The start is a bit bland with completely muddled up aphorisms making no sense whatsoever. Eventually One gets hold of the writing (Aphorisms are still jumbled without any clear pattern but one gets used to the writing). Only if the book would have been organized under several heading and sub-headings it would have been a blessing for the reader but on the other hand, would be ill-suited to the particular author. The Book is divided between 2 parts-1- Several aphorisms/daily observations made by

The first half of this work incorporates pessimistic proverbs and aphorisms original from Thacker and borrowed from sundry literary, religious, and philosophical sources throughout time. It's a morose and depressing melange, enjoyable in small measures for fellow pessimists and para-misanthropists, but its lack of narrative direction dissolves interest rather quickly. The real strength of the book is the second half which sketches out the lives and work of a dozen "Patron Saints of Pessimism," m...

I'm not sure whether I think this would be stronger if it was shorter? I liked the biographies a lot, but the aphorisms at a certain point kept hitting the same points so hard that it was hard not to wish he'd been a bit more selective. Like, organize them by point and maybe try and pick the best 4-5 from each. Although maybe effect wouldn't be as strong if he didn't keep hammering away at each. In any case, I clearly viscerally experience the world differently than Thacker does, for better or f...

“We are the species that has sacrificed breath for speech.”“The allure of having beliefs outstrips having to live with them.”“Knowledge exists in inverse proportion to meaning.”“The only thing worse than human culture is human nature.”“I no longer want to hear about how your revolution failed. Again.”“I support the cause — I just don’t believe in it.”“Language falters where contempt flourishes.”Eugene Thacker was already a favorite of mine after encountering his Horror of Philosophy series, but

The truly pessimistic thing would be to not write, let alone publish, a book at all. However, what we have here - a voluptuous book of fragments, an abundance of negation - must be the next worst thing.

Eugene Thacker is an interesting writer and philosopher, someone who I have followed for years so this book arrived as no surprise. Even though it is a collection of aphorisms and then summations, it still provides those of us with a more negative persuasion with words of comfort, and some new ideas to chew on. I did like where the first part got a bit more reflective, the second third contained more brief bios on philosophers of the pessimistic persuasion - that helped support the first part bu...

In the pessimist tradition of aphorisms/fragments with no traditional structure, plot, or happy ending, comes Thacker's celebration of all things pessimism, Infinite Resignation. Of course, like nearly all books, not everything written is great or profound, and you can pass by some aphorisms/fragments very quickly. However, there are plenty that resonate and that I wrote down in my own notebook for future reference. I actually found the book - like most writing with a pessimistic leaning - uplif...

The pessimists and misanthropes have won the culture war! Nihilism, irony and fatalism rule the day. For a while, our our celebrities where depressed white males. This book is a collection of their collective unconscious. Just what we needed!Joking aside, this is basically a dark beach read. A nihilist anti-self help guide for the apocalypse. In many ways, this book is "How Not to Be". Gain some self-awareness and stop sounding like this, if you can. But man, it is it so easy. But really, well-w...

The Book of Pessimists by the Prince of PessimismThere is a niche within philosophy of pessimists and misanthropes. Its celebrities all seem to be depressed white western males. Most of them lived solitary lives, tainted by religion, and surrounded by, when not participating in, suicide. Their books are filled with aphorisms and fragments rather than measured thought. So is this one. Every thought is precious, it seems.The first 250 pages of Eugene Thacker’s Infinite Resignation are the stereoty...

This book is divided into two distinct sections, which I'll review separately."On Pessimism" is fun reading for when you're fed up with the world, or when you're ready to feel amused at someone else's thorough disgust. It fits well with predecessors like Schopenhauer and Cioran, all of whom are overtly cited throughout as inspirations. The philosophical aphorisms are largely solid, but what doesn't work as well are the literary fragments. Adding some variety to the writing is a good idea in theo...

