Who is a nihilist? psychological causes of nihilism

Who is a nihilist

The term "nihilism" is more often used in the field of politics, where it means "recognizing nothing." But in a broad sense it is used in relation to youth movements, and in relation to teenagers, and in relation to the worldview of a particular individual.

A nihilist denies public moral norms and values (love, family, health), patterns of behavior, and the established civil legal regime. Sometimes a nihilist finds like-minded people, but with them (or without them) he finds himself cut off from real life in society.

The nihilist denies everything, even the very value of human life. He does not recognize authorities, leaders, does not trust anyone and does not obey. Nihilism presupposes non-acceptance of modern laws and standards of life, but at the same time, a nihilist may well be guided by the orders of other communities. However, even more often the nihilist promotes his own standards of life.

A nihilist is characterized by cynical thinking, grins, sarcastic statements and ridicule, provocations, irony, and impudent behavior. He often talks about how “infuriated” he is by humanity and the very structure of the world.

Preferences of nihilists

In fact, a modern nihilist is a person based on spiritual minimalism and a special theory of mindfulness. The preferences of nihilists are based on the denial of any meanings, rules, norms, social rules, traditions and morality. Such people do not tend to worship any rulers; they do not recognize authorities, do not believe in higher powers, and deny laws and public demands.

Do you consider yourself a nihilist?

Not really

Psychologists note that nihilism is actually a close movement to realism, but at the same time it is based solely on a factual basis. This is a kind of skepticism, thinking at a critical point, but in the form of an extended philosophical interpretation. Experts also note the reasons for the emergence of nihilism - a heightened sense of self-preservation and human egoism; nihilists recognize only the material, denying the spiritual.

Nihilists in literature

A well-known literary work that touches on the concept of nihilism is the story “Nihilist” from the author Sofia Kovalevskaya about the Russian revolutionary movement. The denunciation of “nihilism” in the form of crude caricature can be traced in such well-known literary works as “The Cliff” by Goncharov, “On Knives” by Leskov, “The Troubled Sea” by Pisemsky, “The Haze” by Klyushnikov, “The Fracture” and “The Abyss” by Markevich and many other works .

"Fathers and Sons"

Nihilists in Russian literature are, first of all, the memorable heroes from Turgenev’s books, for example, the reflective nihilist Bazarov, and Sitnikov and Kukushkin followed his ideology. Bazarov’s atypical ideological position can already be seen in dialogues and disputes with Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov, showing different attitudes towards the common people. In the book "Fathers and Sons" the nihilist shows a pronounced denial of art and literature.

Nietzsche

It is also known that Nietzsche was a nihilist; his nihilism consisted in the devaluation of high values. A philosopher and philologist, Nietzsche connected human nature and values, but immediately emphasized that man himself devalues everything. The famous philosopher insisted that compassion is a destructive quality, even when it comes to loved ones. His nihilism is nothing more than the idea of a superman and a Christian ideal that is free in every sense.

Dostoevsky

In the works of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky there are also nihilistic characters. In the writer’s understanding, a nihilist is a type of tragic thinker, a rebel and a denier of social norms, as well as an opponent of God himself. If we consider the work “Demons”, the character Shatov, Stavrogin and Kirillov became a nihilist. This also includes Dostoevsky’s book “Crime and Punishment,” where nihilism reached the brink of murder.

Negative aspects of Bazarov's nihilism

It can be noted that Bazarov’s nihilism, despite many positive aspects, also has negative ones. It contains the danger of discouragement. Moreover, nihilism can turn into superficial skepticism. It can even transform into cynicism. Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, thus, astutely noted not only the positive aspects of Bazarov, but also the negative ones. He also showed that, under certain circumstances, it could develop to the extreme and lead to dissatisfaction with life and loneliness.

However, as noted by K.A. Timiryazev, an outstanding Russian democratic scientist, in the image of Bazarov, the author embodied only the traits of a type that was emerging at that time, which showed concentrated energy despite all the “minor shortcomings.” It was thanks to her that the Russian naturalist managed in a short time to take a place of honor both at home and abroad.

Now you know why Bazarov is called a nihilist. In depicting this character, Turgenev used the technique of so-called secret psychology. Ivan Sergeevich presented the nature of Evgeny, the spiritual evolution of his hero through the life trials that befell him.

