The Most Dangerous Idea in History | Nihilism
Summary
TLDRDieses Video skizziert eine Analyse des Nihilismus, einer vielschichtigen philosophischen Haltung, die sich durch Ablehnung von Werten auszeichnet. Es unterscheidet verschiedene Formen des Nihilismus, wie totalen, moralischen und konventionellen, und diskutiert ihren praktischen und theoretischen Aspekten. Die Besonderheit liegt in der Betrachtung, dass Nihilismus nicht als eine einheitliche Philosophie, sondern als eine Sammlung von Ideen verstanden werden sollte, die durch die Ablehnung von Werten verbunden sind. Das Video bietet auch einen Einblick in existenzielle Krisen und wie man mit ihnen umgeht, indem man entweder den Wertangebot erhöht oder die Nachfrage nach Wert reduziert.
Takeaways
- 😶 Das Absurde entsteht aus dem Zusammentreffen zwischen dem menschlichen Bedürfnis nach Bedeutung und dem anscheinend sinnlosen Universum.
- 🔍 Die Frage nach dem Sinn des Lebens und wie man es bewältigen kann, wenn es keinen Sinn gibt, ist ein zentrales Thema in der Philosophie.
- 🌐 Anecdotally zeigt sich, dass immer mehr Menschen die Suche nach einem Sinn des Lebens aufgeben und sich zu Nihilisten bekennen.
- 🤔 Der Begriff Nihilismus wirft viele Fragen auf, aber es wird selten analysiert, was er bedeutet oder welche Theorie hinter ihm steht.
- 📚 Nihilismus ist ein komplexes Konzept, das tiefere Einblicke in die existenzielle Philosophie und das Thema des Sinns selbst offenbaren kann.
- 🌀 Es gibt verschiedene Formen des Nihilismus, darunter den totalen Nihilismus, den moralen Nihilismus und den konventionellen Nihilismus.
- 🧐 Der theoretische und praktische Aspekt des Nihilismus ist wichtig zu unterscheiden, da die Handlungen einer Person oft ihre wahren Überzeugungen preisgeben.
- 🤖 Einige Philosophen, wie Sartre und Nietzsche, lehnen zwar objektive Werte ab, lehnen sich jedoch nicht von Nihilismus ab, da sie neue Werte schaffen wollen.
- 👤 Es gibt einen Unterschied zwischen theoretischen und praktischen Nihilisten, wobei letztere in der Realität kaum existieren, da fast alle Menschen von etwas motiviert werden.
- 🌐 Nihilismus kann relativ sein und auf bestimmte Bereiche des Lebens angewendet werden, was bedeutet, dass jemand in Bezug auf einen Bereich ein Nihilist sein kann, während er in anderen Bereichen Werte anerkennt.
- 📊 Ein Nihilismus-Wert kann in einem zweidimensionalen Matrix-Diagramm visualisiert werden, um die theoretische und praktische Ausprägung zu zeigen.
Q & A
Was ist das Absurde und wie entsteht es?
-Das Absurde entsteht aus dem Zusammentreffen zwischen dem menschlichen Bedürfnis nach Bedeutung und der anscheinend bedeutungslosen Welt. Es stellt eine der zentralen Fragen der Philosophie dar, nämlich die Frage nach dem Sinn des Lebens und wie wir es bewältigen, wenn es keinen Sinn gibt.
Was ist Nihilismus und warum erschreckt er viele Philosophen?
-Nihilismus ist oft mit dem Ende der Zivilisation, dem Niedergang des Menschentums in Hoffnungslosigkeit und Verzweiflung und dem Antrieb zur Selbsttötung in Verbindung gebracht. Viele Philosophen sind jedoch skeptisch, weil sie Nihilismus für eine zu einfache Begründung halten, die tiefere Analysen verhindert.
Was versteht man unter einem 'totalen Nihilisten'?
-Ein totaler Nihilist ist jemand, der glaubt, dass nichts eine Bedeutung hat und dass jede Situation gleichwertig ist. Für ihn gibt es keinen Grund, eine Handlung vor der anderen zu bevorzugen oder eine Sache einer anderen vorzuziehen.
Wie unterscheidet man zwischen theoretischem und praktischem Totalnihilismus?
