Nihilism

NihilismThe loss of meaning

The Universe Next Door Chapter 5

Late 19th and early 20th centuries

• Nihilism placed it confidence in the SUBJECTIVE over the OBJECTIVE • Objective- reason, logic, science,

empiricism, facts, etc. • Subjective- senses, passions, intuition,

opinion, desires, etc.

• It directly challenged all authority and moved toward personal autonomy

German artist George Grosz

Duchamp’s The Fountain

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Out, out, brief candle!

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more; it is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

NihilismWhat is it and why did it arise

in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s?

Nihilism

• Nihilism was a reaction to the despair and isolation produced by a growing atheism and reliance on science and human rationality • Naturalistic view of reality

Unrestrained industrialization and the unfilled hope of a better life had left many people feeling exploited,

dehumanized and isolated

Modern Times Charlie Chaplain’s assessment of the dehumanizing

effects of industrialization and unregulated capitalism

German cartoon decrying the abuses of capitalism

and industry

• Metropolis -1927 by the German director Fritz Lang A modern dystopia

• Explores the dehumanizing effects of modern life and industrialization

The brutality, destruction, and inhumanity of WWI left many with a profound sense

of loss and hopelessness

8 ½ million died in WWI

Many people found themselves feeling alone and adrift in an absurd, cruel, and indifferent world (universe).

What is nihilism?Nihilism is NOT a true philosophy in

the traditional sense WHY? Nihilism is a denial of

truth – no universal TRUTH reason

knowledge- anti-rationalism philosophy

morality- “beyond good and evil”

Nihilism rejected• rationalism-

• Confidence in the Enlightenment’s emphasis in reason was lost

• confidence in science and empiricism • traditional philosophy and

philosophical assumptions-• based in rationalism and logic

• religions institutions and orthodox religious beliefs

• the assumption of a universal TRUTH

How does nihilism address the major worldview

questions?

Prime reality

There is no ultimate reality or Truth

Atheistic – no God

External reality• The universe (material world) is a

CLOSED (determined) system • The system is CHAOTIC – NOT

ordered• Unpredictable• Harsh• Lonely • Cruel • Indifferent• Hostile

Human beings• Humans are physical beings ONLY

• No soul or spirit

• Human existence (life) is solitary and lonely (meaningless)

• Humans have no free will • free will is an illusion • We think we have free will when in

reality we are at the mercy of a cold and indifferent determined system

Death

• Complete extinction• the “abyss” • death is the ultimate absurdity

in an absurd and indifferent universe

Knowledge

• There is no real knowledge• human intellect and rationality

cannot be trusted• If the human mind is just physical

matter that evolved through a mindless process, why should we trust it?

Morality- Right and Wrong• no universal moral standards or law • Humans must live according to their

passions and instincts• primary focus is on power• pride and self-realization

• self- actualization • “Reason cannot establish values” • Men are “beyond and good and evil”

Friedrich Nietzsche

History

• History is nothing but an endless cycle of meaningless events in a meaningless universe

Friedrich Nietzsche - 1844-1900

German philosopherSon of a Lutheran minister

Nietzsche’s major ideas• Believed that Christianity produced a

weak slave like morality• unrealistic and un-masculine

• Men had to face the fact that they existed in a cold and indifferent universe and stand boldly and courageously in opposition to that reality.

“Build your cities under Vesuvius…. Live at war with your peers and yourself.”

• Nietzsche believed that a race of Ubermensch- (Overman)- would ultimately rule over the weak and inferior• Sometimes translated as “supermen”

• The lust for power was at the heart of man’s nature. • Glorification of pride, power, and

strength

• The ideal human being was beyond the concept of good and evil• men had to overcome the constraints of

imposed morality and authority of civilization

• Nietzsche proposed that man embrace his essential nature• Live according to his instincts and passions• Power and force were the keys to human

advancement

• For Nietzsche, women were weak and too emotional to ever act in authentic ways

“In our whole unhealthy modernity there is nothing

more unhealthy than Christian piety. To be

physicians here, to be inexorable here, to wield the scalpel here- that is our part, that is our love

of man….” Nietzsche

“Whither is God? I shall tell you. We have killed him, you and I. We are his murderers.” Nietzsche believed that humanity had “killed” the idea and importance of God by ceasing to believe. Religion and the notion of God had become irrelevant.

According to nihilism, humans have to face the void of a world without God, truth, morality,

knowledge, purpose or meaning.

“The abyss”

Heart of Darknessby Joseph Conrad

an exploration of the abyss

"I turned to the wilderness really, not to Mr. Kurtz, who, I was ready to admit, was as good as buried. And for a moment it seemed to me as if I also was buried in a vast grave full of unspeakable secrets. I felt an intolerable weight oppressing my breast, the smell of the damp earth, the unseen presence of victorious corruption, the darkness of an impenetrable night."

- Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness,

“The Scream” by Edvard Munch

• Dada Art • absurdity • the “death” of art

Implication of Nihilism

• no hope• no love• no meaning for one’s existence• absolute glorification of SELF • renunciation of authority and rules • pride and power as the driving force

of life and existence

Question

• How does nihilism appear today?

• What examples in popular culture express the nihilistic perspective?

Response to Nihilism • 1 Atheistic Existentialism

• If the universe and life have no meaning then we must create meaning through our actions (existence) ACTION IS THE KEY TO MEANING

• 2 Christian faith • the universe and life have meaning • God loves his creation (humanity) and seeks to

restore (redeem) it• there is a deep hope to be found in the

ultimate reality (Christ)