Comments on: Quote note (#118)

By: Hanfeizi

Hanfeizi — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 14:50:49 +0000

Antiquarian-Modernism. I like that.

To someone raised on modern pop culture science fiction, Lovecraft’s genius is his ability to rip us out of our comforting illusions and show us just how deeply inhuman the cosmos is. The pop sci-fi I grew up on was comforting. “Star Trek” shows a galaxy where warp drive makes everything comfortingly close and liberal humanism actually works. “Star Wars” shows a universe where we’re all wrapped up in a warm, caring force- that, while it has it’s dark side, ultimately means the universe is benign.

Lovecraft’s works show us a world where we’re slightly more advanced apes, a wrinkle in the geological record that will pass as quickly as it came, surrounded by forces beyond our comprehension that we’ll never understand.

When I was 13, I was a liberal humanist, and Star Trek was appealing to me.

When I was 23, I was a Ken Wilber-style integral mystic. Obviously, Star Wars was closer to my view of things.

Now I’m 33, and have cynically outgrown such childish things. Gimme Lovecraft.

By: SanguineEmpiricist

SanguineEmpiricist — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 18:18:48 +0000

Well antiquarian-modernism is certainly interesting. I’ll throw it into my inventory. Anything that prevents automatic system 1 processing is good.

By: Izak

Izak — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 14:03:09 +0000

The problem with Alan Moore is that he wrote Promethea.

…

Anyhow, “antiquarian-modernism” has too many syllables.

By: Alrenous

Alrenous — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 10:25:06 +0000

Alternate-futurism.
What if ~400 years ago the West hadn’t gone insane, and we’d progressed from there instead of from insanity. Is there a better word than ‘alternate?’ I want more nuances.
Alternate-presentism?
Ha. History-judgmentalism. “No, no, you did it wrong. Try again.”
Re-Racination. The ultimate deracination was ~400 years ago, the rest is just echoes or consequences. Of course I think it proves traditionalism’s roots were weaksauce and it was bound to happen sooner or later.
Historical-reconstructionism. Repair the root, then simulate what sane progress would have looked like. This is my exact hobby. Reference to revisionism: intentional.

By: ErisGuy

ErisGuy — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 10:10:29 +0000

If Lovecraft “[understood] the psychological consequences of the generations of Puritanism and the warping of the human psyche that resulted,” who will be the horror writer who understands the generations of Socialism and warping of the human psyche that has resulted from its nearly unfettered rule for the last century?

Has this author yet been born?

Can we manufacture Lovecraftian gods which incarnate the reality of socialism?

(Certainly Moloch—with a nod to Watchmen—comes to mind.)

By: Quote note (#118) | Reaction Times

Quote note (#118) | Reaction Times — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 07:40:59 +0000

[…] Source: Outside In […]

By: Bryce Laliberte

Bryce Laliberte — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 06:09:38 +0000

Shh about the name. It might be useful later.

By: Wen Shang

Wen Shang — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 04:26:45 +0000

Sounds too much like archaeofuturism. What do you make of harman’s book on lovecraft?