-Theoretischer Totalnihilismus bezieht sich auf jemanden, der die Behauptung aufstellt, dass keine Wertaussagen wahr sind, aber dies nicht in seinen Handlungen manifestiert. Praktischer Totalnihilismus beschreibt jemanden, der aufgrund seiner Überzeugung keine Handlungen mehr ausführt, da er keine Werturteile mehr als motivierend erachtet.
Was ist der Unterschied zwischen Moralnihilismus und Konventionennihilismus?
-Moralnihilismus bezieht sich auf die Ablehnung ethischer Bedeutungen und das Streben nach persönlichem Nutzen, unabhängig von den Kosten für andere. Konventionennihilismus hingegen ist die Ablehnung gesellschaftlicher Konventionen, die als willkürlich oder schädlich angesehen werden.
Wie definiert man 'Wert' in diesem Kontext?
-Im Kontext des Skripts wird 'Wert' als ultimative Handlungs- oder Präferenzgrundlage definiert. Es kann beispielsweise das Glück für Utilitaristen oder die Gottesdienst für Christen sein.
Was ist die Bedeutung von Pragmatismus in Bezug auf praktische Überzeugungen?
-Der Pragmatismus betont, dass Überzeugungen Dispositionen für Handeln sind. Charles Pierce, ein Vertreter des Pragmatismus, sagte, dass jede natürliche oder angeborene Überzeugung sich in natürlichen oder angeborenen Handlungsweisen manifestiert, die sie als Überzeugungsgewohnheit konstituieren.
Wie kann man Existenzkrisen mit Nihilismus in Verbindung bringen?
-Existenzkrisen können als Situationen betrachtet werden, in denen die Nachfrage nach Wert in Leben nicht durch die Versorgung gedeckt wird. Nihilismus kann auftreten, wenn ein Bereich des Lebens, der vorher Wert bot, nicht mehr als bedeutend erachtet wird.
Was sind die Dimensionen des Nihilismus, die im Skript beschrieben werden?
-Die Dimensionen des Nihilismus umfassen die Pluralität von Nihilismus, die Ablehnung von Wert in irgendeiner Form, die praktische Dimension, in der jemand von einer Idee nicht motiviert ist, und die Relativität von Nihilismus, die besagt, dass jemand nur dann Nihilist ist, wenn man spezifiziert, worüber er nihilistisch denkt.
Wie kann man Nihilismus in einem zweidimensionalen Matrix-Diagramm darstellen?
-Man kann Nihilismus in einem zweidimensionalen Matrix-Diagramm darstellen, wobei die x-Achse praktischen Nihilismus und die y-Achse theoretischen Nihilismus repräsentiert. Jemand, der sowohl praktisch als auch theoretisch nihilistisch ist, würde sich im oberen rechten Eck des Diagramms befinden.
Was ist die historische Kontext von Nihilismus?
-Der historische Kontext von Nihilismus stammt aus der Aufklärung, als das Wachstum des wissenschaftlichen Wissens zu einer ersten sinnvollen Vorstellung des Atheismus führte und dringende philosophische Probleme hervorrrief, wie der Sinn des Lebens ohne einen Schöpfer oder die Grundlage unseres moralischen Systems in säkularen Weisen zu verstehen.
Outlines
😖 Der Ursprung des Absurden
Dieses Kapitel beschäftigt sich mit dem Konzept des Absurden, das durch den Konflikt zwischen dem menschlichen Bedürfnis nach Bedeutung und der anscheinenden Bedeutungslosigkeit des Universums entsteht. Es stellt die Frage nach dem Sinn des Lebens und wie Menschen sich mit einer möglichen Nicht-Bedeutung auseinandersetzen. Der Begriff Nihilismus wird oft als Zeichen für Hoffnungslosigkeit und Verzweiflung interpretiert, doch die genaue Bedeutung von Nihilismus wird selten analysiert. Der Text bietet einen Überblick über verschiedene Formen von Nihilismus und betont die Komplexität des Themas, indem er verschiedene Philosophen und ihre Ansichten zum Nihilismus vorstellt.
