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Nihilism

August 17, 2004

I've been busy working with my homework and have had very little time to post. A long time ago I started a category called Religion & Worldviews where I posted some info about different religions, cults, and worldviews. While I only posted a little information about each thing, there were always a lot of insightful thoughts and facts brought out about these cults and religions in the comment section. I think I am going to try this again, especially since I just finished writing apologetic reports for 19 different religions and cults.

Today I will start with Nihilism. Remember this is not a comprehensive study, but simply a short review. I am open to any thoughts or comments about the subject.

History:
"Nihilism" comes from the Latin nihil, or nothing, which means not anything, that which does not exist. It appears in the verb "annihilate," meaning to bring to nothing, to destroy completely. Nihilism is most often associated with Friedrich Nietzsche who argued that its corrosive effects would eventually destroy all moral, religious, and metaphysical convictions and precipitate the greatest crisis in human history. Early in the nineteenth century, Friedrich Jacobi used the word to negatively characterize transcendental idealism. It only became popularized, however, after its appearance in Ivan Turgenev's novel Fathers and Sons (1862) where he used "nihilism" to describe the crude scientism espoused by his character Bazarov who preaches a creed of total negation. The earliest philosophical positions associated with what could be characterized as a nihilistic outlook are those of the Skeptics. Because they denied the possibility of certainty, Skeptics could denounce traditional truths as unjustifiable opinions.

Belief:
Nihilism is the belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated. It is often associated with extreme pessimism and a radical skepticism that condemns existence. A true nihilist would believe in nothing, have no loyalties, and no purpose other than, perhaps, an impulse to destroy. Nihilism holds that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded and without truth. Nihilists usually deny that there is any intrinsic value or meaning in human life. Many believe that the prevailing values of their society are so bad that it would be best to destroy them.

Belief about God: If God exists, He cannot be known or communicated to us.

Belief about Life: There is no intrinsic value or meaning in human life.

Values: All values are baseless and worthless because they cannot be known.

There is my quick overview. Now it's your turn. Hit me with more thoughts and facts about Nihilism!

Pressed

Comments

Posted by: Doug
August 18, 2004 12:42 PM

Gee, are there any Nihilists around any longer or have they all committed suicide?

Posted by: PenguinBoy
August 18, 2004 06:57 PM

Thanks for the post, Craig. I love hearing about other religions!

Posted by: Christopher
August 18, 2004 09:21 PM

PenguinBoy, I think we will be hearing more about other religions in the near future.

Posted by: Pressed
August 19, 2004 09:37 AM

Your welcome. However, Nihilism is more of a phylosophy or worldview than it is a religion. And Christopher is correct, plenty more where that one came from

Posted by: zach
August 23, 2004 11:16 PM

If you want to learn more about modern nihilism, and the way that I a nihilist, feel about the philosophy, go to www.nihil.org.
While nihilism is complete negation of any moral set, that does not mean that you have to be a cold uncaring person to be a nihilist. In fact, I am quite the opposite. All systems are defunct because they fail and they cause hurt to those involved. I believe that most true nihilsts are very feeling and very aware of the value of the human soul.

Posted by: rza
October 27, 2004 07:58 PM

Nihilism of the Nietzsche variety is more about ignoring what other believe (specifically Christian values) and holding personal values that will lead to self improvement to become an ‘OVERMAN’.

IMO after reading some of "Thus Spake," and checking the web. I still have three parts left to read though...

Posted by: uruajax
May 2, 2005 04:04 PM

nihilism is not quite so easily quantified. as a nihilist, I beleive that there is indeed, no inherant value or purpose to life, that is the beginning, that is a microsom of what is. what is, is potential. any meaning or purpose is created by the individual, or as we know, most people choose to give up their mental freedom and shackle themselves to preperscribed beleifs, meanings set in ancient times by backwards people, purposes set by fanatics, mostly based in fear. Neitszche said, and I paraphrase, " suspend your own values over your own head, enforce your own laws".