Two kinds of Nihilism

Routledge eBooks, 2020

This book offers a philosophical defence of nihilism. The authors argue that the concept of nihilism has been employed pejoratively by almost all philosophers and religious leaders to indicate a widespread cultural crisis of truth, meaning, or morals. Many religious believers think atheism leads to moral chaos (because it leads to nihilism), and atheists typically insist that we can make life meaningful through our own actions (thereby avoiding nihilism). In this way, both sides conflate the cosmic sense of meaning at stake with a social sense of meaning. This book charts a third course between extremist and alarmist views of nihilism. It casts doubt on the assumption that nihilism is something to fear, or a problem which human culture should overcome by way of seeking, discovering, or making meaning. In this way, the authors believe that a revised understanding of nihilism can help remove a significant barrier of misunderstanding between religious believers and atheists. A Defence of Nihilism will be of interest to scholars and students in philosophy, religion, and other disciplines who are interested in questions surrounding the meaning of life.

2016

The metaphysical essence of nihilism embodies a radical devaluing of reality and a depreciation of life in being ontologically fixated on non-being and at times appealing to positivistic scientism to flatten existence and grasp it simply as perishable. A materialistic take on worldly affairs could also potentially naturalize the concrete and pragmatic political and economic exercising of violence and actualize the unfolding of its will to power. Although religion posits its own variegated values in celebration of nature, life, and humanity as signs of divine creation, some of its interpretations of divinity and scripture could potentially downgrade the worthiness of our sensory and temporary being-in-the-world by only valuing a belief in the supra-sensible and otherworldly transcendence that underpins it. Such penchant in religiosity if left unmonitored spiritually and theologically might result in the praxis of bellicosity rather than contribute to pacifying or overcoming aggressio...

Nihilism The topic of my paper is Nihilism. The paper begins with the definition of nihilism then the history of nihilism. Then I have discussed active and passive nihilism. It proceeds with Nietzschès views on nihilism followed by Heidegger`s views on Nietzschè s nihilism. In the end I have discussed existentialism and nihilism followed by the conclusion of my paper. Nihilismisthebeliefthatallvaluesarebaselessandthatnothingcanbeknownorcommunicated.Itisoftenassociatedwithextremepessimismandaradicalskepticismthatcondemnsexistence.Atruenihilistwouldbelieveinnothing,havenoloyalties,andnopurposeotherthan,perhaps,animpulsetodestroy.Whilefewphilosopherswouldclaimtobenihilists,nihilismismostoftenassociatedwithFriedrichNietzschewhoarguedthatitscorrosiveeffectswouldeventuallydestroyallmoral,religious,andmetaphysicalconvictionsandprecipitatethegreatestcrisisinhumanhistory.Inthe20thcentury,nihilisticthemes-epistemologicalfailure,valuedestruction,andcosmicpurposelessness-havepreoccupiedartists,socialcritics,andphilosophers.Mid-century,forexample,theexistentialistshelpedpopularizetenetsofnihilismintheirattemptstobluntitsdestructivepotential.Bytheendofthecentury,existentialdespairasaresponsetonihilismgavewaytoanattitudeofindifference,oftenassociatedwithantifoundationalism.

The problem of nihilism has plagued individuals, philosophers, and wider society throughout history. Nihilism is most understood as the process in which our beliefs and values become meaningless or devoid of value. The rise of Nihilism can be traced to the nineteenth century when scientific advancement and societal shifts away from religion caused people to become sceptical of the religious paradigm which grounded their society. Friedrich Nietzsche most famously alerted the world to the problem of Nihilism stating that 'God is Dead'. Nietzsche ignited and revolutionised the study of Nihilism, influencing future discourse on nihilism. However, Nietzsche's solutions to the problem of nihilism fall short of providing a valuable way to combat these nihilistic tendencies. Nietzsche works influenced many of the existential and existentialist works in the twentieth century. One of these existentialist writers is Jean-Paul Sartre, who clearly defined existentialism, stating that 'existence precedes essence'. Satrean existentialism provides an answer to the nihilistic problem by giving the reader a positive outlook on life by expressing their 'radical freedom'. Unlike Nietzsche, Sartre advocates for personal responsibility and freedom. Like Nietzsche, Albert Camus did not consider himself an existentialist, but his works are existential in nature, and deal with many similar themes to Sartre. Camus focuses on the absurdity of life and stresses the importance of living in the physical world. In his famous works, 'The Myth of Sisyphus' and 'The Stranger' Camus presents his characters as Absurd heroes. Unlike Sartre, Camus focuses on one's absurd existence and suggests that trying to give it meaning is akin to 'philosophical suicide'. This dissertation argues that taking an existential position towards the problem of nihilism proves a valuable way to navigate the world and avoid the threats of nihilism presented by Nietzsche.

