Cosmicism and the existential helplessness of humanity in the universe

[seriously disabled]

Howard Phillips (H.P.) Lovecraft, while not a "good" author, was undebatably one of the most influential authors of the 20th century, and one whose writing has gained significance in the decades after his death. While he most certainly was a pulp author, this does not bear any relevance to his importance today.

 

Cosmicism is the literary philosophy he developed and used by this author.

 

Lovecraft was a writer of philosophically intense horror stories that involve occult phenomena like extra-terrestial possession and alien miscegenation, and the themes of his fiction over time contributed to the development of this philosophy.

 

The philosophy of cosmicism states that there is no recognizable divine presence, such as a god, in the universe, and that humans are particularly insignificant in the larger scheme of intergalactic existence, and perhaps are just a small species projecting their own mental idolatries onto the vast cosmos, ever susceptible to being wiped from existence at any moment. This also suggested that the majority of undiscerning humanity are creatures with the same significance as insects and plants in a much greater struggle between greater forces which, due to humanity's small, visionless and unimportant nature, it cannot recognize.

 

"Cosmic indifference"

 

Though cosmicism appears deeply pessimistic, H.P. Lovecraft thought of himself as neither a pessimist nor an optimist but rather an "indifferentist," a theme expressed in his weird fiction. In Lovecraft's work, human beings are often subject to powerful beings and other cosmic forces, but these forces are not so much malevolent as they are completely indifferent toward humanity. This indifference is an important theme in cosmicism. The noted Lovecraft scholar S. T. Joshi points out that "Lovecraft constantly engaged in (more or less) genial debates on religion with several colleagues, notably the pious writer and teacher Maurice W. Moe. Lovecraft made no bones about being a strong and antireligious atheist; he considered religion not merely false but dangerous to social and political progress."

 

As such, Lovecraft's cosmicism is not religious at all, but rather a version of his mechanistic materialism. Lovecraft thus embraced a philosophy of cosmic indifferentism. He believed in a meaningless, mechanical, and uncaring universe that human beings, with their naturally limited faculties, could never fully understand. His viewpoint made no allowance for religious beliefs which could not be supported scientifically. The incomprehensible, cosmic forces of his tales have as little regard for humanity as humans have for insects.

 

Though hostile to religion, Lovecraft used various "gods" in his stories, particularly the Cthulhu related tales, to expound cosmicism. However, Lovecraft never conceived of them as supernatural; they are merely extraterrestrials who understand and obey a set of natural laws, which to the limited human comprehension seem like magic. These beings (the Great Old Ones, Outer Gods and others)—though dangerous to humankind—are neither good nor evil, and human notions of morality have no meaning for these beings. Indeed, they exist in cosmic realms far beyond human understanding. As a symbol, they represent the kind of universe that Lovecraft believed in, a universe in which humanity is an insignificant blot, fated to come and go, its appearance unnoticed and its passing unmourned.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmicism

Edited November 15, 2012 by seriously disabled

[ACG52]

Lovecraft is pretty much unkown outside of scifi/fantasy fans.

[Moontanman]

Cthulhu lives!

 

I would say the current domination of nature by humans seems to negate your basic premise that humans are helpless. We are not helpless and become less so as time goes forward...

 

Bite your tongue ACG52...

[seriously disabled]

Cthulhu lives!

 

I would say the current domination of nature by humans seems to negate your basic premise that humans are helpless. We are not helpless and become less so as time goes forward...

 

 

Actually we are helpless in some sense. There are so many things in the universe that we cannot change, no matter how much we want to.

 

Also disease, disability, pain, death, extreme poverty and natural disasters here on Earth will not happen to people if we were completely in control in the universe.

 

So in a lot of ways, we are helpless.

[Ophiolite]

We have limited freedom action. More than an electron in an Carbon s-orbital, but less than.......well, so far we don't know if there is a less than.