There are several figures in history that I believe are worth a second or third look concerning death anxiety and creativity.
Peter Wessel Zapffe is one of them.
He was a Norwegian pessimistic philosopher who wrote the essay The Last Messiah (1933).
Zapffe was born in 1899 in Tromsø Municipality, Norway. He died in 1990. He was 90 years old. He loved mountain climbing and photography. Norway has archived thousands of his images. He practiced law for several years as well.
It’s not a stretch to say he was an existential nihilist as well as a pessimistic philosopher. He had some very profound ideas about consciousness, death anxiety, and human behavior. Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860), a German pessimistic philosopher, had a significant influence on him. Heidegger, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche all had an indirect influence on him.
I’m going to start with a quote from the ending of the essay:
Peter Wessel Zapffe
"The life of the worlds is a roaring river, but Earth's is a pond and backwater.
The sign of doom is written on your brows—how long will you kick against the pinpricks?
But there is one conquest and one crown, one redemption and one solution.
Know yourselves—be infertile and let the earth be silent after you."
Peter Zapffe, The Last Messiah
Let’s break this down.
"The life of the worlds is a roaring river, but Earth's is a pond and backwater."
This suggests a contrast between the larger, cosmic scale of existence ("roaring river") and the small, stagnant, and insignificant nature of life on Earth ("pond and backwater"). Zapffe often emphasized the insignificance of human life in the grand scheme of the universe.
"The sign of doom is written on your brows—how long will you kick against the pinpricks?"
The "sign of doom" portends destruction or meaninglessness for humanity. The phrase "kick against the pinpricks" refers to resisting inevitable suffering or unpleasant truths. Zapffe sees human life as an ongoing struggle against harsh realities, particularly the knowledge of death and meaninglessness.
"But there is one conquest and one crown, one redemption and one solution."
This line is somewhat paradoxical, as it suggests there is only one way to overcome the human predicament—through acceptance of a particular truth, which Zapffe reveals next.
"Know yourselves—be infertile and let the earth be silent after you."
Zapffe advocates for antinatalism—the idea that human reproduction perpetuates suffering. By choosing not to reproduce ("be infertile"), he suggests humanity can escape the cycle of suffering and allow the Earth to "be silent," essentially ending the human race as a way to cease the existential pain.
Zapffe's philosophy is deeply pessimistic, rooted in the idea that human consciousness leads to an awareness of life's absurdity, and the only way to mitigate this is by halting the cycle of suffering through non-procreation. This is in direct opposition to our “survival and reproduction” instincts. He would call those primal and animal like (no knowledge of suffering, meaninglessness, and dying.)
Cosmic Panic
His concept of "cosmic panic" refers to the overwhelming existential terror that arises when humans become fully aware of their position in the universe—namely, the realization of life’s inherent meaninglessness, the inevitability of death, and the apparent indifference of the cosmos. This moment of panic is more than just fear; it's a profound, paralyzing dread that emerges from our awareness of existential truths.
For Zapffe, "cosmic panic" is a direct consequence of human consciousness. While other animals live instinctively and without awareness of their mortality or the broader cosmos, humans are burdened with a level of self-awareness that allows us to comprehend our finite existence. This awareness can lead to a deep sense of horror as we confront questions of purpose and the randomness of life.
To avoid this state of cosmic panic, Zapffe believed that humans instinctively employ various coping mechanisms (see below; isolation, anchoring, distraction, and sublimation) to suppress the terror of existential awareness. Without these defenses, he argued, we would be left to confront the full weight of our existential insignificance, a confrontation so destabilizing that it would lead many to despair.
The Coping Mechanisms Used to Buffer Death Anxiety and Get Through Life
I’m most interested in his coping mechanisms for death anxiety. They are very much in line with Ernest Becker. I often wonder if Becker read Zapffe. I bet he did. Zapffe describes four coping mechanisms people use to deal with the painful awareness of life’s absurdity and the inevitability of death. He argues that human consciousness and self-awareness bring a unique existential burden, which we struggle to endure. To address this, he identifies four key methods we use to suppress our awareness of life's tragic nature:
Isolation
Isolation involves consciously suppressing disturbing thoughts or situations that remind us of life's inherent meaninglessness. By avoiding or ignoring thoughts of mortality or deep existential fears, we keep ourselves from confronting uncomfortable truths.
Anchoring
Anchoring refers to creating or clinging to a framework of meaning that gives us stability in life. This might include religious beliefs, cultural norms, or personal goals that provide a sense of purpose or direction. By attaching ourselves to a specific ideology or worldview, we prevent our minds from drifting into despair.
Distraction
Distraction is the practice of diverting attention from troubling existential concerns through various forms of engagement. People often use work, entertainment, social activities, or even compulsive behaviors to avoid deep reflection on life’s deeper, often unsettling questions.
Sublimation
Sublimation is the process of channeling existential anxieties into creative or intellectual pursuits—I use this all of the time. Rather than confronting death anxiety head-on, individuals may transform these concerns into artistic, philosophical, or scientific work. By doing so, they engage with the darker aspects of existence in ways that feel productive and meaningful.
He believed these mechanisms were essentially defense strategies, helping us cope with existential dread and the awareness of our limitations. He maintained, however, that these methods could only provide temporary relief, as the underlying truths remain, inevitably surfacing throughout our lives. Becker said the same thing essentially. There's no escaping the world as it is all of the time, only temporary relief.
Check out this video: “Peter Wessel Zapffe: The Norwegian Existentialist.” Tim Oseckas addressing the Existentialist Society in September 2024. Tim did a great job here. It was a pleasure listening to his research on Zapffe. Thank you, Tim!
The Irish Elk Story
And the final idea I want to address is his story about the Irish elk—he said, "certain deer in paleontological times succumbed as they acquired overly-heavy horns." This story was very profound to me when I first read it, and it has been in my head ever since.
He uses the Irish elk as a metaphor to illustrate the self-destructive consequences of evolution unchecked by pragmatic limits. The Irish elk, now extinct, had massive antlers, which grew to such an extreme size that they eventually became a liability. Though the antlers helped attract mates, they became a burden in the elk’s environment; they were cumbersome, made movement difficult, and ultimately contributed to the species' extinction as they hindered survival.
“Deer Antlers,” 2022—my tribute to Zapffe’s philosophy on our overabundance of consciousness.
Zapffe draws a parallel between the Irish elk's oversized antlers and the human consciousness (being aware of mortality). Just as the elk’s antlers became an evolutionary overdevelopment with disastrous results, Zapffe argues that human self-awareness—our ability to reflect on life’s meaning, confront death, and ponder the universe—has led to a psychological burden we are poorly equipped to bear. This consciousness, in Zapffe’s view, is an evolutionary trait that goes beyond practical needs, creating existential dilemmas that provoke anxiety, dread, and despair.
In essence, Zapffe suggests that consciousness, like the elk’s antlers, is an overextension of evolution that, while beneficial in some respects, also leads to suffering and potentially self-destructive behaviors.
Peter Wessel Zapfee making photographs.
Peter Wessel Zapfee photograph.
