[D66] Infinite Resignation

[A.O.]

Infinite Resignation by Eugene Thacker
Infinite Resignation
On Pessimism
By Eugene Thacker
Category: Literary Criticism | Philosophy | Fantasy
Paperback
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     Paperback

     Jul 17, 2018 | 397 Pages

Ebook
+
About Infinite Resignation

The author of the contemporary classic, In the Dust of This Planet, is 
back with another raw and unsettling look at the human condition.

Comprised of aphorisms, fragments, and observations both philosophical 
and personal, Thacker’s new book traces the contours of pessimism, 
caught as it often is between a philosophical position and a bad 
attitude. Reflecting on the universe’s “looming abyss of indifference,” 
Thacker explores the pessimism of a range of philosophers, from the 
well-known (Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Camus), to the lesser-known (E.M. 
Cioran, Lev Shestov, Miguel de Unamuno). Readers will find food for 
thought in Thacker’s handling of a range of themes in Christianity and 
Buddhism, as well as his engagement with literary figures (from 
Dostoevsky to Thomas Bernhard, Osamu Dazai, and Fernando Pessoa), whose 
pessimism about the world both inspires and depresses Thacker. By turns 
melancholic, misanthropic, and darkly funny, (“Birth is a metaphysical 
injury — healing takes time — the span of one’s life”), many will find 
Infinite Resignation a welcome antidote to the exuberant imbecility of 
our times.

Praise

“When life gives us lemons, Thacker refuses to make lemonade. Rather he 
adds lemon juice to the ink pot, and proceeds to write with an acerbic 
clarity – and even touches of black humor – about the predicament of 
being human. Infinite Resignation is an extended and eloquent sigh; not 
only for the absurd state of things, but also for the misfortune of 
being able to perceive these in such stark and fluorescent detail. In 
darkly dwelling with the essential antagonisms of existence, Thacker 
channels the spirits of Schopenhauer and Cioran, and in doing so, 
obliges us all to face the profoundly prosaic horror of persisting.”

— Dominic Pettman, author of Human Error: Species Being and Media Machines