2008

Studium - Il nichilismo contemporaneo. Eredità, trasformazioni, problemi aperti, 2023

"The Politics of Nihilism: From the Nineteenth Century to Contemporary Israel", 2014

The phenomenon of nihilism becomes most apparent during times of cultural upheaval and change because it is during these periods when the legitimacy and desirability of the collective values and aspirations of a people are most likely to be thrown into question. During such periods, individuals may lose the strength of their taken for granted and unquestioned confidence in the socially sanctioned activities and undertakings encouraged and advocated by civilization. The shattering of this confidence may encourage meditation by individuals on the criteria by which valuable things in general are judged. When this occurs, a period of reflective reorientation and crisis is ushered in, and the individual is called to re-evaluate the highest values of civilization in light of the most unconditioned, absolute and categorical standards of worth. Thus, nihilism, though often emerging from the painful and tumultuous confusion of cultural upheaval, never-the-less announces itself as more than a simple threat. It also ushers in a period of crisis, and thus opens up the opportunity for action and the re-evaluation of values. Whereas authors such as Zerzan commonly emphasize the passive and despairing side of nihilism, what I would like to do here, rather, is to underscore its active and rejuvenating powers.

Unlearning Nihilism Conference / Joint Event of Royal Holloway's Centre for Continental Philosophy and The New Centre for Research & Practice / Senate House Library, 2022

Ø Call for Papers The term “nihilism” has received conflicting definitions throughout the history of modern European thought. Its first appearance is in Jacobi’s pessimism, where it is considered to be the inevitable consequence of German idealism and is defined as a horrific loss of meaning and reality. In contrast, Russian revolutionaries, feminists and anarchists found the meaning of nihilism not only in the recognition of the meaninglessness of the established powers, but above all in acts conducive to revolution. Later, many continental philosophers — following Nietzsche — understood nihilism as the establishment of values superior to and hostile to life, and hence the overcoming of nihilism became a basis for a radical critique of metaphysics and power. Today, however, while currents such as new materialism, speculative realism, afro-pessimism, non-philosophy, and neo-rationalism have retained these objectives, nihilism has either been cast to the wayside or provocatively embraced with inspiration from neurobiology, pragmatism, and analytic philosophy. Nihilism can thus be conceived of as one of the inflexion points from which the continental and its beyond are to be articulated as distinct discourses. This conference will be a space to discuss, learn and unlearn how numerous manifestations of nihilism have been addressed throughout the history of philosophy. With that being said, nihilism has always been a theme that has taken on not only conceptual but also artistic and cultural forms, a theme underlying the theory and practice of the sciences and a theme present in political, spiritual, and theological thought. Hence, by bringing together various metaphysical, aesthetical, epistemological and western and non-western theoretical perspectives, this conference is also an attempt to think about conflicting narratives of the renunciation and embrace of nihilism as a problem across disciplines. We invite proposals for 20-minute paper presentations from researchers, scholars and practitioners working in different fields, using different interpretations of nihilism. Contributions can respond to the following themes, but also to many others: • Historical and comparative studies in nihilism (ancient and medieval philosophy, German idealism, Nietzsche, existentialism, hermeneutics, deconstruction) • Lived experience and nihilism (phenomenology of the body, spiritual techniques, Eros and Thanatos, psychoanalysis) • Nihilism in sociology, human geography, anthropology and other social sciences •Political philosophy and nihilism (anarchism, feminism, post-Marxist thought, capitalist realism, real abstraction, foundations of community, value of life, bio-politics, resistance and revolution, queer theory) • Nihilism, theology, and Eastern philosophy (Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, yogic and other perspectives on creation, being and nothingness) • Post-continental thought and nihilism (new materialism, speculative realism, object-oriented ontology, accelerationism, afro-pessimism, non-philosophy, neo-rationalism) • Scientific theory, epistemology and nihilism (scepticism, scientific realism, information theory, cognitive sciences) • Aesthetics and nihilism (existentialist and Russian literature, decadence and the arts) • Analytic approaches (defining nihilism, nihilistic consequences of the pluralisation of logic)

Nietzsche and Iqbal on Nihilism and Religion , 2024

Both Nietzsche and Iqbal have made a philosophical and critical analysis of the role of religion in human life. Nietzsche, in his critique of religion, has declared religion as one of the important factors of nihilism; hence, to successfully counter nihilism, he has suggested the total abolition of religion and the rejection of all sorts of religious beliefs. Iqbal's critique of religion, on the other hand, was not an attempt to reject religion in totality, by considering it to be a responsible factor of nihilism, for he thought, that it is not a religion in itself which leads society towards nihilism, instead, it is human's incorrect interpretation of religion, that can plunge the world into nihilism. This paper attempts to make a comparative analysis of Nietzsche's and Iqbal's critical approaches toward religion, by arguing that, though both Nietzsche and Iqbal were critics of religion, however, the nature of their criticism was different. Nietzsche thought that the very nature of religion is that it causes nihilism in the world; hence, he suggested that, to avoid this undesirable destiny, mankind should abandon its faith in religion. Whereas for Iqbal, religion in itself does not cause nihilism, instead the fault is rooted in human interpretation. Since religion, according to him, provides a metaphysical anchorage to humanity; therefore, instead of discarding religion, humans should reinterpret and reconstruct religious thought in the light of contemporary knowledge, by avoiding such interpretations of religion, that can and do lead the world toward nihilism.