The Most Dangerous Idea in History | Nihilism

Summary

Dieses 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

00:00

😖 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.

05:02

🧐 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.

10:03

🤔 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.

15:04

😡 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.

20:06

🤨 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.

Keywords

💡Nihilismus

Der Nihilismus ist ein philosophischer Begriff, der eine Ablehnung von Werten, Bedeutung oder Moral impliziert. Im Video wird er als zentrales Thema behandelt, das verschiedene Formen von Nihilismus untersucht und wie sie mit dem menschlichen Bedürfnis nach Bedeutung und dem scheinbaren Sinnlos des Universums in Konflikt geraten können. Ein Beispiel aus dem Skript ist die Diskussion des 'totalen Nihilismus', der die Gleichwertigkeit aller Handlungen ablehnt.

💡Existenzialismus

Existenzialismus ist eine philosophische Bewegung, die sich mit der Bedeutung des Lebens und der Freiheit des Individuums auseinandersetzt. Im Video wird er als Kontrast zu Nihilismus dargestellt, wo es um die Suche nach Bedeutung geht, auch wenn diese scheinbar nicht existiert. Der Existenzialismus wird impliziert, wenn es darum geht, wie Menschen mit Nihilismus umgehen oder wie sie Wert in ihrem Leben schaffen.

💡Theoretische Nihilisten

Theoretische Nihilisten sind Personen, die die Existenz von Werten ablehnen, aber dies nicht in ihren Handlungen manifestieren. Im Video wird dies durch den Vergleich mit einer Person, die behauptet, ihr Kamera sei kaputt, aber weiterhin Videos aufnimmt, veranschaulicht, was darauf hindeutet, dass ihre Überzeugung nicht tief seated ist.

💡Praktische Nihilisten

Praktische Nihilisten sind Personen, die aufgrund ihrer Überzeugung, dass alle Werte gleichwertig sind, keine bewussten Handlungen ausführen. Im Video wird darauf hingewiesen, dass diese Person nicht essen oder sich waschen würde, da sie den subjektiven Wert dieser Handlungen nicht erkennen.

💡Moralischer Nihilismus

Moralischer Nihilismus bezieht sich auf die Ablehnung ethischer Werte und die Verfolgung persönlicher Zwecke auf Kosten anderer. Im Video wird dieser Begriff durch die Diskussion von Figuren wie dem Marquis de Sade eingeführt, der eine Gesellschaft ohne moralische Werte beschreibt.

💡Konventioneller Nihilismus

Konventioneller Nihilismus ist die Ablehnung gesellschaftlicher Konventionen und Normen als sinnlos oder schädlich. Im Video wird Diogenes der Zyniker als Beispiel für einen konventionellen Nihilisten dargestellt, der gegen die gesellschaftlichen Normen seiner Zeit rebellierte.

💡Existenzialkrise

Eine Existenzialkrise ist eine Situation, in der die Versorgung an Werten im Leben nicht den Anforderungen entspricht. Im Video wird dies als eine Situation beschrieben, in der ein Mensch nach Werten sucht, die ihm fehlen, oder wenn eine große Quelle von Bedeutung in ihrem Leben verschwindet.

💡Pragmatismus

Pragmatismus ist eine philosophische Bewegung, die behauptet, dass der Wert einer Idee oder Überzeugung in der Art der Handlungen zum Ausdruck kommt, die sie motivieren. Im Video wird dieser Begriff verwendet, um zu erklären, wie theoretische Überzeugungen in praktische Handlungen umgesetzt werden und wie dies auf Nihilismus angewendet werden kann.

💡Wertrelativität

Wertrelativität besagt, dass Nihilismus in Bezug auf bestimmte Werte oder Satzsysteme spezifiziert werden muss. Im Video wird argumentiert, dass es sinnvoll ist, zu erklären, worüber jemand nihilistisch denkt, da Nihilismus nicht immer die gleiche Bedeutung hat.

💡Existenzialphilosophie

Existenzialphilosophie ist eine philosophische Disziplin, die sich mit grundlegenden Fragen des menschlichen Daseins befasst, wie der Bedeutung, Freiheit und Verantwortung. Im Video wird sie als Teil der Diskussion über Nihilismus und Existenzialkrise erwähnt, da sie sich mit den Herausforderungen befasst, die auftreten, wenn traditionelle Wertvorstellungen in Frage gestellt werden.

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