Nihilism - an unhealthy, self-destructive philosophical school?

[hellheaven1987]

I notice, in my past years in TWC, that a lot of our members are actually Nihilists (either admitted or expressed similar thought). I wonder, how our fellow Nihilists ever able to live a healthy, meaningful life if you guys already think life has no purpose? I mean, if Nihilists think life has no purpose, why not shoot yourself now and end this meaningless life, but instead choose to live like a living corpse?

[Taiji]

So all that holds you back from shooting yourself is that you think your life has a purpose? You don't enjoy anything about it?

[hellheaven1987]

You don't enjoy anything about it?

Why would you enjoy anything when you think they are all meaningless?

[DaniCatBurger]

One purpose sounds quite boring. Many is much better ... a coffee, a book, greating the cat. Already three.

[Ciabhán]

Believing that life has no intrinsic value on a grand scale doesn't mean that our lives have no value to us.

You find what is meaningful to you. Nothing I do is going to change the course of existence. That doesn't mean it shouldn't be done.

[Taiji]

Why would you enjoy anything when you think they are all meaningless?

This is sounding really odd to me. I wonder if there's some confusion about the meaning of meaning.

Please try to give one example of what something, anything at all, means to you. Hopefully it will help me understand what you're talking about.

[Samraat Mahendra Maurya]

In Santana Dharma,

Surrender is not a lip transaction. Surrender means not only to surrender one's possessions, but to realize that the possessions themselves are false. I am not master of anything! Surrender means giving everything to give up everything to Guru so we may get over lament, hankering and rid ourselves of the unholy connection of so many possessions, so that they may not disturb us by always suggesting, "You are my master," and in this way misleading us.

We should think "Everything belongs to the lord and his delegation (Guru). I am not the master of anything." That sort of knowledge we should imbibe , and that will really help our spiritual progress. This is reality, the beautiful. We have to realize this fact. We want truth, and we want to free ourself from false notions. So, proper diksa, spiritual initiation, imparts the divine knowledge that nothing belongs to us; not only that, everything is part and parcel of the Lord, including ourselves. That is the conception of Diksa: "I belong to Him; Everything belongs to him. I am his willing, happy, loving and surrendered servant, and these objects are of his service"


his is reality, and we are suffering under nonreality in an imaginary world. We are living in a fool's paradise. We should do away with the fool's paradise and try to enter into real paradise. When we have a peep into the characteristic of the absolute environment of reality, and even a little regard for the truth, we can no longer relish the paraphernalia of this world as we did previously. Because we have had a real taste of the higher truth, we will have no charm for this material world. We will no longer feel encouragement to meet with the duties that are relating to this world of enjoyment. We will be indifferent.
We know that the connection with the present enjoying mood brings a painful reaction. We can realize that, but we cannot leave it behind. We cannot cut off the connection completely in the stage of sadhana, spiritual practice. Still, we have no other alternative. Our affinity for the positive truth should be increased more and more and gradually our affinity for our paraphernalia and obligations will all disappear. Although repeatedly we may not be successful, still we will be unable to give up the idea. We will attempt again and again to make progress towards the truth, and when we are unsuccessful, our heart will ache to think that we are repeatedly being defeated by the enemies who are all around us.
But the fire of Krishna consciousness is there, and that fire is not to be quenched. It is a spark of eternal truth. So, the fire will continue, and the day will come when the enemies that are surrounding us will have to retire once and for all. One day we will find that Krishna has gradually captured our whole heart, and the others have retired forever; they are no longer present to trouble us in our mental circle. We will find that those unwanted things were like mushrooms: they came out from our mental soil, and now they have all gone and died. They have all gone away, and Krishna alone is in the heart. At that time, the heart is only full of Krishna, full of the Krishna conception.

[Denny Crane!]

Why would you enjoy anything when you think they are all meaningless?

Enjoy meaningless sex. Enjoy eating chocolate. These things are physically stimulating. Ultimately absolutely everything is. It is enjoyable because we are programmed to find it so. We are also programmed not to just randomly kill ourselves. We keep ourselves going with thoughts of meaning, or not as the case may be the end result is the same.

[Visna]

I notice, in my past years in TWC, that a lot of our members are actually Nihilists (either admitted or expressed similar thought). I wonder, how our fellow Nihilists ever able to live a healthy, meaningful life if you guys already think life has no purpose? I mean, if Nihilists think life has no purpose, why not shoot yourself now and end this meaningless life, but instead choose to live like a living corpse?

Objective or subjective purpose?

[Lord Oda Nobunaga]

I tend to agree with Nihilism, that it's more or less true as far as we can tell. That does not mean however that I will succumb to the effects of it or that I will somehow give in to it or accept it in a spiritual sense of sorts. On the contrary the fact that Nihilism may be true makes me want to treat my life and actions with more value. I will not give in or accept a nihilistic attitude. As I said though "as far as we know" meaning that it might not be the case after all. Personally the idea of death and finite existence does not bother me too much. At first it is terrifying but somehow and for some reason it does not sound so bad. It might even be a relief of some kind.

After all why would everything be meaningless? Meaning only exists in so far as the meaning that you give to things. It really is up to you for the most part.
If say that for some reason it is proven that there is no God or supreme being or even some kind of pre-ordained purpose for our existence. So what? I would rather accept the truth in that case than to live a lie.
If you are already atheist then what is the point then in feeling that way if everything is already, according to your own beliefs, finite and not absolute?

[fkizz]

nihilists find the answer in hedonism and instant gratification of senses

[Ciabhán]

Not true. Good try marginalising one philosophy with another though. Nihilism does not directly lead to hedonism and hedonism is often found among those who are not nihilists. In fact hedonism's claim that pleasure is an intrinsic value is contrary to nihilism. Hedonistic nihilism is an oxymoron. One can be a pleasure seeking nihilist but that doesn't mean they follow the philosophy of hedonism. Hedonism is about pleasure for it's own sake. Nihilism is about finding subjective meaning in our own lives.

[Lord Oda Nobunaga]

Yes quite true. Nihilism says that Hedonism is finite and so then a pointless exercise.

Nihilism might even go with Stoicism in certain aspects.

[hellheaven1987]

After all why would everything be meaningless?

Because to live is meaningless?

[Samraat Mahendra Maurya]

Because to live is meaningless?

Die to Live?

[DaniCatBurger]

Because to live is meaningless?

You use the verb instead of the noun in your counterquestion, a move with linguistic and philosophical consequences regarding "meaning".

[MaximiIian]

Why would you enjoy anything when you think they are all meaningless?

The key phrasing here is that things lack inherent meaning. That does not mean that are entirely meaningless. To assume that follows from the previous statement is the common mistake in assessing existential thought, including and especially nihilism.
What it means is that meaning is made by us. We, as individuals and as a group, assign value and meaning to everything around us, and choose our purpose in life. That is an enormous amount of freedom, but also an enormous amount of responsibility.

[DaniCatBurger]

... the ergon, culture ... and ethics

[Ciabhán]

Life is meaningless in the grand scheme. Living is full of the meaning we give it in our scheme.

[Samraat Mahendra Maurya]

OP, are most of the Nihilists you met religious?