Russian nihilism

In Russia, nihilism was mostly a St. Petersburg phenomenon that did not take root in the provinces. Nihilism of the mid-19th century is considered a mass phenomenon that captured Russian culture.

Among the literary heroes of nihilists you can see such characters as: Bazarov, Verkhovensky and Kirillov. And among public figures there are such personalities as Dmitry Ivanovich Pisarev and Sergei Gennadievich Nechaev.

The Nihilism Movement in Russia

Alexander II ascended the throne in 1855 (until 1881) and in the sixth year of his reign, freed the peasants. This meant that they had rights far beyond any other peasantry in Europe. This created the basis for nihilism.

Russian nihilism can be divided into two periods.

The fundamental period when the “counter-cultural” aspects of nihilism shocked Russia occurred in 1860-1869

Then even the most minor indiscretions led nihilists to exile to Siberia or to long-term imprisonment. It was at that time that the philosophy of nihilism was formed

Another period was the revolutionary period of nihilism (1870–1881), when the pamphlet "Catechism of a Revolutionary" inspired a "movement in anticipation" into an "active movement", with dozens of actions against the Russian state.

The revolutionary period ends with the assassination of Tsar Alexander II (March 13, 1881) by a series of bombs and the subsequent defeat of the nihilistic movement.

Nihilism in literature

Two novels are truly considered classics of Russian nihilism - “Fathers and Sons” and “Demons”. In them we can fully feel and understand Russian nihilism.

But before the appearance of Turgenev’s “Fathers and Sons,” the term “nihilist” did not have any specific meaning and that is probably why it did not become widespread. Only the image of Bazarov in this novel made this term famous, even a fighting word, which then for decades did not leave the pages of fiction, as well as political literature.

Nihilism in the novel “Fathers and Sons”

Nihilism in the image of Bazarov in Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev’s novel “Fathers and Sons” has been exciting the minds of readers since its creation in the 1860s.

Educated, smart, has his own point of view, but does not know how to apply his knowledge in practice. Bazarov is a “new man”, a rebel who believed that everything must first be destroyed (as in true nihilism), and then think about what to build on this vacant place.

At that time, political and social changes were taking place in society, and Bazarov was an excellent indicator of that time.

What is nihilism - the essence

The definition of nihilism (in Latin nihilism) is an indiscriminate denial of established social norms, values, authorities (source: Dictionary of the Russian language: In 4 volumes / RAS, Institute of Linguistic Research; Edited by A. P. Evgenieva. - 4th ed., printed - M.: Russian language; Polygraphresursy, 1999).

In simple and short terms, a nihilist is a person who denies social order.

The principles of nihilism and the denial of authorities find their place in various sciences and social movements. Nihilism is most clearly reflected in literature, history, philosophy, and psychology.

What's the point

In fact, everything is very simple: a person has no meaning in life, absolutely none. That is, dear friend, you live because once upon a time your dad and mom did absolutely nothing that could have prevented your birth. So you live here because you live because you were conceived.

A person is his own authority, and no one dictates to him, and culture, religion, love, ethics and morality are social tools created by the system to control a person.

Perhaps the best worldview for cynics and those who are too lazy to look back at moral standards, God and the opinions of others after every step. That is, if you are an ugly pervert with a bunch of complexes and deviations for which society despises you, then the best way to convince yourself that you are normal and still higher and better than others is to become a nihilist. Alas, therefore, among such a healthy trend there are many offended, disappointed in life, unemployed, lonely beggars and, oddly enough, suicides. After all, you have to somehow justify your own, so to speak, inferiority. Although what an inferiority this is, because from the point of view of theory this is normal, he simply does not need all these false benefits: cars on credit, iPhones and expensive tomatoes. He denies love and consumption - they make a person a slave.

But one should not confuse nihilism with sociopathy, persistent teenage moronism or misanthropy. Sitting at home and trying to convince yourself that there is nothing wrong with being alone is unlikely to improve your life. Nihilism requires work on oneself. Since you called yourself a milk mushroom, then be kind enough to get rid of habits, attachments, some attitudes and comfort.

