's love, absolute love. That's why it's written for her, dedicated to 'you who will never be able to read this book'.” quote by Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bc6/catherine-camus-12238_able_i-think-for-albert-camus-his-mother-was_1741638.jpg)
![“[Albert Camus] is The First Man because he is poor, which has never been much to human beings.” quote by Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/860/catherine-camus-12238_firsts_albert-camus-is-the-first-man-because-he_1586851.jpg)
![“It's true that women appear very little in [Albert Camus] works. They have a very marginal place.” quote by Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/34e/catherine-camus-12238_littles_it-s-true-that-women-appear-very-little_1011183.jpg)
![“Where [Albert Camus] is in exile isn't especially in Paris or elsewhere, but from the intellectual world, because of his origins.” quote by Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c3d/catherine-camus-12238_elsewhere_where-albert-camus-is-in-exile-isn-t-esp_787803.jpg)
![“[Albert] Camus' was born in Algeria of French nationality, and was assimilated into the French colony, although the French colonists rejected him absolutely because of his poverty.” quote by Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f43/catherine-camus-12238_algeria_albert-camus-was-born-in-algeria-of-fren_628933.jpg)
![“[Albert Camus] was not an existentialist!” quote by Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f71/catherine-camus-12238_albert_albert-camus-was-not-an-existentialist-5_524863.jpg)
![“[Albert Camus] positions are sensed. So, naturally, those intellectuals who don't have that experience have difficulty in comprehending it. But I think it made Camus more tolerant because he had already seen both sides of things when the others had only ever seen one. They imagine poverty, but…” quote by Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0bc/catherine-camus-12238_both-sides_albert-camus-positions-are-sensed-so-nat_59034.jpg)
![“[Albert Camus] always held a profound commitment [engagement], a real resistance to all totalitarianism.” quote by Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3f9/catherine-camus-12238_commitment_albert-camus-always-held-a-profound-comm_119209.jpg)
![“We can't talk about the book [Albert Camus] wanted to write because we have barely its beginnings. He had written hardly any of it, but he needed to write it. It seems to me that if you look at the style of The First Man it conforms much more to who he was as a man, it resembles him very closely.” quote by Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/982/catherine-camus-12238_book_we-can-t-talk-about-the-book-albert-camu_131209.jpg)
![“Intellectuals of [Albert] Camus' age who had previously disliked him now appreciate him. And at that point we come back to literature, and it's agreed that he was always a great writer.” quote by Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/8e1/catherine-camus-12238_age_intellectuals-of-albert-camus-age-who-ha_155964.jpg)
![“[Albert]Camus had denounced the gulag and Stalin's trials. Today we can see that he was right. To say that there were concentration camps in the USSR at the time was blasphemous, something very serious indeed. Today we think about the USSR with the camps also in mind, but before it just wasn't…” quote by Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/7d9/catherine-camus-12238_camps_albert-camus-had-denounced-the-gulag-and_163819.jpg)
![“Politically, [Albert Camus] was in favour of a federation, and effectively he considered that like South Africa today (or as they are trying to do), there should be a mixed population with equal rights, the same rights for the Arab and the French populations, as well as all the other races living…” quote by Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0f5/catherine-camus-12238_equal_politically-albert-camus-was-in-favour-o_397578.jpg)
![“The Outsider isn't [Albert] Camus, but in The Outsider there are parts of Camus. There's this impression of exile.” quote by Catherine Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d28/catherine-camus-12238_exile_the-outsider-isn-t-albert-camus-but-in-t_619996.jpg)
