Dark resonance: On the possibility of resonance with death

Abstract

The concept of resonance, introduced by Hartmut Rosa, denotes a vital relationship to the world and offers a starting point for discussing meaningfulness in peoples’ lives by serving as an antithesis to alienation. An unexplored aspect of the concept is the potential for resonance with death, which Rosa dismisses as an impossibility. This article challenges this view by introducing the term dark resonance, based on the ‘dark turn’ in the philosophy of nature. Dark resonance comes in (at least) two variants, both implying a transcendence of the self: (1) as reunion, an implosion of the self and an inwards movement, and (2) as release, an explosion of the self and an outwards movement. For both variants, the borders between self and environment and between life and death, becomes fuzzy, which also challenges the idea that resonance demands an experiencing subject. These variants are explored through examples from black metal, palliative care and near-death experiences. An implication is that we may need to broaden the scope of what can be seen as desirable ways of connecting to the world and acknowledge that there is potential for resonance also in dark thoughts, or, in some cases, even in death.