Therefore, not everyone is able to withstand absolute freedom. Man is weak by nature and with great joy comes under the protection of various dogmas.

But a nihilist has no choice. If you add to this the breakdown of social ties, the abandonment of favorite habits, the rethinking of the rating scale, then you can go crazy. But without the experience of such experiences, nihilism cannot exist. They are what make him different from the snarling, stupid crowd. This is also why they have such conceit: they say, I went through thorns, now it’s your turn.

A nihilist does not create illusions and never deceives himself: they say, “there is justice.” He faces this strange world with all its hostility and sees in it only a tool to achieve his own goals. But looking at his personality, he sees the same thing. He will despise everyone and everything and only care about himself if he can understand who he is. He is the freest person, owing nothing to anyone. But he will not call himself a nihilist, because labeling is against his will.

In fact, a nihilist (a terrible cynic the likes of which the world has never seen) in order to achieve his goal is ready to stoop to various bases, even if it will be necessary to smear himself with shit or rob an old lady. The main thing is that he will do this with a feeling of complete self-righteousness.

Attitude to the outside world

Throughout the novel, the author demonstrates Bazarov’s attitude to many life values. The main character does not believe in love, he looks at women only as living beings. Love for Bazarov is an absurd nonsense that romantics came up with.

Bazarov expresses a negative attitude towards nature. For him, it is just a workshop in which the main thing is the human worker.

Evgeniy believes that science is much more important than creativity. This is how Bazarov’s position regarding art is expressed. According to him, Raphael is not worth a penny.

Bazarov did not deny everything around him, but only what did not bring specific benefits to humans: nature, art, love. Science and medicine were of great importance in Eugene’s life, to which he devoted most of his time.

Pros and cons

Preservation of one's individuality is a positive feature of nihilism.
We have already considered that nihilism is an individual’s negative attitude towards some views, values or ideals. This phenomenon is a form of worldview, a model of behavior in society.

The benefits include:

the ability to express one’s own individuality;
searching for new solutions, the likelihood of making discoveries;
the opportunity to declare your identity;
the ability to defend one's opinion.

It is worth considering the negative aspects of this direction, namely:

limited views, inability to go beyond the boundaries;
categorical judgments, which harms the nihilist himself;
the misunderstanding that is caused among others, the lack of normal friends and associates.

Now you know what the concept of nihilism and nihilists means. Although nihilism is not a new phenomenon, many questions affecting it are still unanswered. An individual person can interpret the meaning of this term differently; some view nihilism as a disease that does not allow one to live normally in society, while others view it as a panacea.

Universal Nihilism

What is nihilism is a simple and understandable definition - it is based on the denial of generally accepted norms, which means that there is and cannot be any “single” idea of a nihilist in art.

Types of nihilism

The biography of Peter of Lombardy will be very different from the biography of Wilhelm Reich, but they are both nihilists. Words that served as a challenge in medieval Europe today have lost their former danger. You can believe in Christ or not believe in him. You can accept absolutely any hypothesis regarding his life; it will in no way serve as a manifestation of nihilism.

But the true manifestation of nihilism in the 21st century can be the questions that were taken for granted by the generation of parents of today's children. Each next generation asks these questions on its own.

Definition of the concept

Despite the fact that you can often hear the word nihilists, not everyone knows what it means. It comes from Latin and is translated as “nothing.” This is a person who belongs to a certain movement, subculture, denies the ideals and norms accepted by society. Nihilists can be found among creative individuals who have a non-standard type of thinking; you can hear about them in mass media sources and in literary works.

A nihilist denies stereotypes, moral norms and rules. This ideological position is contradictory, often conflicting. It has the right to exist, however, it is not approved by society.

In different historical eras, the definition of nihilism has had slightly different meanings. For the first time they started talking about it in the medieval era, nihilism was considered as a certain doctrine, which was represented by Pope Alexander III. In Germany, this term was used by the writer Yaqubi, who considered it as a philosophical direction. Nietzsche was a nihilist, he was convinced of the failure of the Christian God, and opposed the ideas of progress.

Today you can find both adherents of nihilism and its opponents. Some people see this phenomenon as a pathological condition and consider it necessary to resist it, while others are adherents of this idea.