🧐 Der Totale Nihilist
Dieser Abschnitt präsentiert den Totalen Nihilismus als eine extreme Form des Nihilismus, bei dem jegliche Bedeutung für alles als gleichwertig angesehen wird. Der Totale Nihilist leugnet jegliche Wertaussagen und sieht alle Handlungen als gleichwertig an. Der Text differenziert zwischen theoretischem und praktischem Nihilismus, wobei der theoretische Nihilist die Leugnung von Werten auf intellektueller Ebene vertritt, aber im praktischen Leben wie jeder andere handelt, während der praktische Nihilist keine Handlungen ausführt, da er keine Werte als motivierend erachtet. Der Abschnitt stellt auch fest, dass es kaum echte praktische Nihilisten gibt.
🤔 Der Pragmatische Nihilismus
In diesem Kapitel wird auf die pragmatische Perspektive des Glaubens eingegangen, wonach ein Glaube in der Regel in Handlungen zum Ausdruck kommt. Bezogen auf Nihilismus bedeutet dies, dass ein Mensch, der sich als Nihilist bezeichnet, möglicherweise in Wirklichkeit nicht als solcher handelt, wenn er bestimmte Handlungen ausführt. Der Text stellt auch fest, dass die meisten Menschen bestimmte Handlungen ausführen, die eine Art von praktischem Glauben an die Bedeutung von Dingen widerspiegeln, selbst wenn sie dies nicht immer bewusst erkennen.
😡 Der Morale Nihilismus
Der Abschnitt beschäftigt sich mit dem Moralennihilismus, einer Form des Nihilismus, bei der ethische Bedeutungen abgelehnt werden und stattdessen eigener Genuss verfolgt wird. Der Text unterscheidet wiederum zwischen theoretischem und praktischem Moralennihilismus und diskutiert Beispiele dafür, wie z.B. der Marquis de Sade und seine Charaktere, die ihre eigenen Freuden verfolgen, ohne Rücksicht auf andere. Es wird betont, dass theoretische Moralennihilisten wie J.L. Mackie moralische Aussagen für falsch halten, während praktische Moralennihilisten keine moralischen Überlegungen als motivierend erachten.
🤨 Der Konventionelle Nihilismus
Dieser Paragraph behandelt den Konventionellen Nihilismus, bei dem es um die Ablehnung einzelner gesellschaftlicher Konventionen geht, anstatt um die Ablehnung von Werten im Allgemeinen. Der Text stellt Beispiele wie den Philosophen Diogenes oder die russischen Nihilisten, die sich gegen bestimmte gesellschaftliche Konventionen wandten, ohne notwendigerweise moralische oder andere Werte zu leugnen. Es wird auch auf die Unterschiede zwischen theoretischem und praktischem Konventionellen Nihilismus eingegangen.
🤔 Die Dimensionen des Nihilismus
Schließlich fasst dieser Abschnitt die verschiedenen Aspekte des Nihilismus zusammen und versucht, ein präziseres Verständnis des Konzepts zu entwickeln. Es werden die historischen Wurzeln des Nihilismus, seine logischen und philosophischen Gemeinsamkeiten, die Pluralität von Nihilismus und die Relativität des Konzepts diskutiert. Der Text betont, dass Nihilismus in der Regel eine Ablehnung von Werten in irgendeiner Form ist und dass dies sowohl auf theoretischer als auch auf praktischer Ebene stattfinden kann. Es wird auch auf die Idee eingegangen, dass Nihilismus gradierbar ist und dass es hilfreich sein kann, bestimmte Formen von Nihilismus in bestimmten Lebensbereichen anzuwenden.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Nihilismus
💡Existenzialismus
💡Theoretische Nihilisten
💡Praktische Nihilisten
💡Moralischer Nihilismus
💡Konventioneller Nihilismus
💡Existenzialkrise
💡Pragmatismus
💡Wertrelativität
💡Existenzialphilosophie
Highlights
Absurdity arises from the human need for meaning conflicting with the universe's apparent meaninglessness.
Nihilism is often misunderstood, with its definition and implications rarely analyzed in depth.
The concept of 'total nihilism' is introduced, suggesting all situations are equivalent and valueless.
Value is defined as an ultimate reason for action or preference.
The difference between disbelief in objective value and disbelief in value entirely is discussed.
A theoretical total nihilist may not act in accordance with their belief in no value.
A practical total nihilist would be inert, unable to make conscious decisions due to the lack of perceived value.
