cosmicist

A cosmicist is a person who subscribes to cosmicism, a literary and philosophical worldview most closely associated with American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Cosmicism asserts that humanity is vanishingly small within an indifferent cosmos and that the true nature of the universe lies beyond human understanding. In this view, the universe is ancient, vast, and often hostile or indifferent to human concerns, and scientific or philosophical systems typically reveal limits rather than ultimate truths. The term "cosmicist" is used to describe adherents or interpreters of these ideas, as well as characters in fiction who embody the perspective.

Origin and development: The label emerged in the early 20th century in connection with Lovecraft's writings and his discussions of "cosmicism" as a counterpoint to anthropocentric worldviews. The philosophy emphasizes that humanity is not the center of reality and that there may exist oblivious or incomprehensible cosmic entities, such as the fictional Great Old Ones, whose existence dwarfs human civilization.

Literary context: Cosmicism is most prominently expressed in Lovecraft's tales, though later authors have expanded on its themes. It distinguishes itself from traditional horror by foregrounding epistemic uncertainty—the idea that human senses and science cannot reliably reveal ultimate truths about the cosmos.

Usage and scope: In modern discourse, "cosmicist" can describe someone who studies or advocates cosmicism, or a fictional character who embodies it. It is not a scientific field but a literary-philosophical stance about humanity's place in the universe.