Nihilism for dummies

[Suggestion Box]

Hey all you Nihilists. I was wondering if one of you could explain your belief for me in a nutshell.

 

[Isambard]

The term "nihilism" applies to a wide range of beliefs/outlooks on a number of topics.

For me personally, I agree with this;

Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life[2] is without meaning, purpose or intrinsic value. Moral nihilists assert that morality does not exist, and subsequently there are no moral values with which to uphold a rule or to logically prefer one action over another.
Nihilism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Suggestion Box]

oh excellent. i have long believed that, in absence of God, life is truly without meaning, purpose or intrinsic value.

if that be the case, then i think existential nihilism is a very mature viewpoint for an atheist.

 

[Isambard]

oh excellent. i have long believed that, in absence of God, life is truly without meaning, purpose or intrinsic value.

if that be the case, then i think existential nihilism is a very mature viewpoint for an atheist.

My reply would be that including God, life would still be nihilistic.

 

[rahmiyn]

But, if morality does not exist, are selfishness, greed and the like considered normal and acceptable then? And if no, then why not?

 

[Wiccan_Child]

I think I'm a nihilist: life has no ultimate purpose, etc, etc.

 

[Wiccan_Child]

But, if morality does not exist, are selfishness, greed and the like considered normal and acceptable then? And if no, then why not?

Morality exists, it's just that nihilists consider it ultimately meaningless. If we are selfish and greedy... so what?

 

[Suggestion Box]

My reply would be that including God, life would still be nihilistic.

eh. debatable. i'm of the opinion that there's something i will not understand any time soon that somehow gives life a purpose. certainly, if life is not eternal, it has no purpose. if life is eternal, there is no purpose that i can understand. i really think that maybe there is an ultimate purpose to an eternal life... but i'm not at that level of understanding yet.

it's tough for a finite being to cope with an infinite existence with any real certainty.

 

[Suggestion Box]

by the way, about 3 months ago i was of the opinion that even with God life is nihilistic... i was also very depressed about it. how does an existential nihilist motivate him/herself to do anything?

 

[Wiccan_Child]

by the way, about 3 months ago i was of the opinion that even with God life is nihilistic... i was also very depressed about it. how does an existential nihilist motivate him/herself to do anything?

The same way you motivate yourself: life is enjoyable, if you put some effort it. There may be no grand purpose to life, but that doesn't mean we can't make the most of it.

 

[Suggestion Box]

i spose that's pretty good logic as long as life stays enjoyable. why do nihilists do things that aren't enjoyable and are only necessary to prolong a meaningless existence (like have a crappy job)?

 

[FedererFan]

But, if morality does not exist, are selfishness, greed and the like considered normal and acceptable then? And if no, then why not?

Morality exists, but it is simply a human creation of values that tell us how to live our lives. But, ultimately, that morality doesn't mean anything. There's no absolute morality. There is no real right or wrong in anything you do. When you die, nothing happens so everything you did on earth has no significance.

Selfishness, greed, and other activities are not considered normal or acceptable because as a society, we've decided that those sort of behaviors are not good for the progression of humanity and we would all be better off if we refrained from certain activities. But, it's important to note (for me at least) that morality only applies to situations that effect other people. Nothing that you do to yourself is immoral. So, I don't believe any sexual acts (between consenting adults) is immoral. I don't find any drug use to be immoral (things that occur as a result of the drug use may be, but the actual use of drugs is not immoral). I don't find suicide to be immoral.

I think I'm a very moral person, but I'm still a nihilist. I like to live my life in a way that, if everyone lived the same way, the world would be much better. Haha. Of course it doesn't always happen, but I try.

 

[FedererFan]

i spose that's pretty good logic as long as life stays enjoyable. why do nihilists do things that aren't enjoyable and are only necessary to prolong a meaningless existence (like have a crappy job)?

Yeah, that's tough. But people have to to crappy things to survive. If a nihilist likes living and recognizes that life requires one to work and the only job one can get is crappy, he will take the crappy job in order to survive because the happiness of survival outweighs the crappy job. It's all a cost benefit analysis. If the nihilist decides that life is not worth living based on all the crappy things required to survive, then it does follow that he should just commit suicide. However, there are a lot of other factors, such as not wanting family to be sad because of one's choice to kill himself or just the fear itself of actually committing suicide.

 

[Wiccan_Child]

i spose that's pretty good logic as long as life stays enjoyable. why do nihilists do things that aren't enjoyable and are only necessary to prolong a meaningless existence (like have a crappy job)?

Because even nihilists need to survive. Concluding nihilism doesn't rid you of the biological urges that have driven your ancestors for 3.5 billion years. The nihilist still has to survive in whatever society he finds himself. In our society, that means work work work.

The nihilist might also find some satisfaction in helping the society and his fellow man: just because everything is ultimately meaningless doesn't mean we shouldn't make life easy and enjoyable for the this and the next generation.

 

[Suggestion Box]

the 'must work to survive' and the 'biological urges' arguments make sense. but it's one of those answers that just... sorta isnt satisfying. it doesn't go too well with my gut instinct (biological or not) to want purpose. i can explain away those feelings all i want - oh, it's just society telling me to have purpose so i'll work hard and be good - but it's still just kind of a lame answer. while it makes logical sense, it makes absolutely no emotional sense. kinda like determinism.

 

[solarwave]

I think this makes sense if one is an atheist, in fact if I ever became an atheist I think its the only logical belief. How does this apply even if there is a God as someone said before?

 

[Suggestion Box]

infinite life = where are you going?

however, i don't think we can fully cope with that yet.

 

[solarwave]

God gives life meaning, other than that how can we talk about a life we know nothing about.

 

[Nathan45]

the 'must work to survive' and the 'biological urges' arguments make sense. but it's one of those answers that just... sorta isnt satisfying. it doesn't go too well with my gut instinct (biological or not) to want purpose.

IOW, the idea that you act based on biological urges doesn't square with your biological instincts. That seems logical to me.

It wouldn't surprise me if religious people in general are actually more evolutionarily "fit" than non-religious, despite being wrong about everything. See this thread for a demonstration:

http://www.christianforums.com/t7359078/

Here you have a christian telling everyone to "Be fruitful and multiply" and a bunch of atheists saying "No, thanks" or "There are plenty of people already".

 

[Wiccan_Child]

the 'must work to survive' and the 'biological urges' arguments make sense. but it's one of those answers that just... sorta isnt satisfying. it doesn't go too well with my gut instinct (biological or not) to want purpose. i can explain away those feelings all i want - oh, it's just society telling me to have purpose so i'll work hard and be good - but it's still just kind of a lame answer. while it makes logical sense, it makes absolutely no emotional sense. kinda like determinism.

I don't think the universe cares too much about our emotions. It barely makes sense to our squishy brains as it is!