The Solution To Nihilism

[Chris Makise]

I felt like embellishing the thread with eye treating css, then thought why bother? This thread is but another one of those which with the passage of time will be lost in the ocean of web.

Defining Nihilism​

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As you walk down that road in your neighborhood reminiscing about the days gone by and how they are far from reach, you remind yourself that the present doesn't really exist. Each moment spent is lost in the vast cosmos that promises no men miracle. You realize the pain you've been through, the sufferings you've had to face and the ones you've caused, all are part of a superfluous equation in the universe that accounts to nothing. It has lived for 13 freakin billion years and will continue for a few billion more. We are but an infinitesimal sized creature living an ephemeral life.
That's it. Nihilism.

My Stance​

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I'll give you my solution to Nihilism. Indeed, the universe has no meaning. We, have no meaning. We will live and pass by, fade away as days bleed into years and years into millennia.
That is our goal, ya know. Give meaning. I have found few plausible solutions to Nihilism, all contradictory if we apply nihilism here, but still, weirdly satisfactory.

Solution 1 : Giving Meaning to life is, ultimately, our meaning.
Because we as humans can only hold so much, all that we have been through and all that we will ever do is determined by how we define it after all's been said and done. That is something we have to learn to live with. We gave definition to Nihilism, we give life a purpose. All the while because it doesn't exist in the first place, we must fill in.
Solution 2 : People who believe in Nihilism, believe nothing holds importance. But the thought that nothing holds important is important to them, i.e implying that they have a code too.
A code, The lack of which, will prove an inefficient life, devoid of a path wondering recklessly.

What is your stance on nihilism?

 

[Neb]

Interesting thread idea!

I believe being nihilistic will only lead to isanity. Thinking about how life has no inherent meaning won't accomplish anything, and it will only bum you out. Making meaning through long term goals can alleviate this. It got me out of this mindset, and I'm sure it can help many others.

 

[gimmepie]

I think that the common belief that nihilism is inherently a negative mindset is simply wrong. The idea that life itself has no meaning is actually a comforting thought for a lot of people, it takes a load of pressure off and frees you up to decide for yourself what is or isn't meaningful to you as a person.

Nihilism isn't the same as living in a perpetual state of existential crisis. To be a nihilist is simply to reject the (traditionally religious) notion that life has any inherent meaning or purpose. It's about finding purposefulness and fulfilment that means something to you as an individual.

I don't think about the label much, but I'd consider myself a nihilist and I don't think that's a bad thing.

 

[Alexander Nicholi]

I think that the common belief that nihilism is inherently a negative mindset is simply wrong. The idea that life itself has no meaning is actually a comforting thought for a lot of people, it takes a load of pressure off and frees you up to decide for yourself what is or isn't meaningful to you as a person.

Nihilism isn't the same as living in a perpetual state of existential crisis. To be a nihilist is simply to reject the (traditionally religious) notion that life has any inherent meaning or purpose. It's about finding purposefulness and fulfilment that means something to you as an individual.

I don't think about the label much, but I'd consider myself a nihilist and I don't think that's a bad thing.

yeah, thats pretty a good explanation of it imo. null is not false any more than it is true, to be real

i always put it in my mind simply as "i do not know, therefore i can know". we're so far away from scientifically understanding things, and my acceptance of that leaves my mind open to hear future reasonings that might otherwise conflict with a prescribed worldview or dogma.

 

[Kai]

I don't think about the label much, but I'd consider myself a nihilist and I don't think that's a bad thing.

Despite not knowing much about you I can safely say that you'd make a terrible nihilist. For starters your friend list isn't vacant. A true nihilist wouldn't bother making friends of any kind.

 

[gimmepie]

Despite not knowing much about you I can safely say that you'd make a terrible nihilist. For starters your friend list isn't vacant. A true nihilist wouldn't bother making friends of any kind.

That's... not how nihilism works? Nihilism is the belief that life is meaningless not that you can't enjoy it.

 

[Kai]

That's... not how nihilism works? Nihilism is the belief that life is meaningless not that you can't enjoy it.

How can you enjoy something that is meaningless? If you think something can be enjoyed than it has meaning.

 

[gimmepie]

How can you enjoy something that is meaningless? If you think something can be enjoyed than it has meaning.

