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Reply With Quote!beast (Dec 19, 2009)
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Nihilism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nihilism is a belief that one or more aspects of life have no meaning. This can vary between many things, such as possession, religion and god, or even the more radical ideas that nothing truly exists.
Some people believe that death is a reprise and that nothing truly matters. That we're all just living useless lives, and that nothing can escape from our fate of dying. All that we've achieved means nothing.
I've even read, and seen in a case that might be rather off-topic but...here goes: Extreme Nihilists have nothing but a ceaseless void that they want to destroy everything or anything because none of it truly "exists" or rather, an impulse? (I've seen this in various video games, most notably a lot of final bosses in Final Fantasy.)
I read once that you can't reason with a nihilist because they believe that they're already at their end; that nothing matters and nothing that you or anyone says can sway their opinion. They're either just waiting for death, or are living in attempt to "fill" their "futile" existence.
...Even I will admit that at times, I have been overcome with a sense of uselessness and despair so much that I think that life has no purpose (That's another way of thinking...) or that we're all just destined to die in the end. Only when I'm completely out of my mind have I considered that the world "begs to be destroyed" and that "death is the only way." But that's only in extremely bad situations that hardly ever happen any more.
I suppose in a sense that this can also drive people to suicide, etc, but that's a different story.
There's so many interpretations from what I've been seeing, and it's a lot of different ideas, really.
So, if you'd like, express your ideas here? What your thoughts on Nihilism and its principles are? Other things? I don't really know...just, you know. Discuss and all that.
I won't let this world exist without me! If I die, we all die! / Avatar & Signature by anime_8000.
!beast (Dec 19, 2009)
Nietzsche is your go to guy for nihilism/existentialism. I'll admit I've not read his works, but he's kinda the grandfather of the idea, or at least a huge contributor if you're truly interested in learning about his philosophy. I remember discussing existentialism in my literature classes, I think the idea is that once you shrug off God and everything you believe is real, you can live how you choose to live and know whatever you do 'good' or 'bad' doesn't matter because it doesn't exist in the first place. A quote from the movie "Fight Club" comes to mind whenever I try to think of nihilism or existentialism in simple terms:
"It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything."
The idea is that nature is cruel and does not care about human life, and there is no supernatural being from above looking after you, there's no life after death. There is this life, and that is it. The idea is that you should do whatever you feel in life and not worry about some concept of karma or damnation because it doesn't really exist. In my opinion, the philosophy is not about feeling useless and purposeless forever, it's more like accepting this very blunt and for many unappealing view; once you've accepted it you can live your life the way you see fit.
My problem with this philosophy is the fact that so many people dwell on the idea of uselessness and purposelessness and think that if there is no point, then they may as well die now. When I think the true intent is give you a reborn realization and to take life and grant it meaning on your own terms, rather the terms of, as Nietzsche would say, a 'dead God'.
!beast (Dec 19, 2009)
You know I have meant many people who believe in nothing higher than themselves. I had a funny conversation with one once. Oddly enough they were talking about how society has gone downhill and moral decay. What is bizarre is that I mentioned to them that there really is no reason for good behavior. After all, if there is nothing above you or no afterlife, and if religion is not worth believeing in people have really no reason to behave.
Why be civil or obediant to anyone or anything if in the end we are all just going to fade away anyhow. Oh, sure there is the law, but that is no substitute for ethics. That would just simplify things to the point where the people who get caught are wrong and everyone else is okay. You can't say you believe in nothing then appeal to peoples good conscience because there is no reason for anybody to have one.
I agree with Beast---
If nothing was the name of the game, then I wouldn't hesitate to kill someone right this moment in time, for the fact that I know it wouldn't someday catch up to me and this all might as well be a dream....but-
A common, but misleading, description of nihilism is the 'belief in nothing'. Instead, a far more useful one would substitute 'faith' for 'belief' where faith is defined as the "firm belief in something for which there is no proof."
What is Nihilism? | CounterOrder.com
I don't agree with this concept of life, mainly due the fact that I'm a believer in God and refuse to accept something that makes human life seem so irrelevant
--uhh people these days--
1st Sig finished 12-20-09
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