The distinction between theoretical and practical nihilism is crucial for understanding the philosophy.
The American pragmatist tradition suggests that beliefs are dispositions for action.
Most people have practical beliefs that compel them to act, even if not consciously recognized.
The cultural image of a nihilist often aligns more with moral nihilism than total nihilism.
Moral nihilism involves the rejection of any ethical meaning, focusing on personal pleasure regardless of others' harm.
Theoretical moral nihilism is differentiated from practical moral nihilism, with implications for how one lives.
Conventional nihilism critiques and rejects societal conventions, not necessarily tied to moral or total nihilism.
Nihilism's plurality is highlighted, with different types varying significantly in their beliefs and behaviors.
Nihilism is analyzed through a two-dimensional matrix, differentiating between practical and theoretical aspects.
The concept of an existential crisis is related to a shortfall in life's value, with nihilism filling the gap.
Nihilism can be gradable and relative, with individuals valuing different aspects of life to varying extents.
The potential positive role of nihilism is considered, suggesting it can be helpful in certain contexts.
A more nuanced view of nihilism is proposed, aiming to bring clarity to philosophical discussions.
Transcripts
the Absurd is born of the encounter
between two opposed Concepts the human
need for meaning and the apparent
meaninglessness of the universe this
quote sums up what many people take to
be one of the key questions in
philosophy what is the meaning of life
and if there's no meaning how do we cope
with it anecdotally it seems like an
increasing number of people are giving
up on this search entirely it is a
common refrain to hear people say that
nothing really matters and to proudly
declare that they are nihilists this
word nihilism it sets philosophers teeth
on edge it is often thought to Herald
the end of civilizations the decline of
mankind into hopelessness and despair
and to drive Ordinary People to take
their own lives but for all of these
predictions of Doom and Gloom I very
rarely see people analyze what nihilism
means or give a theory of what it
constitutes because doing so is far from
easy and as we will see it is a complex
and multi-dimensional Beast wrapped in
deceptively simple clothing but delving
a little deeper can reveal greater
insights into existential philosophy and
the issue of meaning itself get ready to
learn why there are no total nihilists
how we might need a touch of nihilism
for a happy life and so much more before
we get started I want to emphasize that
this is just a sketch of a system that I
hope that others can build upon and
develop I'm not claiming that this is a
comprehensive analysis of nihilism but
rather a practical way of looking at the
philosophy that I find generally helpful
I'm going to begin by examining a few
different figures we normally associate
with the term nihilism before looking at
their shared properties to see if we can
extract a helpful practical definition
to use in our discussions but with that
out of the way let's get stuck in one
the total nihilist let's start by
examining what I take to be the most
extreme form of nihilism conceivable the
belief that nothing yes nothing actually
matters that is that every situation is
equivalent to any other if tomorrow the
Earth exploded or World Peace was
established or your whole family
vanished in a puff of smoke the total
nihilist says that these all have
equivalent value here there would be no
reason to do one thing over another or
prefer one thing or another having your
leg chopped off would be just as good as
life-saving surgery put simply the total
nihilist believes that all value
statements are false and thus that
everything that exists has exactly the
same value namely none this is
skepticism about value itself of course
value is also a notoriously difficult
term to pin down but for the purposes of
this discussion I will Define it as an
ultimate reason for action or preference
so for a utilitarian happiness is
valuable and for most Christians serving
God is valuable now I want to draw the
distinction here between disbelief in
objective value and disbelief in value
full stop someone like Jean Paul satra
or n held that if you examined the world
for Value facts you simply wouldn't find
any but they would both hate to be
described as nihilists they said we
could provide life or the world with
value ourselves in sra's case this could
be done through a combination of living
freely ethically and authentically and
for n it was achieved through the
philosophically creative act of
envisioning new values but as I see it
the most extreme form of nihilism would
reject even this I also want to touch
upon a distinction here that will become
very important later there are key
differences between what I would call a
theoretical total nihilist and a
practical total nihilist the theoretical
total nihilist is someone who would
affirm the proposition that no value
statements even subjective value
statements are true but nonetheless this
is not manifested in their actions they
live breathe eat and act just like the
rest of us to that extent their belief
in total nihilism would be mostly idle
they may internally believe that there
are no ultimate reasons for acting but
they do in fact act on some accounts of
belief this means that they don't really
believe in total nihilism at all but are
essentially pretending or deceiving
