Being Truly Wrong: Enlightened Nihilism or Unbound Naturalism

Open Philosophy, 2023

This essay confronts Ray Brassier's vindication of nihilism with other two important but frequently underexamined philosophical attempts to overcome nihilism: Hans Jonas' and Keiji Nishitani's. By putting these different takes on nihilism into dialogue, it explores some blind spots in Brassier's position, as well as some of the practical consequences, for our current planetary situation, of undertaking a radical divorce between the normative and the natural that results from his radical nihilism. The article opts for a more moderate acceptance and eventual self-overcoming of nihilism, according to which, even if natural entities are indifferent to human reasons and meanings, this does not entail that nature is bereft of a human-independent normative dimension. In other words, the essay argues that care must be taken not to confuse criticisms of an anthropocentric conception of reasons and meanings with the belief that meaning is completely absent from the natural world. Thus, the central contention of the article is that, given our current climate and ecological catastrophe, one of the most pressing tasks of contemporary philosophy is to understand normativity in non-anthropocentric ways, so that humans are no longer considered as the only entities that respond to normativity. Such an attitude conceives humans as estranged normative creatures amidst a meaningless, indifferent natural world, toward which they would have no ethical responsibilities. The essay finishes by suggesting ways in which to develop an account that does not fall into this ethical vacuum.

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)

Res Cogitans, 2012

This paper seeks to frame the proper place for the empirical phenomenon of human meaning in the scientifically disenchanted world described by Ray Brassier. I embrace Brassier's statement that "Nihilism is not an existential quandary but a speculative opportunity" but disagree with his injunction that human meaning is unimportant. Meaning should be an object of philosophy insofar as we are biologically bound to experiencing the world in a meaningful way. Brassier's work is exciting for its application of rigorous analytic techniques to continental discourse, in a manner that makes contributions to both metaphysics and philosophy of science. Philosophers would do well do desist from issuing any further injunctions to re-establish the meaningfulness of existence, the purposefulness of life, or mend the shattered concord between man and nature. Philosophy should be more than a sop to the pathetic twinge of human self-esteem. Nihilism is not an existential quandary but a speculative opportunity.

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.

Consciousness, Truth, and the Overcoming of Nihilism Emergent Human and Cosmic Holism, 2023

Relativism, nihilism, skepticism, and deconstructionism all share doubt about the existence of truth and the ability of human beings to actualize the truth. Today these forces remain very powerful and are destructive of human civilization. Complete repudiation of truth is very different from the reasonable skeptical stance that is fundamental to the pursuit of truth. Together these extreme positions represent nihilism: the will to destruction, to nothingness, to death and the negation of life: "if nothing is true, then everything is permitted." These attitudes

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.

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

2016

The discourse on nihilism in the German-speaking world continues to take its orientation primarily from Friedrich Nietzsche's understanding of nihilism as a historical movement of the decline of values. This means that the aspects of nihilism that are not tied to specific epochs and cultures are not accorded due importance (I). In order to make a reappraisal of nihilism that does justice to these objective contents, I will present a classification of types of nihilism and of arguments that support it. The discussion of the typology of the principal meanings of nihilism points to a loss in relevance of conceptions that take their orientation from Nietzsche (II). The discussion of the arguments testifies to the importance of objective knowledge in the justification of nihilism (III).

Vittorio Possenti, Nihilism and Metaphysics: The Third Voyage, trans. Daniel B. Gallagher with foreword by Brian Schroeder. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2014.

The phenomenon of nihilism casts a troublesome shadow across modern society and culture. The idea was introduced by Nietzsche and concerns the loss of meaning in a world without God. Among other things, it leaves us with the problem of moral relativism and complexities regarding the judgment of good and evil. Nihilism has been treated by a whole range of thinkers across many fields, most notably in cultural studies, theology, philosophy and ethics. Towards Ethical Nihilism involves the search for a hopeful moment within the otherwise bleak expanse of Nietzschean nihilism. This book shows how Nietzsche can be read against the grain and counters the general view of nihilism as without hope. An exploration is made of the framework provided by Nietzsche’s nihilism and its development in the work of Foucault with the aim of articulating a theory of ethical nihilism. This theory is an attempt to deal with the great challenge posed by nihilism to philosophical conceptions of morality and ethics, and represents an original contribution made by the author.