Nihilists do not believe in values such as art, love, and nature. However, human morality is always based on such concepts. Each individual must realize that in the world around him there are values, without which it is not possible to live. Namely, love for people, for life, the desire to receive satisfaction from one’s existence, to be happy. A person who is carried away by nihilistic views may, over time, realize the fallacy of his opinions, the incorrectness of his judgments.

Nihilists can deny spiritual life, family values, and moral principles. They do not want to recognize the concepts that form the basis of the existence of society. Every person must understand that these basics are important for normal existence among people.

What kind of nihilist is he today?

Many philosophers are inclined to think that modern man himself is already a nihilist to some extent, although the modern trend of nihilism has already branched into other subspecies. Many people, without even knowing about the essence of nihilism, throughout their lives sail under the sail of a ship that is called nihilism. A modern nihilist is a person who does not recognize any values, generally accepted norms and morals, and does not bow to any will.

Types of nihilism

1. Geographical nihilism

What is geographical nihilism is the denial of the role of geographical factors on the development of humanity, a specific person, nation, culture, individual.

Geographical nihilism is the assertion that it does not matter where events take place, in what place a person was born, and that a point on the map has an impact on the individual in particular and the world in general.

2. Cultural nihilism

This is a complete denial of the cultural component of all areas of public life. This direction was formed from the counterculture movement. His followers were: Freud, Rousseau, Nietzsche. At one time, counterculture devotees advocated technological progress, extolling the value of intellect and reason, devaluing emotionality and sensuality. Pop culture and the cult of consumerism in Western civilization have become a separate target for attacks.

3. Moral nihilism

From a philosophical point of view, moral nihilism is the concept according to which any action cannot be considered moral or immoral. According to the statement, morality was invented artificially to limit the freedom of the majority. The purpose of creating ethical rules is to achieve someone's benefit. Therefore, moral norms cannot be considered true and it is not necessary to follow them. A free person does not need such restrictions.

4. Mereological nihilism

The philosophical concept that only indivisible objects exist. For example, a tree cannot be considered a separate object from the entire forest; any organ is an inseparable part of the whole body, and each person is a part of society, which is their totality.

5. Moral nihilism

Moral nihilism is the same as moral nihilism. According to his principles, there are no bad or good deeds, from a moral point of view - any moral laws are imposed on people specifically to restrict freedom.

6. Legal nihilism

What is legal nihilism is the denial of legal norms necessary for society to interact between people. Such nihilism causes chaos and illegal actions. It arises because the existing legal system cannot cope with the needs of society; people do not know the laws and do not believe in their fairness and effectiveness. Legal nihilism is a spontaneous phenomenon that arises in a society disillusioned with the management system.

7. Religious nihilism

This type of nihilism was clearly manifested in the socialist era. The essence of the concept is the complete denial of God, a higher power and a negative attitude towards the ritual side of religion.

8. Social nihilism

This is opposition to social foundations and rules accepted in society. It can be expressed in the denial of the institution of marriage, family, depreciation of moral values, dissatisfaction with the political system and reforms. And also sometimes adherents of this type of nihilism disagree with innovations, criticize the way of life and deny many other objects of social life.

9. Youthful nihilism

Youthful nihilism is a type of social nihilism. Denial in this case is aimed at the existing way of life; mainly the behavior of the older generation is criticized. It occurs during puberty, when young men are in “search for themselves” and are developing as individuals. Teenage nihilism finds expression in a strong emotional reaction and ardent denial of everything that is happening at the moment.

Nihilist and nihilism - meaning

The meaning of the word "nihilist" is defined as the denial by an individual of certain things, such as the meaning of personal existence, the presence of authorities and the worship of religious idols. The lexical meaning of the word “nihilist” implies a certain person who is a supporter of radical democratic reasoning and expresses his rejection of generally accepted laws, rules and traditions.

In modern society, the meaning of the word nihilist has acquired a deeper and broader meaning. But the views and beliefs of such people have not changed as before. Nihilists of the 21st century also adhere to worldviews that allow them to question the rules and standards of society, and also deny any ideals, moral and ethical norms and natural forms of social existence.

