Pessimistic Philosophy and Its Significance for Humanity
Your essay must ...
1) ... reference at least two primary works, at least one of which should be a novel or a film;
2) ... incorporate at least one relevant concept drawn from pessimistic philosophy (i.e., the works of writers like Dienstag, Ligotti, Hagen, Kirsch, Schopenhauer, Zapffe) in a way that enriches discussion of the primary texts you are analysing. A significant part of the evaluation for this exercise involves the careful application of philosophical concepts to the texts you choose for your analysis. Do not select a random concept or author to apply to a text that does not call for it. Take the time to carefully define and to engage with any concept you introduce. Consider your primary texts (novel, film, TV, short story) carefully and ask what pessimistic concept(s) they draw upon, and how an exploration of those concepts might enrich our understanding of the primary texts. Drawing from texts such as The Sundial and The Wall, discuss how apocalyptic texts can contribute to pessimistic thought. What critical or productive outcomes can an apocalypse, or apocalyptic thinking, set in motion when it comes to the critical and philosophical discourse around pessimism? In your discussion, you may want to make connections to the concept of dystopia, but this is not necessary. Likewise, you may want to draw from the optional short reading ″Apocalypso″ (posted on the course resource page) to help you think through some of the associated ideas. Support your arguments with carefully selected and integrated specific evidence from the texts.
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Cosmic Pessimism
The apocalyptic literature foresees the end of the world either naturally or supernaturally through its aftermath regarding humankind and civilization. It is usually associated with the negative aspect of philosophy, also known as the pessimist’s view of life, meaning, value, and purposes (Wojcik). According to Nietzsche, pessimism ends nowhere, which means futility and despondency (Dienstag). Drawing from these perspectives, this paper scrutinizes two apocalyptic texts that establish how negative philosophy informs and enhances our comprehension of the genre: Shirley Jackson’s The Sundial and H. P. Lovecraft’s The Color Out of Space. The two works are pessimistic about life and highlight the pointlessness of existence, doing it in different fashions and employing various narration strategies. Apocalyptic thinking can be a mode of protesting and criticizing mainstream ideologies about modernism and civilization and a source of aesthetic and existential creation. This paper, therefore, considers the use of apocalyptic writing in these texts as an expression of pessimistic philosophy and its significance for humanity.
The Colour Out of Space demonstrates one of Lovecraft’s forms of cosmic horror, which depicts the Lovecraftian worldview of the futility of human existence as a doomed struggle for survival against an uncaring and aggressive universe. A weird meteor hits a farm in the text, but the results remain uncertain for the farmers’ lives and environment. Lovecraft uses a narrative technique emphasizing that our knowledge about the cosmic renders man’s action as limited. Using the “blasted heath,” the narrator draws an arid and forbidding picture (Lovecraft, 363). It occurs in a mythical locality dubbed Arkham, which is a combination of the words “earg,” meaning evil, and “ham,” implying village from Old English, thus resulting in “evil village.” The name of this city is quite symbolic, too. Arkam sounds ominous and implies horror, insanity, and crime, especially by Hollywood filmmaking standards, such as the Batman franchise and Gotham TV series (Fawcett & Kohm).
The narrator explains his encounter with an old man by the name Ammi (p. 364), the one who