That's interesting! Did Camus admit to this paradox? As far as I read it, he was suggesting that - having acknowledged the absurdity of his situation (analogous to, lets say, being stuck in a boring/meaningless office job) - Sisyphus reaches a state of contented acceptance. I suspect this state would be somewhat different from him trying to imagine (i.e. fool himself) that he is happy, when he knows he's not.

Is that state of contented acceptance something that people have actually experienced? ...and is it possible to experience this when you have doubts about having chosen the right thing to do (at any point in time) and the right way to do it?

Is it that you're suggesting contentment does not require the absence of choice? I agree that there is always choice. However, Camus chose a fictional myth to make his point i.e. Sisyphus was forced to roll an immense boulder up a hill - implying an artificial lack of choice.

I'm thinking that (one reason) we must imagine Sisyphus happy because he was not burdened by choice. With choice, as you mention, we can only be happy if we're super-confident that our choice happens to be the best thing to do. However, there is always doubt that you've chosen the right thing. And there's always someone saying that you're doing the wrong thing.

What do you think?

Thanks for your replies.

I can be very content carrying out a mundane/futile/meaningless task (the struggle), without worrying about trying to achieve something productive (i.e. keeping the rock at the top of the hill).

However, the contentment vanishes when some smartypants suggests a better way to carry out the task. Similarly, in the modern 'To-Do List' scenario of having an almost limitless choice of tasks to perform - i.e. I'm not being compelled to simply roll the rock up the hill, the contentment is lost also. Both scenarios are tied up with the modern obsession of maximising efficiency.

So, I can agree with Albert Camus' conclusion that 'One must imagine Sisyphus happy', but only assuming the absence of (a) people and (b) choice.

Is that a fair summary?