Nihilist principles

The direction within which nihilistic principles are adhered to has acquired the name nihilism. This movement characterizes a way of thinking and life that implies non-acceptance of everything. A more specific meaning and its manifestation in a given situation depends on the specific circumstances and time frame. In most sources, nihilists are characterized as negative and negative individuals. According to the majority, these individuals are constantly in a state of protest and rebellion, who are not happy with the established rules and laws of society. Supporters of nihilism are found in many areas of society. Each participant in the movement denies the direction that is convenient for him: politics, culture, religion.

The first mention of nihilism appeared in the Middle Ages by Alexander III. German philosopher F.G. Jacobi also used the term nihilism.

It is also known that Nietzsche was a nihilist. He adhered to a statement based on the denial of God and the failure of Christianity as a religion.

Traditional nihilism is the basis for the emergence of deeper and new types of this trend. Participants in the nihilistic movement are not always unanimous in their reasoning and conclusions. Even more disputes arise between society and representatives of nihilism. Ordinary members of society cannot understand nihilists and their beliefs.

It is even more difficult to understand a nihilist who does not accept any interaction and does not believe in anything. Nihilists have a hard time understanding a society that idealizes and gives meaning to things without good reason. With their protest they are trying to prove that the existence of the world does not depend on people and their ideals. The world and the universe functions separately from everything and does not need cultivation and worship.

Thus, nihilism is characterized by a worldview that is based on progress and rationality.

Demonstrative nihilism (youthful, teenage)

The psychological syndrome of demonstrative nihilism occurs in adolescence, but due to the characteristics of personality development, its signs can manifest themselves in more mature years.

Demonstrative nihilism involves the cultivation of originality and uniqueness, the purposeful creation of an image of “not like everyone else,” the blind denial of all norms and standards of behavior and thinking. A demonstrative nihilist is poorly oriented in his inner world, he does not know his own characteristics at all, but he knows that he always needs to go against society. In this case, nihilism can hardly be called a worldview and personal philosophy. This is a deviation in behavior, a violation of socialization and self-identification.

A demonstrative nihilist openly and covertly enters into conflicts, disputes, and polemics. Most often, a nihilist presents himself in a negative image; disputes from the everyday level move to the level of ideas, culture, and values.

Every movement, deed, element of clothing, word of a nihilist is demonstratively opposed to those around him. The behavior is not only demonstrative, but also extravagant. Extravagance often borders on asociality

Those around them, in turn, fix attention only on these aspects of the personality, which further consolidates in the self-awareness of the nihilist the image he demonstrates of “not like everyone else,” a provocative, shocking person

Without correction and the help of a psychologist, such behavior turns into crimes, alcohol addiction, sexual promiscuity, etc. Each time it will be more and more difficult for a person to shock, the boundaries between social and antisocial behavior will become increasingly blurred.

Causes

According to psychologists, nihilism is a defensive reaction of the psyche. And like many other problems, it begins in childhood.

For example, overprotection and an authoritarian model of upbringing can provoke distrust and lack of acceptance of oneself, the world, and parents. In such conditions, aggression, coldness, and anger easily arise.

And since a person is a priori a social being and needs other people, their support and recognition, a contradiction, an internal conflict, is kindled in the mind.

Who is a nihilist

The explanatory dictionary contains information that a nihilist is an individual who:

– denies the meaning of human existence;

– overthrows all generally recognized authorities from their pedestals;

– rejects spiritual values, ideals and truisms.

The nihilist reacts in a unique way to events in the world around him, showing a defensive reaction as disagreement. A nihilist's denial often reaches the point of mania. For him, all human ideals are like ghosts that limit the free consciousness of the individual and prevent him from living correctly.

The nihilist recognizes in this world only matter, atoms that form a certain phenomenon. Among the main causes of nihilism are selfishness, as well as a sense of self-preservation that does not know the feeling of spiritual love. Nihilists claim that everything creative is unnecessary and feigned nonsense.

In psychology, a nihilist is seen as a person who has despaired of searching for the reasons and meaning of existence on earth.

