Nihilism… what’s that?
The reason you might have never heard about Nihilism before is because it’s just philosophical mumbo jumbo for saying: “everything is meaningless”.
If you think about it, doesn’t that make sense?
As a singular human being out of 7.6 billion on this massive planet, what’s the point of me being here? If I was wiped out, what difference would it make?
In a hundred or a thousand years, what will my efforts matter? What will it matter what anyone does ever?
However, one small issue is that believing everything is meaningless will not make you feel particularly happy. All your good moments turn into something irrelevant, temporary and pointless. If it doesn’t matter what you do or even if you die, there’s no reason to do anything at all. You can say goodbye to any kind of motivation!
I guess one (short-term) solution to this is just do stuff to make yourself feel good.
So then, like always we end up distracting ourselves from these thoughts by playing video games, watching funny series and videos or mindlessly scrolling through our social media feeds. We return to our ‘automatic pilot’ mode until the one day we again ask ourselves: “what’s the point of it all?”.
For me personally, whenever I’d think about life and ask those big questions, I’d always have the same stupid, anxiety-provoking thought pattern that would make me believe my existence is useless.
After discovering Jordan Peterson on YouTube, I came across a video on Nihilism; the philosophy that there is no meaning in anything. Existential Nihilism specifically takes this idea in regards to our existence; the world and the humans that live on it are insignificant and meaningless. I was like “Damn… there’s ACTUALLY words to describe that idea that keeps making feel super bummed out!”
Basically, if it isn’t clear to you already, this philosophy is perceived as being extremely pessimistic.
So then, why is it popular?
There are many things that can make people nihilistic. Some of the most common ones include:
1. Feeling of insignificance in the world
“I’m just a little turd anyways…”
There are so many damn people on this planet today, and you’re ONLY 1 out of 7.6 billion. You might feel like the work you’re doing (or not doing) isn’t really contributing anyway, and that it sure as hell won’t matter in a thousand years either…
2. Thinking from an overly rational perspective
“I mean… my thoughts and feelings are technically just electro-chemical reactions in my brain. It’s just material.”
The immense shift towards scientific thinking has caused some people to look at life from an overly rational or objective perspective. We oversimplify the experience and value of life as a whole as being some atoms, pointlessly moving around.
Funnily enough, looking at it from this purely ‘rational’ way might just be an excuse to pursue “the best interest[s] of the worst aspects of you” (ADD FOOTNOTE), as for example:
3. Desiring life without responsibility
“Feeling good >>> Doing good”
If your actions don’t have any meaning, you don’t really HAVE to do anything. Engage in all the short-lasted pleasures you want. Treat people terribly if you feel like it. Do whatever the hell you want whenever you want, without any responsibilities.
The rationalisation that life is meaningless allows a complete justification of laziness and acting on impulse. As Jordan Peterson puts it; “Maybe there’s no reason to be so goddamn hopeless except that it’s easier to be useless.”
4. Realisation of the finitude of life
“Yolo”
We are all vulnerable and there’s nothing we can do to avoid risk or live forever. To some, this makes them think “Well, I better do everything I can to have a life filled with purpose!” For nihilists, they see it more as “Well, nothing matters ’cause I’m gonna die anyway.”
5. Tragic/arbitrary circumstances
“As I saw that my flight home was cancelled for the 4th time in a row, I stubbed my toe on a table corner. Why am I even living for this s@#$?!”
Going through very tragic, unlucky and unfair experiences might cause you to question how it’s possible that life can have any meaning to it if all these terrible things are happening and causing so much pain.
6. Experience of evil
“I saw a kid push an old lady over for no reason.”
Quite similarly to the reason above, experiencing or witnessing evil acts can make you question; “if someone is able to commit such terrible acts, how could life have any real meaning to it?”
7. Unrewarded sacrifice
“I DON’T UNDERSTAND!!! I studied all of the night before, and I STILL failed…”
You might be sacrificing and giving your all (or at least you think that you are), and all you’re getting back is rejection and failure. You begin to blame the people around you and the world for not accepting your efforts. Eventually, you go further than that, blaming and rejecting life itself (sounds pretty dramatic, but it’s true).
8. People aren’t as religious as they used to be
“It’s all bulls@#$! I’m not gonna see any angels flying about above the clouds…”
People were generally much more religious before than they are today, which gave them at least some sense of purpose. As more and more people today reject religion as being “some old fairy-tale scriptures from thousands of years ago”, we’ve lost one of our major sources of meaning from the past. Read here about the impact of the mass rejection of religion (doesn’t exist yet RIP).
9. It’s funny… sometimes
Marge Simpson: “Someday these kids will be out of the house and you’ll regret not spending more time with them!”
Homer Simpson: “That’s a problem for future homer. Man I don’t envy that guy!” *Pours vodka into a mayonnaise jar, downs it and passes out instantly*
Nihilism can sometimes make things very entertaining as it allows for strange and completely unacceptable things to happen. All boundaries are removed if everything is looked at from a meaningless perspective. Think about some incredibly popular nihilistic series such as ‘Rick and Morty’ and ‘Southpark’.
If a nihilistic life isn’t the one you’re looking for, check out my post on 10 Reasons To Choose A Meaningful Life !
Read More:
Motivation isn’t Enough, You Need to Be Driven
What To Do in a World of Infinite Interpretations?
10 Reasons To Choose A Meaningful Life
Sources:
“This Problem for Future Homer.” YouTube, YouTube, 31 Dec. 2013, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS9LCR5P5wI
“Nietzsche on the Nihilism We All Should Avoid – Jordan Peterson.” YouTube, YouTube, 30 Sept. 2017, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRUj1toI_Jw
Pratt, Alan. “Nihilism.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://www.iep.utm.edu/nihilism/.
Wen, Cheng. “Let’s Talk About: Nihilism.” Quora, 1 Aug. 2017, the-academic-blog.quora.com/Let%E2%80%99s-Talk-About-Nihilism.
Aim High Start Low 