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image of A major case of Godangst: Philipp Mainländer’s entropic rhetoric of redemption

Abstract

The deep pessimism of Philipp Mainländer is described at length in his relatively obscure text . A spiritual pupil of Arthur Schopenhauer, Mainländer’s work borrows from and embellishes upon his predecessor’s metaphysics of will and has only recently made its way into circulation amongst Anglo-speaking audiences. This article explores the communicative dimension of Mainländer’s philosophy insofar as it is based on his interpretation of the death of God. Through this critical lens his entire project is contingent upon a divine defector willing its own – and the world’s – non-existence. The implications of this idiosyncratic idea are then explored through a contemporary theory of mediation to better process Mainländer’s vision of universal redemption as synonymous with annihilation.

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/content/journals/10.1386/ejpc_00068_1
2025-08-06
2026-04-17

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References

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/content/journals/10.1386/ejpc_00068_1
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  • Article Type: Article
Keywords: mediation ; philosophy ; pessimism ; Philipp Mainlӓnder ; excommunication ; will-to-death

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