People enjoy meaningless shit all the time, but that's besides the point, I think you're misunderstanding something fundamental about nihilism. Nihilism is the belief that there is no inherent meaning in life, no purpose ingrained in your existence. It doesn't mean that things can't have personal meaning to an individual. Just because there's no inherent meaning in your existence doesn't mean there's no value in anything. I'm not going to stop doing nice things for people because I believe I don't have a predestined purpose. I'm going to keep doing it because it's personally fulfilling and makes me feel good.

Your view of nihilism is exactly what I'm talking about when I say that nihilism has grown a reputation and stigma as something that is bleak and negative by default when in reality it's only negative if you choose to feel negatively about it. Life has no meaning behind it and I'm fine with that. I'm not about to let that stop me enjoying hobbies or making friends. Why should I not do things that make me happy just because there's no preordained purpose for my existence? I'm still here regardless and I'm going to make the most of it as best I can.

 

[Trev]

How can you enjoy something that is meaningless? If you think something can be enjoyed than it has meaning.

Have you ever watched reality T.V.? That shit has no purpose and many people, myself included, gobble that shit up. It's funny, I did a show recently where there was an argument between two characters about whether their entertainment should be meaningful or meaningless. I ended up agreeing more with the meaningless entertainment perspective because it's nice to clock out mentally and just watch something that requires no brainpower to process. It's very relaxing.

To answer the question at large, I agree with Gimme. Life doesn't have any meaning. We, as humans, gave it meaning. But that doesn't mean we need to keep it. Personally, life has no real purpose for me, and I'm fine with that. It gives me the freedom to explore many different subjects and enjoy my own life without feeling the burden of "needing a purpose." I don't want a purpose nor do I think I'd benefit from one. If I just coast through life and I stay happy, then that's fine with me. I can enjoy what I want, live my experience, and move on knowing I lived a life I was proud of.

 

[Kai]

Your view of nihilism is exactly what I'm talking about when I say that nihilism has grown a reputation and stigma as something that is bleak and negative by default when in reality it's only negative if you choose to feel negatively about it.

The dismissal of morality might be a big part of that. Plenty of people think life has no meaning, or at least claim to, but most people have a sense of what is morally acceptable or unacceptable.

I'm done with this conversation. If you want to be identified as a nihilist than so be it.

 

[Ninetales]

I have never been able to properly understand and conceptualize nihilism, nor do I personally know anyone who has such bleak views. Perhaps that is due to my Christian faith, as I believe my purpose is to be a good person and to help others as much as possible. Also, I've always believed that life's purpose is simply to find joy and to bring that same joy into the lives of others.

 

[Trev]

The dismissal of morality might be a big part of that. Plenty of people think life has no meaning, or at least claim to, but most people have a sense of what is morally acceptable or unacceptable.

I'm done with this conversation. If you want to be identified as a nihilist than so be it.

I have never been able to properly understand and conceptualize nihilism, nor do I personally know anyone who has such bleak views. Perhaps that is due to my Christian faith, as I believe my purpose is to be a good person and to help others as much as possible. Also, I've always believed that life's purpose is simply to find joy and to bring that same joy into the lives of others.

Nihilism has nothing to do with one's sense of morality. You can be a moral person and still be a nihilist. Just because you don't think something has meaning doesn't make you immoral. Nihilism isn't inherently negative.

 

[Ninetales]

Nihilism has nothing to do with one's sense of morality. You can be a moral person and still be a nihilist. Just because you don't think something has meaning doesn't make you immoral. Nihilism isn't inherently negative.

I didn't imply that those with nihilistic views were immoral, I just stated that I don't quite understand how one can perceive everything as meaningless. Despite my contrasting ideals pertaining to the meaning of life, I can still respect one's worldview.

 

[gimmepie]

I didn't imply that those with nihilistic views were immoral, I just stated that I don't quite understand how one can perceive everything as meaningless. Despite my contrasting ideals pertaining to the meaning of life, I can still respect one's worldview.

Well, let's see if I can help you with understanding a bit? I can more or less understand why you'd want to believe in an ingrained human purpose so it seems only fair to do my bit to help explaining my own stance.

