The Inevitability of Nihilism

“I think; therefore I exist,” is a quote by Descartes, which signifies that by creating life’s
meaning we have meaning. Nihilism and hopelessness is the result of this “absurdism,” or the
feeling of despair, loneliness, and meaninglessness.

Schultheiss, John. “CTVA 309. Film as Literature: Existentialism Readings.”CSUN. Department

of Cinema and Television Arts, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.csun.edu/~ctva/OverviewBios/READINGS/CTVA%20309%20Existential.pdf>.

Nihilism is “the total rejection of established laws and institutions or other revolutionary
activities.” According to Borg, he came to the conclusion that nihilism is a label rather than a
condition that someone can have. He feels that the use of nihilism is used against groups with
little in common. He feels that people nigilating is a form of endangered fear.

Ungar, Sheldon. “Is Nihilism Dead?” Rev. of Commentary , by Sheldon Ungar.

Sociological Analysis . Association for the Sociology of Religion,
Inc.., 1990. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. <http://www.jstor.org/pss/3711344>.

The most approachable cause of any synthetic human intelligence is linked to the inevitability of
nihilism. The fulfillment of human being consists in understanding and accepting itself and
further tying itself to the concept of nihilism (and intelligence rooted from that).

Sheehan, Thomas. Nihilism. Loyola University Chicago, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2010.
< http://www.stanford.edu/dept/relstud/faculty/sheehan/pdf/98-NIHIL.pdf>.

According to Pope John Paul II, nihilism is “a denial of the humanity and of the very identity of
the human being”. Thinking only of the inevitability of death or destruction causes people to lose
touch with the “truth”, and so it’s more important for humanity to have a little hope.

Pope John Paul II. “FIDES ET RATIO (Faith and Reason).” L’Osservatore Romano. N.p., 14
Oct. 1998. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. <http://www.ewtn.com/library/encyc/jp2fides.htm>.

If one is weakly constituted, he may fall victim to despair in the face of nihilism, the recognition
that life has no intrinsic meaning. He has understood that nihilism is the ultimate meaning of the
moral point of view, its life-denying essence, and he reconfigures the moral idea of autonomy so
as to release the life-affirming potential within it.

Crowell, Steven. “Existentialism.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford

Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 11 Oct. 2010. Web. 24 Oct. 2010.
< http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/existentialism/#NieNih>.

Nihilism is the philosophy of nothingness. It states that a search for meaning of our life and our
purpose at the end is an end in itself. There is no possibility of finding the goal of truth. Nihilists
believe that life is no more than a place for sensations and experiences.
Faith and Reason. Eternal Word Television Network, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.ewtn.com/library/encyc/jp2fides.htm>.

Essentially this idea means a man becomes an existentialist once he realizes his awareness of his
current situation. From that realization, the questioning of meaningless and purpose poor into his
mind which then create fear of the unknown. The personal responsibility a man has of
understanding himself brings anxiety and can ultimately result in the depression of nihilism.

Dr. John Schultheiss. “Film as Literature: Existentialism Readings.”

Department of Cinema and Television Arts . California State University
Norhtridge, n.d. <http://www.csun.edu/~ctva/OverviewBios/READINGS/
CTVA%20309%20Existential.pdf>. Rpt. in Department of Cinema and
Television Arts . N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Sweet Search. Web. 24 Oct. 2010.

“The Myth of Sisyphus” set out the philosophical questions that he would also address in his
novels. He analyzed nihilism and the absurdity and futility of human labor given the inevitability
of death. Camus argued that man must make his own meaning by enjoying his efforts and
struggles, despite their ultimate lack of significance.

Camus, Albert. “French Novelist Albert Camus Is Born — History.com This Day in History —
11/7/1913.” History.com — History Made Every Day — American & World History. 7 Nov.
1996. Web. 23 Oct. 2010. <http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/french-novelist-albert-
camus-is-born>.

Nihilism has to do with ideas and existence being “nil” or nothing. Nihilism is not a state of
mind that can be overcome, in a way nothing has value but this valueless way of thinking is
liberating. It is rooted in scientific research and how science is proven wrong and new ideas
come about to replace old proven untrue ideas. Which means that all of this ideas are thus
meaningless if they can be proven wrong.

Nejadmehr, Rasoul. Education, science and truth. New York: Routledge, 2009.

“Nihilism” comes from the Latin nihil, or nothing, which means not anything, that which does
not exist. It appears in the verb “annihilate,” meaning to bring to nothing, to destroy completely.”
Nihilism can be defined as “the belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known
or communicated.” The inevitability of nihilism refers to the idea that one way or another the
human race will find a way to destroy itself and eventually we will cause a catastrophic and
irreversible crisis. This philosophy is “associated with pessimism and skepticism which
condemns existence.”

