Abstract

VILLALOBOS MANJARREZ, Alberto. Metaphysics of Blackness. Schopenhauer, Mainländer and Nietzsche in Thomas Ligotti’s Literature. Rev. filos. Univ. Iberoam. [online]. 2023, vol.55, n.154, pp.188-225.  Epub May 17, 2024. ISSN 2954-4602.  https://doi.org/10.48102/rdf.v55i154.167.

This article aims to make explicit the presence of certain concepts, concerning nine-teenth-century German philosophy, in Thomas Ligotti’s weird fiction. Therefore, in this text we argue that the will, pertaining to Arthur Schopenhauer’s thought; the will to die, corresponding to Philipp Mainländer’s metaphysics; and the becoming, proper to Nietzsche’s philosophy, are present, respectively, in the following Ligotti’s narratives: “The Shadow, the Darkness”, “Mad Night of Atonement” and “The Tsalal”. We also briefly discuss pessimism and explain that the structure of these narratives is articulated by a common problem: fatalism. These reflections allows to explore the capacities that philosophy and fantastic literature have to be assembled.

Keywords : will; will to die; becoming; darkness; disintegration; Tsalal; fatalism.