The Darkness of Reason

A fascinating journey through the cultural history of fear

From the oracles of ancient Greece to the monsters of contemporary culture, The Darkness of Reason offers an original exploration of the history of fear and its many manifestations across time. Inspired by Goya’s famous print The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, Marcos Fernández argues that reason does not eradicate human fears; instead, it shapes, amplifies, and gives rise to new ones. Fear thus emerges as a historical constant running through religions, mythologies, folklore, and superstition, and continues to shape how we relate to the world today.

Structured in three parts, the book traces the evolution of fear in Western culture: from Greek divination and Roman augury, through medieval superstition and the supernatural imagination surrounding witches and demons, to the transformation of the monster in modernity and postmodernity, explored through horror cinema, literature, and video games. With scholarly rigor and an evocative narrative voice, Fernández brings together history, anthropology, art, and philosophy to reveal how each era has given form to its deepest anxieties.

In the tradition of thinkers such as Claude Lévi-Strauss and Marvin Harris, this young author invites readers to see fear not as a weakness, but as a fundamental lens through which to understand both our culture and our present moment.