Rust Cohle: I'd consider myself a realist, alright? But in philosophical terms I'm what's called a pessimist.

Marty Hart: Okay, what's that mean?

Rust Cohle: It means I'm bad at parties.

Marty Hart: Let me tell you, you ain't great outside of parties either.

Rust Cohle: I think human consciousness is a tragic misstep in evolution. We became too self-aware. Nature created an aspect of nature separate from itself. We are creatures that should not exist by natural law. We are things that labor under the illusion of having a self, this accretion of sensory experience and feelings, programmed with total assurance that we are each somebody, when in fact everybody's nobody. I think the honorable thing for our species to do is to deny our programming. Stop reproducing. Walk hand in hand into extinction. One last midnight, brothers and sisters opting out of a raw deal.

Marty Hart: So what's the point of getting out of bed in the morning?

Rust Cohle: I tell myself I bear witness, but the real answer is that it's obviously my programming. And I lack the constitution for suicide.