Peter Wessel Zapffe (1899–1990)

[b:The Last Messiah|22060860|The Last Messiah|Peter Wessel Zapffe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1702986066l/22060860._SY75_.jpg|41390521] was originally written in Norwegian in 1933 and is in four sections. The first several paragraphs were a bit hard to warm up to, but then it really took off. This work has many quotable lines and it's one of the tenets of the antinatalist movement, of which Zapffe is an early leader in the modern age.

This essay is a show more shorter version of his best-known work, the philosophical treatise [b:On the Tragic|209246774|On the Tragic|Peter Wessel Zapffe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1712614484l/209246774._SX50_.jpg|2444838], 1941.

Zapffe's view is that humans are born with an overdeveloped consciousness (self-reflection, self-knowledge) and seek justification for life and an escape from the anxiety of existential reflection. He believes that humans are unique in the ability to reflect on their own forthcoming death. This essay covers the four ways in which we attempt to do this: isolation, attachment/anchoring, distraction, and sublimation.

Highly recommended for antinatalists. show less

This short little essay is a summary of Zapffe's philosophy which is more fully explicated in his dissertation On the Tragic. I felt an instant affinity to the author since his ideas are similar to mine. Like the prehistoric Irish Elk that evolved antlers so large they led to its extinction, humans have evolved a consciousness that has negative consequences. We continually ask questions that have no answer and search for meaning that doesn't exist. To cope with this, we spend our time show more limiting the contents of consciousness. Immersion in the now, mindfulness, drugs, sex and religion are popular means of doing this.

I would like to read his dissertation, but unfortunately I can't read Norwegian. If you want an existentialist who goes beyond Nietzsche, this is your guy. Whereas Sartre is ultimately hopeful, Zapffe is not.

You can find a copy on wikipedia: http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/The_Last_Messiah show less