In the conceptual provisions of E. Fromm, nihilism is presented as a mechanism of psychological defense. Fromm believed that the main problem of an individual who came into this world not of his own free will is the natural contradiction between being, as well as the fact that a person, having the ability to know himself, others, the present and the past, goes beyond the limits of nature. According to E. Fromm, personality develops in the desire for freedom and the desire for alienation. And this development occurs through increasing freedom, but not everyone can use this path correctly. As a result, negative states and mental experiences lead the individual to alienation and loss of his self. A protective mechanism “flight from freedom” appears, leading the individual to destructivism, nihilism, automatic conformism, and the desire to destroy the world so that the world does not destroy him.

V. Reich, analyzing the appearance and behavior of nihilists, characterizes them as arrogant, cynical, impudent with an ironic grin. These qualities are a consequence of nihilism acting as a defense mechanism. These features have become “character armor” and are expressed in the form of “character neurosis.” W. Reich argues that the traits of nihilists are remnants of strong defense mechanisms in the past, separated from their original situations and become permanent character traits.

A nihilist is a person who is disappointed in life and hides the bitterness of this disappointment under the guise of cynicism. But it was precisely at turning points in human history that nihilists were the driving force of change and events, and the majority of bearers of nihilistic views were young people with their desire for maximalism.

About the novel “Nihilist” by Sofia Kovalevskaya

We must also remember that nihilists do not indiscriminately deny everything, but only those objects and phenomena that do not have sufficient evidence. A modern nihilist is not a girl who is rude to adults just because of what she “can” do. A modern nihilist is a girl who catches adults in internal contradictions, reveals them, and, based on the evidence received, refuses to believe in them.

Read Sofia Kovalevskaya’s novel “Nihilist” - about the formation of the Russian revolutionary movement. The tsarist government really did not want to publish this novel by a Russian female mathematician, but this novel still saw the light, albeit after the death of S. Kovalevskaya in 1882. Censor gr. A. Muravyov wrote about “The Nihilist” in 1886:

This novel is dotted with numerous passages in which the fate of political criminals and the cruelty towards them by our government are depicted in horrific colors, and most importantly, sympathies are expressed for the nihilistic movement of the 1860s and 1870s.

The plot of the novel is about a girl, Vera, who marries a convicted progressive young man and goes with him to hard labor. Her dream is to alleviate her husband's plight. In this she sees her happiness and the meaning of life. The novel describes the life of convicted progressive young people. Much attention is paid to the sentiments in the process of abolition of serfdom in Russia.

There is not a single generation that is not mistaken, sometimes bitterly. This is why modern nihilists are needed - to point out mistakes, to offer a new, better understanding of the world around them.

Nihilists in Russia

Main article: Russian nihilism

In Russian literature, the word “nihilism” was first used by N. I. Nadezhdin in the article “Host of Nihilists” (magazine “Bulletin of Europe”, 1829). In 1858, the book of Kazan professor V.V. Bervi “Psychological comparative view of the beginning and end of life” was published. It also uses the word “nihilism” as a synonym for skepticism.

The critic and publicist N. A. Dobrolyubov, ridiculing Bervy’s book, picked up this word, but it did not become popular until I. S. Turgenev in the novel “Fathers and Sons” () called Bazarov, who denied the views, a “nihilist” "fathers". The enormous impression made by the novel “Fathers and Sons” also made the term “nihilist” popular. In his memoirs, Turgenev said that when he returned to St. Petersburg after the publication of his novel - and this happened during the famous St. Petersburg fires of 1862 - the word “nihilist” was already picked up by many, and the first exclamation that escaped from the lips of his first acquaintance , met by Turgenev, was: “Look what your nihilists are doing: they are burning St. Petersburg!”

Thus, in the second half of the 19th century, nihilists in the Russian Empire began to be called young people who wanted to change the existing state and social system in the country, denied religion, were materialists and atheists, and also did not recognize the prevailing moral norms. In particular, this was the name given to the populist revolutionaries. The word had a clear negative connotation. Nihilists were portrayed as shaggy, unkempt, dirty men, and nihilists were portrayed as having lost all femininity. In the 1860s, women with nihilistic beliefs typically wore a loose, straight-falling dark wool dress, trimmed with white cuffs and collar, and tapered at the waist. Nihilists cut their hair short and often wore dark glasses. Thus, women with nihilistic beliefs rejected the image of the “muslin young lady” and refused to wear traditionally feminine clothing with “muslins, ribbons, feathers and parasols”, trying to soften the sharp social and cultural differences between the genders. Nihilists also deviated from stereotypically feminine social behavior: they were prone to directness, sometimes to the point of rudeness, and did not care about cultural manners, and often even about neatness

Nihilists rejected attention from men and wanted to be perceived primarily as an equal in human rights, and not as an “unnecessary woman”; so that they are respected for their knowledge, and not for their bust size or the volume of their skirts.

