What do you guys think of nihilism? I know it's very broad, but just the general idea of nihilism is what's been on my mind every time I've smoked lately. I'm sober right now, and I forgot to write my thoughts in a journal or whatever, but I was just curious what other people thought.
Nihilism is the negation of experience and personal worth in favor of some misconstrued freedom that is is really bondage to greed and sin. The opposite of true freedom. It is the relinquishing of responsibility in favor of the concept of insignificance in all forms for the sake of one's own selfish wants. As if all was made with us at the top with full opportunity and potential for no reason whatsoever. Nihilism is rediculouse to me personally. Faith in selfless Unity for Good.
Well I'm an Existential Nihilist, and all it means to me, is that there is no greater meaning, everything is just random happenstance, and then we die I don't use it as justification to be a dick, I just don't believe in a higher purpose, so I just go about my life trying to be the best me I can be, to make myself happy, since you are your own alpha and omega.
Nihilism itself refers to the physical world, and the Existential part refers to the metaphysical (gods and higher powers and such) to my understanding of the terms
I'm sort of a nihilist apologist... specifically absurdism. I could tell you my beliefs, but I think they're more fun to learn on your own. I suggest reading The Stranger by Albert Camus. Maybe it'll move you as much as it moved me. There's no reason to not read it, it's very approachable and only like 80 pages long. You could easily read it before the night's over.
Considering how broadly nihilism can be understood and applied to one's personal life, I'd say there are two major ways of dealing with it once you come upon it. 1. You take it as a depressing fact that nothing really lasts or matters. Some (most?) people are conditioned to need structure and a written down "meaning" to life. To them, nihilism sounds like a terrible notion. 2. You take it as the realization that the world is not empty-empty, but empty like a blank canvas, and it is up to you to paint your own personal canvas, as you see fit. Depression or liberation, each in the eye of the beholder. Depending on how life goes, one may experience both.
well that sounds pretty shitty but you know what doesn't? Every julian casablancas song. Your avatar fills me with joy
This is where I am, right freaking now. I've been watching a lot of documentaries about space and shit, makes me feel like a flea on the ass of humanity. Very depressing, trying to figure out why I just can't take the money and run with it. A lifetime of depression is not conducive to liberating thoughts.
Look at it this way. Humanity, for the most part, is conditioned that life HAS to have meaning according to what most have been conditioned to think "having meaning" is. For most, that is whatever their particular religion tells them it all means, or used to tell them when they were kids. When then later in life they stumble upon nihilism, it can be very disillusioning and heart breaking. However, it absolutely does not have to be. Nihilism, once its base definitions have been covered, also means YOU get to make meaningful in your life whatever you consider is worth making so. If you find honest fulfillment in painting, then the point of life is painting. If you are someone who lives for their children then children are the point of life, etc etc. There is no limit and there are no wrong answers. It is the acknowledgement that because there are no real set rules (meaning), you get to be your own life's architect through and through. This is not to be confused with everyone GETS to do whatever they want to do. Hardships of life are still very real and can do anything from hold someone back to plain murdering them. These are still very real adversaries of life one will have to face, but should not be given more respect and acknowledgement than necessary. Do your best to logically combat them, whether it's getting an education or staying in healthy shape, and continue with the creation and constant improvement of your own personal microcosm. Yes, we are tinier than atoms on the grand cosmic scale, and yes, there is no written and laid out point to life, but that is perfectly ok. All there is, is freedom to do whatever you want to do. If you manage to fully absorb that, it becomes incredibly motivational and liberating.
From what ive read here it seems like this is just a way to look at life and the universe as a sort of randomized blank slate, but on every level we can perceive, it is very clear that everything has a natural structure that is anything but random. From how a galaxy is shaped to the pedals on a rose; nothing is accidental. You don't have to choose between believing a religion or believing in nothing; just follow your own insight. Just because religion cant provide you with the logic you require doesnt mean life itself is hollow and meaningless. Take a look around at you at anything natural. A flower is a gift to our perception. A painting can be that too. Now if a painter inspires and evokes real energy in people over a period of a lifetime, was the point of their life to paint just because they liked it? No, its much bigger than that