Mad speculation and absolute inhumanism: Lovecraft, ligotti, and the weirding of philosophy

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

How does one redefine the boundary between madness and rationality? This is the question that launches Ben Woodard on a discussion of the methods for accessing the Absolute or what he refers to as the Great Outdoors. Immanuel Kant’s theoretical framework with its “legalistic” norms is the first target of his criticism, which argues that Kant’s bulwark shielding rationality from madness is untenable. Kant had “circled his wagons” against madness in order to clearly distinguish philosophical speculation from the ravings of a madman, but that defense deprived philosophy of the capacity to describe reality as it is. Speculative realism positions itself as an alternative to Kant that holds out the promise of access to the Great Outdoors; therefore it must somehow distinguish philosophy from madness. Rather than indulging in the “mad speculation” or theoretical permissiveness of some followers of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari in order to leave the narrow limits of reason behind, Woodard applies the thinking of Thomas Ligotti and Howard Lovecraft to make a two-pronged attack on anthropocentrism. Lovecraft represents a “shoggothic materialism” that energizes the horror of formless matter, while Ligotti represents a “ventriloquist idealism” highlighting the inherent horror of having a consciousness. Weird fiction then is no longer a literary excuse for madness that justifies pursuit of after stunning imagery at the expense of meaning, but is instead an important theoretical tool for grounding the external as such. What is ultimate is not attainable through altered states of consciousness or otherwise distorting language or bodily being. To the contrary, it is reached by rather tedious work with a text which is itself already positioned in the Outdoors with respect to the reader.

Original languageEnglish
JournalLogos (Russian Federation)
Volume29
Issue number5
Pages (from-to)203-228
Number of pages26
ISSN0869-5377
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.01.2019

    Research areas

  • Absolute, Félix Guattari, Gilles Deleuze, Howard Lovecraft, Inhumanism, Madness, Nick Land, Philosophy of horror, Rationality, Thomas Ligotti, Ventriloquist idealism, Weird fiction
  • Philosophy

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. Monitoring networking between higher education institutions and regional actors
  2. Controlling des Integrationsprozesses bei Mergers & Acquisitions
  3. Adjustment of deferred compensation schemes, fairness concerns, and hiring of older workers
  4. A review of ecological gradient research in the Tropics
  5. Root-emitted volatile organic compounds:
  6. Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a guided and unguided internet-based acceptance and commitment therapy for chronic pain
  7. How Does Pre-Service Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Relate to the Fulfilment of Basic Psychological Needs During Teaching Practicum?
  8. Tutorenschulung als Teil der Lehrinnovation in der Studieneingangsphase "Mathematik im Lehramtsstudium" (LIMA-Projekt)
  9. Fermentative lactic acid production from coffee pulp hydrolysate using Bacillus coagulans at laboratory and pilot scales
  10. Potenziale älterer Erwerbstätiger
  11. BYOD - Start in die nächste Generation
  12. Assessment of Degradation of 18 Antibiotics in the Closed Bottle Test
  13. Der Inverted Classroom in der Politikwissenschaft
  14. Mitglieder mit Migrationshintergrund in der IG Metall
  15. Developing key competencies in sustainability through project-based learning in graduate sustainability programs
  16. Das Palästinensertuch
  17. Spent mushroom substrate and sawdust to produce mycelium-based thermal insulation composites
  18. Krise oder goldenes Zeitalter?
  19. Evaluating the success of public participation in water resources management: five key constituents
  20. Nutrient enrichment increases invertebrate herbivory and pathogen damage in grasslands