Pratt, Alan. “Nihilism.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p., 3 May 2005.

Web. 19 Oct. 2010. http://www.iep.utm.edu/nihilism/.

The Inevitability of Nihilism means that humans will destroy everything one day. Our natural
world has become almost completely man made because of all of the world’s technological
advances. In this idea nihilism is being compared to “humanism”, or “the ideology which asserts
that human being is fulfilled in abetting the limitless availability and intelligibility of everything
that is.” By taking over everything in our paths humans will eventually lead the world to the
result of nihilism.

Sheehan, Thomas. “Overcoming Nihilism.” Stanford.edu. Stanford University, 2010.

Web. 19 Oct. 2010. <http://www.stanford.edu/dept/relstud/faculty/sheehan/
pdf/98-NIHIL.pdf>.

A true Nihilist would not believe in anything, have no loyalties, and have no other purpose
except to destroy. It is most associated with Friedrich Nietzsche who argued that its corrosive
effects would eventually destroy all moral, religious, and metaphysical convictions and
precipitate the greatest crises in human history.

Pratt, Alan. “Nihilism.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Peer-Reviewed

Academic Resource, 23 Apr. 2001. Web. 19 Oct. 2010.
http://www.iep.utm.edu/nihilism/.

Belief in Nihilism stems from fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible, as well as from natural
scientific beliefs, for example Darwinism. Nietzsche also developed these thoughts from his own
experiments in psychology and the history of morals. He often concentrated on looking for
theistic support for morality and belief.

Crowell, Steven. “Existentialism.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p.,

Oct. 2010. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/
existentialism/>.

“Nihilism is the belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or
communicated.” It is said that nihilists believe in absolutely nothing and the only purpose behind
the existence of a nihilist is to destroy. The philosopher most closely associated with this theory
is Friedrich Nietzsche who postulated that nihilism with its great capacity for destruction would
eventually erode away the fabric of society and possibly result in “the greatest crisis in human
history.” Nihilism in the context of Existentialism is based on the assumption that the world is
utterly without meaning or purpose. Nihilism is considered inevitable because if one works from
the assumption that the world is without purpose than one will see everything as worthless and
meaningless and this idea which is contagious will eventually annihilate the fabric of society.

Pratt, Alan. “Nihilism.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2010.
http://www.iep.utm.edu/nihilism/.

“Love and Nihilism A Parallelism Primer”

From the day a civilization is founded, it drifts farther from reality and further into the world of
appearance. People manipulate each other to get ahead, and the side effect is a corrupted image
of reality.

A.N.U.S. American Nihilist Underground Society, Alex Birch. “Love and Nihilism:
A Parallelism Primer.” American Nihilist Underground Society. N.p., n.d.
Web. 20 Oct. 2010. <http://www.anus.com/zine/philosophy/>.

When civilization begun, people had to start society by owning different things in order to
survive. Now in modern times, people can own things that aren’t necessities for survival, and the
Nihilism beliefs say that these extra wants by people is what causes chaos. People try to gain
materialistic things like big houses, flashy cars, the newest TV’s, etc. Which according to
Nihilism is a waste of time because these secular goals have no purpose to life and people
sometimes fight to have these materialistic things like: money, business, political positions.
Which leads to corruption and chaos in the world, and this portrays the nihilist’s view of society.

Nihilism is the philosophy that the world and life is meaningless. Therefore all of our actions and
attempts to cope with emotions are empty. It is also a philosophy that is extremely pessimistic
and its beliefs are that existence is meaningless and human shave an impulse to destroy and
suffer.

Pratt, Alan. “Nihilism.” Internet Encyclopedia if Philosophy. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2005.
http://www.iep.utm.edu/nihilism/.

In its origins, nihilism became associated with a Russian, decentralized and revolutionary
anarchist movement (C.1860-1917). The movement rejected the authority of the government,
church and family, and set individuality and freedom as the ultimate goal. The words of anarchist
leader Mikhail Bakunin are associated with nihilism: “Let us put our trust in the eternal spirit
which destroys and annihilates only because it is the unsearchable and eternally creative source
of all life–the passion for destruction is also a creative passion!” This entreaty relates to the idea
that destruction is inevitable.
Pratt, Alan. “Nihilism.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ed. James Fieser. IEP, 3 May
2005. Web. 23 Oct. 2010. <http://www.iep.utm.edu/nihilism/>.

