Joyce Carol Oates, known as the "female Faulkner" in contemporary American literary circles, is not only an outstanding psychological realist but also a prominent literary critic. Oates holds the belief that history is tragic, and that a serious writer should take the complexity of the world as his or her creative object. In her tragic work, by describing individuals’ suffering in modern western society, Oates shows her deep concern for the fate of humanity, thus reflecting the tragic vision deep in her thinking. With a view to revealing the philosophical origin of Oates’ s tragic vision, this essay first gives an introduction to the concept of "tragic vision," and then, through the analysis of the philosophical viewpoints of Pascal,Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Thoreau, and D. H. Lawrence as well as Oates’ s own artistic vision and tragic writing practices, explores the profound influences of western cultural tradition on the consciousness of suffering, resistance and transcendence in Oates’ s creating thoughts.