themselves in much the same way that if
I repeatedly told you that my camera was
broken and yet Contin to record videos
you would suspect that I did not
actually believe that my camera was
broken but was pretending for some
reason or was mistaken about the
contents of my belief on the other hand
the Practical total nihilist would be
someone who just does not act in any
conscious fashion they would rot away
unable to bring themselves to do
anything at all they would not wash
because they wouldn't value the state of
being clean even subjectively they would
not eat because they would not see the
value in being satiated they would still
have unconscious reflexes if you Chuck
something at their face I'm sure that
they would move out of the way before it
hit them but anything that involved
conscious decision- making would be
totally inert the closest thing I can
think of to this state would be someone
with truly debilitating depression but
on the whole the total practical
nihilist doesn't really exist for
instance even actions that we associate
with extreme nihilism such as suicide
manifest a particular practical value
judgment that it is better for them to
die than to live likewise if you
consciously pursue pleasure and avoid
pain that too is an enacted value new
judgment your actions manifest that
pleasure is better than pain in your
subjective experience this idea of
practical belief I'm drawing on stems
from the American pragmatist tradition
and it probably has its neatest
summation in the words of Charles Pierce
every natural or inbred belief manifests
itself in natural or inbred ways of
acting which in fact constitute it as a
belief habit that is for pier a belief
is a disposition for action for the
pragmatists this made a lot of sense
from a linguistic perspective what would
be the point of having a word that
referred to something essentially
private unverifiable and inactive so for
the pragmatist if you're not a practical
total nihilist then you're not a total
nihilist at all it's worth noting there
are numerous objections to this as a
full account of belief but I want to
adopt it here as at least referring to a
specific sub types of belief which I
will refer to as practical beliefs and I
think that on a practical level most
people have something that compels them
to act in some way even if they're not
conscious of exactly what that is or how
to articulate it otherwise we would just
be reduced to two reflexes even if we
get up and eat that would manifest a
practical belief in the value of not
being hungry I'm not suggesting that in
eating we would be covertly asserting
value in some objective sense just that
our belief habit would not be that of
the Practical total nihilist we may
still be theoretical total nihilists but
I think the distinction is really
important for instance I could imagine
someone suffering from a neurological
injury which prevented them from being
motivated by anything without altering
their theoretical belief in the inherent
value of human life in that case they
would be a practical total nihilist
without being a theoretical total
nihilist they would think that there are
things worth being motivated by but they
wouldn't in practice be motivated by
them I think this theoretical practical
distinction can be very helpful when
talking about nihilism because often the
two conversations of where the values
exist and can you act like there are no
values are sort of rolled into one
however the total nihilist is not often
what people mean when they talk about
nihilism the cultural image many of us
have of a nihilist looks less like
someone who struggles to act and more
like someone who acts only for their own
pleasure and this is just what we're
going to look at next if you want to
help me make more videos like this then
consider subscribing to either my email
list or my patreon the links are in the
description two the moral nihilist in
one of his lesser known works the
philosophy of the budoir the marqui dard
inserts a mock political pamphlet that
called for the principles of the French
Revolution to be extended to morality
itself he praised the French
revolutionaries for having seen through
the meaninglessness of of the monarchy
in the church but he urged them to go
one step further and become moral
nihilists as well and we get a good
picture of what Dad thought this
entailed in his other novels he portrays
people who refuse to bow down to the
idea of virtue pursuing their own
pleasure no matter who they hurt this is
the second figure many people associate
with the term nihilist someone that
rejects any ethical meaning and instead
pursues their own ends however this is a
very different sort of nihilism from the
type we looked at in the last section
whereas before we looked at those who
rejected the value of anything that is
held that there were no facts about
value here we see people simply reject
values in the moral domain that is there
are no valuable moral facts once more I
think looking at the theoretical and
practical dimensions of this position
will be very helpful a theoretical moral
nihilist might be someone like JL macki
who argued that any moral statement is
false he said that when I say murder is
wrong I am ascribing a property of
wrongness to a certain act murder but
then how would I verify this if I tagged
along with the police to investigate the
scene of a murder where would I find the
wrongness in it macki says there's
basically no evidence that moral
properties exist in any factual sense so