Miller, Forrestt A. “Nihilism.” Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Grolier Online, 2010. Web. 23
Oct. 2010.
http://go.grolier.es.vrc.scoolaid.net/

Nihilism, a form of philosophical realism popular in Russia during the 1860s and ‘70s, reflected
a scientific and materialist view of humankind and of its place in the physical world. Ivan
Turgenev, in his novel Fathers and Sons, was the first to apply the term to the young radicals of
the era; he used it to describe the character Bazarov, who negated everything that could not be
proved scientifically.
Nihilism is the rejection of all principles (both moral and religious) and is often associated
with the idea that life is meaningless. While many philosophers have tried to explain life’s
purpose and meaning, Pascal expressed a truly nihilistic point of view when he said that any
person who tries to explain life’s purpose is arrogant and shouldn’t bother. Because Pascal, a
philosopher himself, believed that people shouldn’t even try to discover life’s meaning, it is
obvious that he is a nihilist. His “giving up” (as far as searching for life’s purpose goes) provides
an interesting alternative to the more commonplace questioning of life’s purpose.
Diamond, Marie Josephine, ed. “existentialism.” Encyclopedia of World Writers, 19th and 20th
Centuries. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003. Bloom’s Literary Reference Online. Facts On
File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin=
GEWW185&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 23, 2010).

The nihilist interpretation which says that we will all die in the end is different from Christian
beliefs it conflicts with the idea and the word of God because nihilism is denying humanity and
that humans exist for a reason. This is why many christens don’t believe in Nihilism because
they believe God put them on earth for a reason, not to just die in the end.

“Pope John Paul II.” Faith and Reason. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.ewtn.com/library/encyc/jp2fides.htm>.

Nihilism derives from the Latin term “nihil” which means nothing, and is seen in “annihilate”,
which means to completely destroy. One of the most conspicuous philosophers who associated
with nihilism was Friedrich Nietzsche. He wrote, “ Every belief, every considering something-
true is necessarily false because there is simply no true world”. In short, according to Nietzsche,
Nihilism describes that existence will inevitably collapse because it has no meaning, relevance,
or purpose, and is the destruction on both humanity and reality.

Pratt, Alan. “Nihilism.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy . N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2010.
http://www.iep.utm.edu/nihilism/.

“Jean-Paul Sartre’s (1905-1980) defining preposition for the movement, “existence precedes
essence,” rules out any ground or foundation for establishing an essential self or a human
nature.” Once people stop believing in things that are not true, they are faced with the realization
that life means nothing. This idea is contradictory for nihilists because they see nothing as
freedom but also as terror. Nihilists set out to deal with the “emotional anguish” that comes with
this realization.

Pratt, Alan. “Nihilism.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. IEP, 3 May 2005. Web. 24 Oct.
2010. http://www.iep.utm.edu/nihilism/#H3.

Nihilism is the belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or
communicated. Some believe that the key to human freedom is freeing ourselves of the illusion
of God and something beyond death. Existentialism, when atheistic, often leads to despair; it
results in nihilism. This is because, if we’re all going to die, and there is no other “essence,” then
what is the point of doing anything? Everything is just useless.

Perkins, Karey. “Brief Summary of Existentialism.” Dissertation: Walker Percy. N.p., 2002.
Web. 24 Oct. 2010. <http://kareyperkins.com/percy/exist.html>.

Pratt, Alan. “Nihilism.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p., 3 May 2005.

Web. 24 Oct. 2010. <http://www.iep.utm.edu/nihilism/>.
Nihilism comes from the Latin word meaning “nothing”, as in nothing exists. Nihilism revolves
around pessimism and the rejection of basically all beliefs and values. Basically, this idea is
saying that nothing can be truly known or communicated. Nihilists such as Friedrich Nietzsche
believe that things such as religious beliefs are the biggest crisis in human history.

 a revolutionary doctrine that advocates destruction of the social system for its own sake
 nihilistic delusion: the delusion that things (or everything, including the self) do not exist;
a sense that everything is unreal
 complete denial of all established authority and institutions

<wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn>

“While nihilism is often discussed in terms of extreme skepticism and relativism, for most of the
20th century it has been associated with the belief that life is meaningless. Existential nihilism
begins with the notion that the world is without meaning or purpose. Given this circumstance,
existence itself–all action, suffering, and feeling–is ultimately senseless and empty.”

Pratt, Alan. “Nihilism.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p., 3 May 2005. Web. 24 Oct.
2010. <http://www.iep.utm.edu/nihilism/>.

Nihilism deals with a skeptical type of philosophy and is the idea that nothing exists and that
condemns existence. A nihilist would probably reject most types of thought and ideas and
perhaps have a goal to destroy. Nihilism as it relates to existentialism is that “existence itself–all
action, suffering, and feeling–is ultimately senseless and empty.”

Pratt, Alan. “Nihilism.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p., 3 May 2005. Web. 22 Oct.
2010. <http://www.iep.utm.edu/nihilism/>.

http://whosafraid.wikispaces.com/The+Inevitability+of+Nihilism