About

John Marmysz holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from State University of New York at Buffalo. His primary research interests focus on the issue of nihilism and its cultural manifestations.

Marmysz is the author of The Nihilist’s Notebook (Moralinefree Publishing, 1996), Laughing at Nothing: Humor as a Response to Nihilism (SUNY Press, 2003), The Path of Philosophy: Truth, Wonder and Distress (Wadsworth, 2011), The Nihilist: A Philosophical Novel (No Frills Buffalo, 2015) and Cinematic Nihilism: Encounters, Confrontations, Overcomings (Edinburgh University Press, 2017). He is coeditor (with Scott Lukas) of Fear, Cultural Anxiety and Transformation: Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films Remade (Lexington Books, 2009).

Marmysz serves as an associate editor for The Philosophy of Humor Yearbook (De Gruyter), has served as an NEH fellow, and is the recipient of a SUNY Chancellor’s Award For Excellence in Scholarship and Creativity. He teaches philosophy at the College of Marin in Kentfield, CA.

Featured Work

Cinematic Nihilism: Encounters, Confrontations, Overcomings

2017
Cinematic Nihilism book cover

Exposing and illustrating how an ongoing engagement with nihilistic alienation may contribute to, rather than detract from, the value of life, Cinematic Nihilism both challenges and builds upon past scholarship that has scrutinised nihilism in the media, but which has generally over-emphasised its negative and destructive aspects. Through case studies of popular films, including Prometheus, The Dark Knight Rises, Dawn of the Dead and The Human Centipede, and with chapters on Scotland’s cinematic portrayal as both a site of ‘nihilistic sacrifice’ and as ‘nowhere in particular’, this book presents a necessary corrective, re-emphasising the constructive potential of cinematic nihilism and casting it as a phenomenon that need not be overcome.

Other Works

  • The Nihilist: A Philosophical Novel

    2015

  • The Path of Philosophy: Truth, Wonder, and Distress

    2011

  • Fear, Cultural Anxiety, and Transformation: Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy Films Remade

    2009

  • Laughing at Nothing: Humor as a Response to Nihilism

    2003

  • The Nihilist's Notebook

    1996

Awards and Recognition

  • SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities
  • NEH Fellow

Press and Media Mentions