he holds all moral ascriptions as simply
not true so the statement murder is
wrong is strictly false meaning most
people would not consider it a reason
for action or preference having said
that there is no evidence that macki
actually lived like this for all intents
and purposes he behaved like any other
20th century Oxford academic with many
remarking on his politeness and charm
this is in stark contrast to the
Practical moral nihilist much like how
the Practical total nihilist is not
motivated by any fact the Practical
moral nihilist would not be motivated by
any moral consideration they would see
no particular value in being told that
something was morally wrong and would
not be swayed by anything we normally
take to be an ethical concern if the
feelings of others are taken into
account it is not because they are
considered valuable in an ethical sense
but rather for some other reason maybe
the nihilist is concerned about how they
will feel after the fact or what the
consequences for their actions will be
they may have empathy but it would be
empathy at the purely particular
descriptive level rather than a general
consideration about what is right for
other people of course your definition
of the Practical moral nihilist is going
to depend on what you take to be a moral
motivation for Action so if you disagree
with the particulars of my
characterization here that could be one
reason why importantly this does not
imply that the Practical moral nihilist
will not be motivated by many other
factors stereotypically they might be
concerned with their own pleasure and so
pursue that indiscriminately as s
suggested and to a certain extent
enacted someone could be a practical
nihilist in this sense and still be a
totally law-abiding citizen it's just
that it would be the fear of punishment
keeping them in check rather than an
agreement with the moral principles
behind the law as you can see there is a
large crossover between this position
and egoistic Hedonism just because
higher ethical principles are no longer
motivating that doesn't mean that
pleasure and pain won't have their
compelling effects but equally the two
positions are not equivalent someone
could be entirely unmotivated by moral
concerns yet still be extremely
motivated by the pursuit of art for
instance even if they didn't in turn
find that art pleasurable again while
theoretical and practical moral nihilism
can come together they are very much
separable positions I would wager there
are far more theoretical moral nihilist
than there are practical moral nihilists
and in theory someone could believe in
moral facts and view those facts as
valuable without finding them motivating
in practice the character of Satan in
Paradise Lost would be one such example
he knows the moral laws of the universe
but in practice he's not at all
motivated to follow them in fact quite
the opposite this separation can occur
because of what on reflection is quite
an obvious fact just because I think I
have good reason to be motivated by
something doesn't mean that I will be
motivated by it as we can see this is a
less extreme version of nihilism than
the total nihilist I'm sure many would
agree it is still a troubling philosophy
to adopt at least in its practical form
however now I want to examine a position
that used to uncontroversially be called
nihilism but probably wouldn't be
anymore because we have far more respect
for this philosophy than people used to
three the conventional nihilist the
famous ancient Greek philosopher
diogenes was perhaps the harshest
cultural critic in history he held that
almost all of the conventions of ancient
Athens were either foolish or harmful or
both where most mainstream philosophers
thought it was an Athenian duty to get a
job build a family and serve their city
state diogenes rejected all of these he
chose to live on the street urinate
against walls and beg for food he was in
the purest sense both a practical and
theoretical conventional nihilist and if
you want to learn more about him I've
got a video right here or here I don't
know what side it is on YouTube
conventional nihilism is a bit more
difficult to clarify than the previous
positions we've looked at because now
we're in the realm of stances that are
relatively popular at least in minor
forms if someone accepts all the mores
of their societ but takes issue with a
particular definition of marriage are
they a conventional nihilist probably
not but if they rejected almost all of
the social conventions that their
Community upheld this might become an
appropriate label this is because
whereas the total nihilist or the moral
nihilist reject whole classes of
statements as meaningful or valuable the
conventional nihilist is not rejecting
propositions by type but rather
individual conventions one by one in
some ways the historical movement of
Russian nihilism is actually a very good
example of this this was a loose
Congregation of social reformists
political activists and radical
terrorists who wanted to overthrow the
Zar and change large swayes of Russian
Society many of these nihilists were not
moral nihilists in any practical sense
and seemed motivated by the belief that
the hardship undergone by the Russian
lower classes was wrong however they
rejected a large proportion of Russian
social conventions decrying them as
either arbitrary or immoral thus seeing
them as having no real value as a result
we could call them nihilists about the
conventions of Russian society and the
theoretical practical distinction holds
