H. P. Lovecraft's Weird Atheism

Through a sequential exegesis of Lovecraft’s oeuvre, Michael J. Ardoline and Jon Cogburn puts Lovecraft's work into conversation with both contemporary and central historical philosophical issues.As the undisputed "master of the weird", H. P. Lovecraft should be the perfect guide for the strange times in which we live. Yet even though many readers find Lovecraft’s works philosophically thought-provoking, he has often been ignored by academic philosophers. H.P. Lovecraft's Weird Atheism serves as a major reinterpretation of the themes with which Lovecraft concerned himself, including the meaning and value of humanity in a hostile cosmos, the role of aesthetics in the good life, and the fear and allure of monstrosity. Ardoline and Cogburn argue that one cannot understand the human condition without assaying the overwhelming evidence of such a god’s radical absence, and explore how one might thrive via openness to an equally radical transformation. Through combining the insights of Western philosophy and classic horror literature, this book asserts how one might live a meaningful life in a cosmos hostile to the very possibility.