Dark Matters: Pessimism and the Problem of Suffering

467 Pages·2021·3.449 MB·English

by  Mara van der Lugt

dark m atters

Dark Matters
pessimism and the
problem of suffering
Mara van der Lugt
prince ton university press
princet on & oxford
Copyright © 2021 by Prince ton University Press
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ISBN 9780691206622
ISBN (e-b ook) 9780691226156
British Library Cataloging- in- Publication Data is available
Editorial: Ben Tate and Josh Drake
Production Editorial: Debbie Tegarden and Natalie Baan
Jacket Design: Karl Spurzem
Production: Danielle Amitucci
Publicity: Alyssa Sanford and Amy Stewart
Copyeditor: Geoffrey D. Palmer
Page vii: Quote from Paul Kingsnorth, The Wake (London: Unbound, 2015).
© Paul Kingsnorth 2014; first published in the UK by Unbound.
Page 28: Quote from Muriel Spark, The Only Problem (Edinburgh: Polygon, 2017).
Page 395: Quote from ‘Anthem.’ Words and Music by Leonard Cohen © 1992.
Reproduced by permission of Sony/ATV Songs LLC, London W1T 3LP.
This book has been composed in Miller
Printed on acid- free paper. ∞
Printed in the United States of Amer i ca
10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1
In memory of my father
Bart van der Lugt
(1942–2006)

who will hiere the gleoman when the tales he tells is blaec
who locs at the heofon if it brings him regn
who locs in the mere when there seems no end to its deopness
p aul kingsnorth, the wake
Éléments, animaux, humains, tout est en guerre.
Il le faut avouer, le mal est sur la terre . . .
v oltaire
. . . die Philosophie hebt, wie die Ouvertüre zum Don Juan,
mit einem Mollakkord an.
arthur schopenhauer
Je vois le mal sur la terre.
j ean-j acques rousseau

contents
introduction Philosophy in a Minor Chord 1
The Prob lem of Evil 3
Pessimism and Optimism 9
Maps and Methods 14
The Question 20
A Note of Caution 23
chapter 1 The Complaint: Bayle and Malebranche on
Physical Evil 28
Categories 30
Strategies 33
Malebranche’s Monsters 36
Bayle’s Balances 42
A Theodicean Turn? 58
Complaint and Consolation 62
chapter 2 The Optics of Optimism: Leibniz and
King Respond to Bayle 67
Definitions 68
The Challenge of Pessimism 71
Rising to the Challenge 73
The Thought Experiment 83
The Argument from Suicide 87
The Misery of the Damned 89
The Optics of Optimism 94
Pessimism 100
[ ix ]