here as well on the one hand someone
could say that societal conventions have
no theoretical value and are largely
arbitrary but still choose to take part
in them because they personally find
them enjoyable in a purely hedonistic
fashion famously The avowed Atheist
Richard Dawkins really enjoys the
Anglican Convention of Evenson even
though he doesn't view the act of
worshiping God through song as valuable
there can also be practical conventional
nihilists who like diogenes or the
Russian nihilists refuse to play by
societal rules who actively reject
conventions in their behavior and as I
touched upon at the beginning of this
section you can have more extreme and
moderate versions of this position while
diynes rejected all social conventions
in principle many Russian nihilists did
not and in theory someone can be a
nihilist about some conventions but hold
others as motivating and or
theoretically valuable there is a huge
Gulf between I disagree with some of the
social conventions around dinner parties
and I want to destroy this entire
civilization burn it all to the ground
there is also some potential crossover
between the conventional nihilist and
the moral nihilist some thinkers hold a
metaethical position whereby moral facts
are a form of conventional fact so
saying murder is wrong would be a form
of saying that murder is conventionally
frowned upon if you hold this view
morality and Convention would be
subsumed within one category as would
their corresponding types of nihilism
it's worth noting that at this stage
nihilism is robbed of some of its Terror
whereas the total or moral nihilists
seem inherently destructive to most
people some conventional nihilists are
seen in hindsight as Visionaries
provided that their suggested
conventional alterations are adopted and
celebrated however as I said there is a
big difference between someone who
rejects the value of particular social
conventions and someone who rejects the
value of social convention altogether
the first might be arguing for some
progress within the current principles
of a given Society whereas the second is
calling for the total dissolution of the
society they target lastly this form of
nihilism is clearly relative to a set of
societal conventions so I could be
considered a conventional nihilist
regarding many societies I am not a part
of yet I would almost certainly not be
considered a conventional nihilist in
the UK where I actually live but now
let's move to pulling these threads
together and coming up with a more
precise way to think about this classic
philosophy four the dimensions of
nihilism now that we have a few case
studies we can start to get a picture of
what nihilism in general consists of and
how we can make this concept a little
bit more specific than it often appears
in conversation the first thing I want
to note is the plurality of nihilism
nihilism does not so much seem like one
philosophy but a whole set of ideas
which differ from one another in key
ways the total nihilist believes and
behaves very differently from the moral
nihilist and the moral nihilist is also
distinct from the conventional nihilist
so what is it that links these disperate
thoughts together well the first is
historical context as is cantly argued
in John Stewart's history nihilism as we
know it today stem from a series of
existential questions arising from the
Enlightenment with the extreme growth of
scientific knowledge came the first
sensible proposition of atheism for
thousands of years and with this in turn
came urgent philosophical problems how
should humans live without a Creator how
do we make sense of the value of life
without immortality how should we ground
our moral system in secular ways many of
the ideas people took value in and
motivated their behavior on a practical
level were now being called into
question and this spawned a whole series
of intellectual movements we group Under
The Heading nihilism but I am no
historian I want to look at the logical
and philosophical similarities between
these ideas the first of which is that
they all involve the rejection of value
in some way the total nihilist rejects
the very existence of value the moral
nihilist rejects the value of morality
and so on they do not find these to be
compelling intellectual reasons for
acting then the other side of this coin
is nihilism practical Dimension where
someone is simply not motivated by a
given idea or consider
as we've seen these positions are
clearly closely linked but they also do
come apart because our rational
cognitive side is not always in the
driver's seat for instance I could
intellectually reject the value of
eating asking what's the point if I'm
going to die one day anyway and saying
it may as well be sooner rather than
later but when I get hungry I'm still
very likely to have a snack because my
instinctive hunger drive just does not
care whether I see the reasoned value in
eating but since this rejection of value
can be applied to many different types
of consideration another aspect of
nihilism reveals itself the proposition
relativity of nihilism it seems strictly
speaking calling someone a nihilist only
makes sense if you specify what they are
a nihilist about unless they are a total
nihilist and not many people are it
makes sense to specify which particular
values they are objecting to someone may
be an nihilist about God either
believing that he doesn't exist or if he
does that he doesn't provide a reason
for our actions but that does not
necessarily mean that they will be
annihilist about morality for instance
