Nihilism believes all values are worthless and life has no meaning. Skepticism can help consider all views without bias, while cynicism today views people as purely self-interested. Nihilism rejects all religious and moral principles as having no objective truth.
While nihilism is often discussed in terms of extreme skepticism and relativism, for most of the 20th century it has been associated with the belief that life is meaningless. Existential nihilism begins with the notion that the world is without meaning or purpose.
Existential nihilism is the philosophical theory that life has no objective meaning or purpose. The inherent meaninglessness of life is largely explored in the philosophical school of existentialism, where one can potentially create their own subjective "meaning" or "purpose".
Nihilists think life is meaningless, but that doesn't mean they think it's not worth living. Many nihilists enjoy their lives and find ways to create meaning.
Therefore, we can avoid temporal nihilism. The nihilist's worry is that after death we won't be 'there' for anything to have value for us. It will be as if we had never existed at all.
Is life meaningless? And other absurd questions - Nina Medvinskaya
Does nihilism reject God?
Nihilism states that there is no sustainer, such as God, of lasting purpose, meaning, or hope for human life, even if humans create their own transitory purpose, meaning, or hope.
Marcelo Meneses puts it nicely, he says, nihilism as a "philosophy tends to be depressing, so for those who believe it, there is a more positive alternative. It's called Optimistic Nihilism, or Existential Nihilism. Since there is no imposed purpose, we get to choose our own.
Being a nihilist or having nihilist thoughts isn't a negative thing. As detailed above, many nihilist theories say that it is up to the individual to create their own meaning.
A nihilist could believe in love or any other value, provided that it was a value they themselves chose, and with the recognition that that value is not valid for anyone else. A true nihilist would also be free to discard this value at will, for whatever reason they personally chose.
Nihilistic delusions, also known as délires de négation, are specific psychopathological entities characterized by the delusional belief of being dead, decomposed or annihilated, having lost one's own internal organs or even not existing entirely as a human being.
Yes, it is possible for a person to adopt a completely nihilistic worldview. Nihilism is the philosophical belief that life lacks inherent meaning, value, or purpose. A person who is completely nihilistic may reject all religious, moral, and societal values, believing that existence is ultimately meaningless.
Acceptance. Acceptance of both meaninglessness and meaningfulness is the way out of nihilism, and into the complete stance. One has to fully allow the emotional loss that comes with the collapse of eternalism.
Thus, life itself is totally, inherently meaningless when measured against the vastness of the universe and space and time. We live, we struggle and we die, with the same ``meaning'' as an ant or a single cell organism.
Nihilism, the philosophical belief that life lacks inherent meaning, value, or purpose, can have several downsides: Emotional Distress: Embracing nihilism can lead to feelings of despair, hopelessness, and anxiety. The belief that nothing matters can be overwhelming and may contribute to depression.
According to Jonna Bornemark, "the paradox of nihilism is the choice to continue one's own life while at the same time stating that it is not worth more than any other life".
The Nihilist perspective is just that there is no objective purpose to the universe and humanity. That doesn't stop you from making your own meaning and forging your own purpose. A Nihilist can still love, still have joy, and experience the things that make life worth living.
If everything is meaningless, then it is meaningless that everything is meaningless, not awful, and there is no problem. In practice, however, the nihilistic stance is usually accompanied by intense negative emotions, including depression, sometimes with suicidal feelings.
What is happy nihilism? “Happy nihilists” generally advocate some stance that is neither eternalism nor nihilism in the usual sense. Often, they suggest the subjective choice of one's own meanings, which is existentialism, not nihilism.
A nihilist not only rejects the idea of God, but also rejects any sort of moral code. The only thing you can say about any atheist with any certainty, is that they do not believe there is a God. One atheist does not necessarily have anything in common with any other atheist other than their lack of belief in a God.
Friedrich Nietzsche is widely associated with Nihilism. Notable literary figures have been using existential nihilism in their works since the beginning of the theory and include: William Shakespeare, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Albert Camus, Samuel Beckett, and Chuck Palahniuk.
Optimistic nihilism doesn't have to be selfish. It only says that as there's no objective meaning to life, so you need to create your own meaning, and trying to improve the world or your community can be that meaning. There's no selfishness in that.
Optimistic nihilism is not just incoherent; it's a dangerous form of social contagion. Take it from an ex-nihilist and survivor—a meaningless life is nothing to be optimistic about, and those who expound such a belief system are simply doing even more damage to a culture that is already sick from lack of purpose."
Being an extreme pessimist would be so depressing, while you can still find meaning as a nihilist… I believe that even though nothing I do matters or has any significant effect, I can still do things I like and live the was I want, and even if it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, at least it matters to me.