Zapffe's work can be seen as a critique of traditional philosophical and religious systems, which he argues have failed to provide adequate responses to the human predicament. His ideas resonate with existentialist and absurdist thought, and can be seen as a kind of philosophical cousin to the works of Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre. However, Zapffe's distinctive voice and perspective set him apart from these thinkers, and his work offers a unique contribution to the philosophical conversation.

Zapffe argues that these problems are inherent to the human condition and that they cannot be resolved through conventional means, such as religious or ideological constructs. Instead, he advocates for a radical acceptance of the tragic, which he sees as the only authentic response to the human predicament.

By providing this additional context, readers can gain a deeper understanding of Zapffe's ideas and their significance in the broader philosophical landscape. Overall, "The Last Messiah" is a work that rewards close reading and reflection, and it is sure to be a valuable resource for readers who are interested in exploring the complexities of human existence.

For Zapffe, the tragic refers to the fundamental conflict between humanity's desire for meaning and the apparent meaninglessness of the world. This conflict gives rise to a sense of existential despair, which Zapffe sees as the default state of human existence. However, rather than advocating for a rejection of this despair, Zapffe argues that we should acknowledge and even affirm it, as it is a fundamental aspect of the human experience.

He didn't just argue that life is hard; he argued that . Zapffe’s central thesis, first presented in his 1933 doctoral dissertation On the Tragic , posits that human beings possess a level of self-awareness that nature never intended. We can see ourselves in time (past and future), we can conceptualize our own death, and we can imagine a universe that is utterly indifferent to our suffering.

At the heart of Zapffe’s thought is the idea that human consciousness has outpaced its biological utility. While other animals live in a state of immediate presence, humans are burdened by the ability to look backward into the past and forward into an inevitable death.

His thoughts on the human condition were first fully expressed in a 1933 essay, "The Last Messiah" ("Den sidste Messias"), which serves as a concise summary of the later, more rigorous work. It is in On the Tragic , his doctoral thesis, where Zapffe builds a systematic "biosophical" theory—an existential philosophy applying the methods of biology—to dissect the origins and nature of human tragedy.

"Know yourselves — be infertile and let the earth be silent after you."