Christopher Hitchens was famously an
atheist but he would also talk at length
about the historical evils he saw
religious groups as enacting so he can't
be a nihilist about morality otherwise
this would cease to make sense likewise
someone could be a genuine nihilist
about morality disbelieving in moral
facts entirely while for this very
reason valuing social Convention as the
fragile war that separates us from chaos
this analysis also gives us a new
perspective on the existential crisis it
seems like in this case something that
previously provided value or motivation
has now gone and it's left a
philosophical hole in its wake so
someone losing their faith might have an
existential crisis in response to this
newfound nihilism about God and if
someone's whole family dies in a car
crash then that's likely to give them an
existential crisis because a huge source
of meaning in their life has now
vanished and they would not know what to
do so we can make the concept of an
existential crisis a bit more precise by
saying it is a situation where the
supply for Value in life does not meet
the demand some philosophies react to
this problem by raising the supply like
when kard suggests that we find new
value in faith or when Nicha says we
should construct new values to replace
the old ones left in the wake of the
death of God but others respond by
lowering the demand like when kamu asks
that we move past the search for meaning
entirely either way the shortfall in
value is dispensed with and the
existential crisis is resolved then we
could describe a lot of existential
crisis as nihilism about an area of life
in which someone wants to take value
again I'm not suggesting that this is an
airtight analysis of an existential
crisis but I think it is another way of
looking at it and one that brings a
normally quite nebulous concept a bit
more down to earth additionally since
someone can value something to a greater
or lesser extent nism becomes gradable
say that you and I both take some value
in the role of family in our lives but
for you it is the center of your entire
existence everything you do is in
service to your family and you would be
willing to endure great hardship if only
it was for their benefit on the other
hand in this scenario I might take a lot
of value in my family but still hold
some things as even higher than that say
an ethical system or loyalty to my
Society it would make sense to describe
me as more nihilistic about the value of
my family than you are about yours since
nihilism on our analysis essentially
fills the Gap where value is not found
of course a much more natural way of
expressing this same thought is that you
value your family more this also
highlights a fact that is upon
reflection quite obvious but is rarely
brought up in existential discussions it
is often very helpful to be nihilistic
about certain things when satra says
that we should not imbue societal roles
with undue value and instead recognize
our radical Freedom he is essentially
advocating a form of nihilism about
societal roles he is saying they are
worth less than we normally think they
are likewise when a stoic philosopher
like Marcus arelius advises that we
should not value the opinions of others
he is saying we should be a nihilist
about those facts and this slightly more
atic view of nihilism can be very
helpful in philosophical discussions
about the topic when someone like dovi
says that atheism will lead to nihilism
which will lead to people rejecting any
sort of moral value which will lead to
societal chaos we can interpret him as
saying that a theoretical nihilism about
God will lead to a theoretical nihilism
about morals which will lead to a
practical nihilism about morals which
will lead to societal breakdown since we
now have specific definitions for the
nihilism involved it becomes much easier
to evaluate the argument rather than end
up lost in a debate about terminology to
be even more precise on our analysis of
nihilism for any given proposition or
set of propositions we can CHS the
nihilism value on a two-dimensional
Matrix kind of like the political
Compass if you've ever come across one
of those we can have the x-axis
representing practical nihilism and the
y-axis representing theoretical nihilism
so in the top right hand corner would be
extreme practical and theoretical nalism
about a given proposition or set of
propositions where they are both
practically unmotivating and also Al
theoretically devalued whereas in the
top left we would have propositions that
are theoretically devalued but are still
found motivating on a practical level of
course you could use the same diagram to
chart value by just flipping the Matrix
around on its Left Right diagonal as I
said at the beginning I'm not suggesting
this is some foolproof analysis of the
concept of nihilism what I am hoping is
that we as a philosophical Community can
use and improve on analyses like this in
order to bring what is normally a vague
and slightly illd defined concept back
into the realm of specific conversation
and thus make our discussions about it
considerably easier and hopefully this
will mean that coming up with solutions
to the genuine problems that nihilism
poses both at the individual and the
social level will become that bit more
likely if you want more of this analytic
philosophy applied to Everyday Concepts
then click here where we apply it to
human Free Will and stick around for
more on thinking to improve your life
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