# Peter Wessel Zapffe, The Last Messiah - Cosmic Panic And Suppression Mechanisms - Sadler's Lectures

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/sadler-s-lectures-233636/peter-wessel-zapffe-the-last-messiah-cosmic-panic-and-suppression-mechanisms-sadler-s-lectures
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/sadler-s-lectures-233636/peter-wessel-zapffe-the-last-messiah-cosmic-panic-and-suppression-mechanisms-sadler-s-lectures.md
Podcast: [Sadler's Lectures](https://stenobird.com/podcast/sadler-s-lectures-233636)
Published: 2026-04-17T13:35:29+00:00
Episode link: https://soundcloud.com/gregorybsadler/peter-wessel-zapffe-the-last
Audio file: https://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/2293634288-gregorybsadler-peter-wessel-zapffe-the-last.mp3
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Duration seconds: 863

## Resource

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century pessimist philosopher and environmentalist Peter Wessel Zapffe's "The Last Messiah" It focuses specifically on the first portion of the work, where he sets out the human condition as he sees it, where as a species the trait that was our great advantage, consciousness, has become too developed in us, leading ultimately to a "cosmic panic", which we attempt to set aside through four main "suppression mechanisms": isolation, attachment, diversion, and sublimation. To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.paypal.me/ReasonIO - or at BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM You can find over 3500 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler Get Zapffe's The Last Messiah - https://openairphilosophy.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/OAP_Zapffe_Last_Messiah.pdf

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## Transcript

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