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#1
09-24-2006, 09:09 PM
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Nihilism
Any nihilists in here? I am reading around and trying to understand it all right at this moment. Help would be nice.
At the moment I understand it as the rejection of morality (specifically Judeo-Christian/religious morality). But this means anyone can do what they want if they think it's right... yet I see people wanting to use ideas from Nihilism to create a better, different society? What gives? It sounds like all it would be is anarchy. I am reading at www.anus.com (sfw, stands for American Nihilist Underground Society), and corrupt.org atm. The wikipedia article seems a bit long winded and a tad complicated for my philosophically virgin mind. 
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#4
09-24-2006, 09:22 PM
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Re: Nihilism
[ QUOTE ]
Read the book Fathers and Sons. That will help you understanding nihilism along with where it came from. It is the rejection of all moralty not just Judeo-Christian/religious morality. [/ QUOTE ] thanks, if you have any other book ideas, don't hesitate to tell me
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#5
09-24-2006, 09:22 PM
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Re: Nihilism
Is there such a thing as compassionate nihilism? A bottom with a top's outlook, for instance? Nice analogy.
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#6
09-24-2006, 09:28 PM
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Re: Nihilism
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Is there such a thing as compassionate nihilism? A bottom with a top's outlook, for instance? Nice analogy. [/ QUOTE ] Nihilism is compassionate by its nature. Especially when it's at its most brutal. I think the analogy really is fitting.
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#9
09-24-2006, 11:56 PM
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Re: Nihilism
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[ QUOTE ] Nihilism is compassionate by its nature. Especially when it's at its most brutal. [/ QUOTE ] If nihilism = rejection of all morals, how is it compassionate? (Or do you have a better definition?) [/ QUOTE ] Nihilism is so much more than simply the rejection of all morals. You might call it a rejection of all values. But those kinds of definitions won't get you far. I mentioned The Gay Science earlier - why do you think Nietzsche referred to nihilism that way? I can give you some basic positions, but there's a lot of nuance to them that I can't express. So if you want to pursue me, that's fine, but I may appear to contradict myself as I clarify my positions. Nihilism, like Taoism, leads to many apparent contradictions - but if you try to formally identify them, they dissolve. They aren't true contradictions, only language that seems contradictory when taken out of context. Kind of like the Bible, eh? I think it's important to make note of that, because there's an inherent reason and sometimes the "artistic" kinds of expression that Nietzsche, for example, was so fond of can give the impression of fluff and emotion rather than rigor and discipline. That's not an accurate impression. So, compassion - systems of value inherently place certain people or things over other people or things. The sense of equality is compassionate in a way - the idea that the smallest insect is as important as the biggest god. Then there's the question - which compassion is more genuine? The compassion that's drawn out through rules about how we should act and think, or the compassion that emerges without any kind of reason or justification? I'd say the latter. Also I think compassion can be defined in a negative way as well as a positive way - specifically compassion can be the simple absence of ill-will. You probably wouldn't agree with that perspective, but a nihilist has little reason to hate. And in a sense to follow your own nature and your own will is the only way to show compassion to yourself, isn't it? Nihilism at its best gives meaning to everything - at its worst it takes meaning away from everything. The part where it gets tricky is that for the nihilist, there is no "better" and "worse."
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Hybrid Mode
