In Christian theology, redemption is found in eternal life. In Mainländer's philosophy, true redemption ( Erlösung ) is absolute extinction.
). Every action is an unconscious step toward annihilation and the eventual "redemption" of non-existence. Socialism as a Path to Redemption:
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A decisive intellectual turning point came when he discovered the works of Arthur Schopenhauer. The experience was transformative: Schopenhauer’s doctrine that the world is the expression of a blind, striving “will” provided the foundation upon which Mainländer would build his own system—though he would ultimately reject its most famous conclusion. While Schopenhauer believed that the will could be temporarily quieted through aesthetic experience and asceticism, Mainländer argued for something far more radical: the will’s only proper end is its own total annihilation. To this project of philosophical rupture he devoted the rest of his short life, publishing the first volume of The Philosophy of Redemption in 1876. Barely a month after its appearance, Mainländer hanged himself in his room in Offenbach, leaving behind instructions that the second volume be published posthumously.
The creation of the universe was, therefore, an act of divine suicide. The Big Bang—in modern terms—was the shattering of God's unified being into trillions of isolated, competing fragments. The universe we inhabit today is the slowly decaying momentum of that initial divine death. As Mainländer famously wrote, "God has died and His death was the life of the world." 3. The Subversion of Schopenhauer philipp mainlander philosophy of redemption pdf
– The original 1876 edition (and later editions) can be downloaded from archive.org. The files are large (over 800 MB) but free, and they preserve the full Fraktur text for those who prefer the original.
: Existence is a state God chose as a middle-ground to reach non-existence. In Christian theology, redemption is found in eternal life
True redemption is achieved when humanity consciously recognizes that non-existence is preferable to existence. Mainländer did not explicitly advocate for chaotic, violent suicide for everyone immediately; rather, he advocated for a collective, peaceful transition into the void. The Path to Salvation: Virginity and Asceticism