Without higher meaning in their ethics system, many nihilists create a system of ethics which focuses on reducing suffering in the world. Anti-natalism is the view that humans should stop procreating, because bringing a human life into the world is ethically wrong. Rust sees himself, and all of humanity, as being stuck in a path laid out before them by their Wills.īesides Rust’s philosophical pessimism, he also holds to a school of thought known as anti-natalism. As Schopenhauer famously said, “Man can do what he wills, but cannot will what he wills”. We are bound as perpetual slaves to the Will, and in being bound we find misery in our constant striving for more, unable to do anything else. As such, these desires, the Will, drive our every decision and desire. Heavily influenced by the Darwinism of his time, Schopenhauer saw the world as a place full of creatures in a struggle to survive and mate. The Will, for Schopenhauer, was our most base urges- an endless, driving hunger which can never be satisfied. However, man is limited in their capacity to pursue reason, because of the Will. Reason is what we use when we engage in philosophy, in art, and if we always followed it, the world would be great perhaps as great as it could possibly be. Reason can be seen as the human capacity to act rationally. Schopenhauer’s basic philosophy regarding pessimism came from a focus on the tension between the Will and Reason. One very prominent pessimist is 19th century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. Pessimism starts with this view, but takes it further, claiming that the very concept of progress is a myth- things are getting worse all the time. Nihilism is the view that life has no intrinsic meaning. Pessimism is, philosophically speaking, an extension of nihilism. Through Marty and Rust’s discussions, True Detective presents a number of interesting philosophical concepts, and also takes Rust on a journey of belief as his worldviews change. Rust, however, follows his philosophy adamantly. What is ironic about this is that while Marty claims to believe in a greater purpose in life, he is a moral hypocrite, unable to act on what he claims to believe. There is no God, and there are no objective rules. Rust describes himself as a pessimist- he does not believe in any kind of objective morality or purpose in life. Rust lives alone, in a bare-bones house that just serves as a place to sleep. Marty represents the sort of man that’s common in America- he believes that his life has purpose and value, and he believes in good and evil, even if he can’t always follow his own guidelines. He attends church, prays before meals, has a wife and kids, but he’s also involved in an affair. Marty describes himself in the first episode as “just a regular type dude…”. The two main characters, Rustin “Rust” Cohle, and Marty Hart, represent two worldviews which are antithetical to each other. The first season of the anthology series True Detective is, at its core, an exploration of philosophical concepts, wrapped in the shroud of a compelling murder mystery thriller.
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