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_2Brian 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=1-1An excellent Camus podcast: Albert Camus Radio • A podcast on AnchorDick 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=8-1Karen 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=8-1John Carroll's 'On Guilt: The Force Shaping Character, History and Culture' looks at guilt as a psychological, social and historical phenomenon,...

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