This book has two parts: the first devoted to Thacker's own comments on pessimism and the shortcomings and inherent failures of devising a philosophy of pessimism; the second devoted to "The Patron Saints of Pessimism" (at the section is titled)—a series of brief, bio/critical essays on Schopenhauer (of course—the Jesus Christ of misery), Nietzsche, Lichtenberg, Kierkegaard, Pascal, etc. In short, pessimism is an outlook allowing for precise pinpointing of uncertainties in others' arguments, pro...

Go run and play my happy little knight on the monolith of sighs!

Twenty pages into that book, I told myself: "Screw that guy and his milquetoast Goth schtick."But I kept reading. I stepped outside myself and tuned out my devouring, self-satisfying need for entertainment and enlightenment. Pessimism informed one of my favorite television shows in recent years (True Detective), so I was hellbent on understanding.I found out two things: 1) It's a very intimate book. Screw me for judging it according to what I personally wanted out of it and 2) Infinite Resignati...

Since less than 20% of the book is actually useful/interesting/insightful I'll rate it two stars (begins at one).here are the issues :- completely incomprehensible, meaningless descriptions of sceneries (example : "Meandering slabs of diatomic shale weave their way across the moss-ridden trellises of our lematticed anatomies")- a total incomprehension of what an aphorism is : it's supposed to be short to lead to thought, not short to be pretentious and "cool". Here's the formula : take two oppos...

The only thing worse than human culture is human nature.It may appear odd but I really enjoyed this hybrid book, a collision of Thacker's aphoristic thoughts on pessimism and a stillborn attempt to construct a taxonomy on pessimism as a philosophical/literary school. My domestic holidays are prone to depression and a certainly jaded perspective. Suddenly alone for hours a day--well rested and caffeinated--has led to many a spectacle. I am wary. My savvy has been relieved by a warm week where I h...

"Things should be good, I tell myself, but they’re, well, not-so-good. Nothing seems to make sense – and it should (shouldn’t it ?). Granted, things weren’t exactly perfect before, but now they’re definitely worse (…or so it seems). And this on top of the simplest of things: having to live a life.""Two kinds of pessimism: “The end is near” and “Will this never end ?”""Dostoevsky’s “The Idiot” has one theme: human beings drowning each other in their humanity. For six hundred pages.""On Reading Do...

Eugene Thacker's latest book is a collection of fragments, aphorisms, personal observations, and short essays on philosophy of pessimism. Thacker's gallows humor really cuts deep here. Infinite Resignation is far more accessible and direct than Thacker's Horror of Philosophy trilogy. It's also just a bit redundant if you've read those books. The lasting value of Infinite Resignation comes from its synthesis of many dense or obscure or hard-to-find texts in this understandably arcane area of thin...

This reads almost like notes for several books instead of a one cohesive one: the aphorism are pithy and, indeed, pessimistic, but not early as clear as the aphorists that Thacker lists in his hagiographies of pessimism. Furthermore, some of them are clever at the first read but not particularly insightful after a few, which is someone one wants from darker aphorists. I kept wondering, despite liking Thacker's more systemic (or maybe, complete), works, why I wasn't just reading Schopenhauer, Cio...

I always heard Eugene Thacker but I never investigated who this allusive writer/philosopher was until I found a cheap used copy of his horrors of philosophy volume 1 (whatever that book is called) and I found it interesting, to say the least, so I thought I would investigate what else he wrote and I'm quite happy that I did.The majority of the book is written on the topic of pessimism with the bulk of it in the form of aphorisms, which I absolutely love philosophy aphorisms. The second half of t...

This book contains meditations, aphorisms, and fragments of Thacker's ideas on pessimism. For example: "The logic of pessimism [who knew that such a thing as 'pessimism' would have a logic] moves through three refusals: saying no to the world as it is (or, Schopenhauer's tears); saying yes to the world as it is (or, Nietzsche's laughter); and refusing to say either 'yes' or 'no' (or, Cioran's sleep). Crying, laughing, sleeping--what other responses are adequate to a world that seems so indiffere...