For starters, it's not perceiving everything as meaningless. Nihilism is a rejection of the idea that there's any meaning inherent to life. It means we don't believe that anyone is born with a purpose and that there is no special reason for our existence. It doesn't mean you can't find value in a certain course of action. It doesn't mean there isn't any personal meaning in pursuing something. It means that there's no higher calling ingrained in your life.

As for how I can believe that? Well let's look at all the suffering in the world. Are all those people destined to suffer from birth until death by some higher mandate? What's good about that? I find it hard to believe that anyone is destined to live an awful life with literally no hope of improvement regardless of what help is provided. I find it hard to believe that the millions of people who were enslaved throughout history lived that life because that was their purpose, as a more specific example.

What about the success stories? To believe that someone achieves something great because it was their purpose to do so is to strip their accomplishments of all value. A lot of people had to work hard and sacrificed a hell of a lot to achieve the things they have and I refuse to take those accomplishments from them.

Finally, I simply see see no indication that anyone was born for any specific purpose. I could just have easily ended up in a totally different life to the one I'm living. I don't have any personal sense of overarching purpose nor have I ever met anyone who I felt was born to fulfil a certain role. We get where we end up because of a series of choices and coincidences and we come into the world through the same.

I hope that helps explain my perspective a bit more for you!

 

[Her]

I think those that see nihilism as a rejection of morality are people that have trouble understanding a viewpoint that wasn't handed down to them. Like, I get it - it's pretty easy to get swirled up in the popular depictions of what nihilism is, or rather, who subscribes to it. It has the reputation it has due to the philosophy being used as a cheap and easy way in media to identify the lonely outcast, or more specifically, the anti-social strawman. It's easy to see nihilism as a rejection of beliefs and a rejection of moral structures when the concept has been so famously diluted as a point of comedy or an easy buzzword for the loser character in popular culture.

 

[Ninetales]

Well, let's see if I can help you with understanding a bit? I can more or less understand why you'd want to believe in an ingrained human purpose so it seems only fair to do my bit to help explaining my own stance.

For starters, it's not perceiving everything as meaningless. Nihilism is a rejection of the idea that there's any meaning inherent to life. It means we don't believe that anyone is born with a purpose and that there is no special reason for our existence. It doesn't mean you can't find value in a certain course of action. It doesn't mean there isn't any personal meaning in pursuing something. It means that there's no higher calling ingrained in your life.

As for how I can believe that? Well let's look at all the suffering in the world. Are all those people destined to suffer from birth until death by some higher mandate? What's good about that? I find it hard to believe that anyone is destined to live an awful life with literally no hope of improvement regardless of what help is provided. I find it hard to believe that the millions of people who were enslaved throughout history lived that life because that was their purpose, as a more specific example.

What about the success stories? To believe that someone achieves something great because it was their purpose to do so is to strip their accomplishments of all value. A lot of people had to work hard and sacrificed a hell of a lot to achieve the things they have and I refuse to take those accomplishments from them.

Finally, I simply see see no indication that anyone was born for any specific purpose. I could just have easily ended up in a totally different life to the one I'm living. I don't have any personal sense of overarching purpose nor have I ever met anyone who I felt was born to fulfil a certain role. We get where we end up because of a series of choices and coincidences and we come into the world through the same.

I hope that helps explain my perspective a bit more for you!

Alright, thank you! You explained this incredibly well. I can understand where you're coming from, in a way. I do agree with the point that people indeed need to work hard in order to be accomplished, absolutely. While I am religious, I know that I can't simply sit back and ask God for success, that isn't realistic and that's not how life works. Hard work, passion, dedication, resilience, blood, sweat, and tears lead to success. I've always been slightly bothered when people claim that my successes in life are the result of God. Sure, maybe God provided guidance at some point, but the only individual responsible for my accomplishments and my academic prosperity, is myself. Furthermore, I also do agree that people control their own destiny. The choices you make will alter and shape your life. With that being said, I still firmly believe that everyone has a duty to be kind and compassionate, to show love to others and to aid the marginalized people of society in any way possible.

I think it is refreshing and rather interesting to share perspectives and to learn the views of others. Initially, I believed that nihilism entailed a cynical view of existence, believing it to be worthless in all of its entirety. Of course, you have done an excellent job in enlightening me!