Interesting exploration, I wonder how to measure the frequency and impact of such daydreams. I share some of them, but recognize the escapist nature—it doesn’t impact my activities any more than, say, reading fiction or watching entertainment (which is to say—non-zero impact, but not central to my beliefs).
I don’t agree with your thesis about the CAUSE of such fantasies being pleasant. Some of it is a relief of responsibility—in an apocalypse, it’s not your FAULT that people are suffering and dying. You can’t do anything meaningful for them, so you don’t have to feel bad for not doing so. But, somewhat contradictory to that, it’s also attractive because in the fantasies the protagonist is much more clearly the major heroic agent of the story/world. EVERYONE ELSE is either evil or non-agentic. This satisfies a deep desire to be important.
All such fantasies seem to be “personal success in the face of an apocalypse”, not “actual suffering and death along with everything you love” style of apocalypse.
While the zombie apocalypse is popular, I’d say an asteroid strike/supervolcano/other no-fault apocalypses convey a similar sense of relief.
That being said, I do strongly agree with the “heroic fantasy” angle.
I don’t agree with your thesis about the CAUSE of such fantasies being pleasant.
I’m not sure I’d characterize the relief as pleasant, at least not in a positive sense. It’s a removal of bad things (stressors), not an addition of good things. The cause of said fantasies is a desire to avoid feeling one’s current burdens, by imagining a situation in which they don’t exist.
I share your disagreement with the original author as to the cause of the relief. For me, I find the modern day and age very confusing and difficult to measure one’s value to society. Any great idea you can think of, probably someone else has thought of it, and you have little chance to be important. In a zombie apocalypse, instead of thinking how to out-compete your fellow man with some amazing invention, you fall back to survival. Important things in this world, like foraging for food, fending off zombies, etc, have quicker reward, and it’s easier in some sense to do what’s right. Even if you’re not the best at it, surely you can be a great worker, and there’s little uncertainty that you’re not doing more harm than good… just don’t be stupid and call the horde. Sure, sometimes people do horrible things for survival, but if you want to be the hero, the choice is much clearer.
Interesting exploration, I wonder how to measure the frequency and impact of such daydreams. I share some of them, but recognize the escapist nature—it doesn’t impact my activities any more than, say, reading fiction or watching entertainment (which is to say—non-zero impact, but not central to my beliefs).
I don’t agree with your thesis about the CAUSE of such fantasies being pleasant. Some of it is a relief of responsibility—in an apocalypse, it’s not your FAULT that people are suffering and dying. You can’t do anything meaningful for them, so you don’t have to feel bad for not doing so. But, somewhat contradictory to that, it’s also attractive because in the fantasies the protagonist is much more clearly the major heroic agent of the story/world. EVERYONE ELSE is either evil or non-agentic. This satisfies a deep desire to be important.
All such fantasies seem to be “personal success in the face of an apocalypse”, not “actual suffering and death along with everything you love” style of apocalypse.
While the zombie apocalypse is popular, I’d say an asteroid strike/supervolcano/other no-fault apocalypses convey a similar sense of relief.
That being said, I do strongly agree with the “heroic fantasy” angle.
I’m not sure I’d characterize the relief as pleasant, at least not in a positive sense. It’s a removal of bad things (stressors), not an addition of good things. The cause of said fantasies is a desire to avoid feeling one’s current burdens, by imagining a situation in which they don’t exist.
I share your disagreement with the original author as to the cause of the relief. For me, I find the modern day and age very confusing and difficult to measure one’s value to society. Any great idea you can think of, probably someone else has thought of it, and you have little chance to be important. In a zombie apocalypse, instead of thinking how to out-compete your fellow man with some amazing invention, you fall back to survival. Important things in this world, like foraging for food, fending off zombies, etc, have quicker reward, and it’s easier in some sense to do what’s right. Even if you’re not the best at it, surely you can be a great worker, and there’s little uncertainty that you’re not doing more harm than good… just don’t be stupid and call the horde. Sure, sometimes people do horrible things for survival, but if you want to be the hero, the choice is much clearer.