By the late 1860s and early 1870s, the word “nihilist” almost disappeared from Russian polemical literature, but began to be used in Western European literature as a designation for the Russian revolutionary movement; it was also accepted by some Russian emigrants who wrote in foreign languages about the Russian revolutionary movement. In 1884, Sofia Kovalevskaya’s story “The Nihilist” was published.

Currently, the term “legal nihilism”—disrespect for the law—is widely used. It reflects a widespread phenomenon in the legal life of Russian society. Its structure-forming component is an idea that denies legitimate social attitudes and carries a significant ideological load, determined not only by trends in social development and corresponding values, but also by a number of psychogenic factors.

History and examples

The doctrine of nihilism existed in the Middle Ages. It rejected the humanity of Jesus Christ. The term was introduced into Western philosophy by the German writer Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi in 1799, describing it in his work Sendschreiben an Fichte. The essence of nihilism here was the denial of the meaning of life.

The heyday of nihilism occurred in the second half of the 19th century. The ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche, Arthur Schopenhauer and Oswald Spengler were permeated with nihilistic views. We can say that it was these great minds that developed and interpreted this direction of philosophy.

However, their fellow countryman Max Stirner, a thinker who substantiated a nihilistic attitude to morality, is considered the first radical nihilist. He argued that any morality is a ghost that must definitely be gotten rid of. He called selfishness an unconditional good, and he considered the solution to the problem not even revolution, but crime, murder.

Schopenhauer had much less harsh views. He considered life meaningless and full of suffering and boredom. He saw indifferent contemplation as the only way to understand the world.

According to Spengler, nihilism is the speculation of tired city dwellers who have nothing good ahead of them.

Read on our blog what society is.

Nihilism according to Friedrich Nietzsche

The position of Friedrich Nietzsche deserves special consideration. In his diary, he described two types of nihilism: active and passive. Nietzsche said that such a state appears when the highest values lose their value.

For example, in his opinion, people often endow truth and justice with excessive power and attribute supernatural properties to these values. People are confident that truth liberates and that justice will prevail. And when hopes are not justified, that is, the truth does not liberate, and justice does not triumph, disappointment comes.

But instead of admitting our errors in judgment, we begin to reproach the values themselves. It is then that a person decides whether to become an active or passive nihilist:

An active nihilist rejects values imposed on him and creates his own.
The Passive continues to believe in traditional ideals despite doubts, preferring not to take risks and hold on to safety.

Nietzsche argued that the position of a passive nihilist is much more dangerous, since blind faith for its own sake inevitably leads to a superficial life and meek acceptance of everything that others believe.

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Russian nihilists

Among the most famous representatives of Russian nihilism of the 19th century are the thinker and revolutionary Mikhail Bakunin, geographer and revolutionary anarchist Peter Kropotkin, critic and publicist Dmitry Pisarev.

Unlike Western ones, our nihilists decided to rely on Darwin's theory. They declared that man is an animal, and therefore must live according to the laws of the struggle for the existence of the species.

In Russian literature, the term “nihilism” was first used by Nikolai Ivanovich Nadezhdin in his article “The Host of Nihilists” in 1829. Sociologist V.V. Bervi-Flerovsky also mentioned it, equating this concept with skepticism.

Bazarov's Nihilism

Turgenev’s novel “Fathers and Sons,” published in 1862, truly made the word “nihilism” popular. One of the main characters is the nihilist Evgeny Bazarov. Its prototype was a young provincial doctor, whose ideas made a strong impression on the writer.

Bazarov is a harsh and unceremonious person, he opposes himself to everything and everyone, views people exclusively as a biological species, denies spirituality, generally accepted ideals and the “old school” of his fathers, believes only in science.

Turgenev admitted that he sympathized with the hero and sincerely tried to understand how this philosophy originates in a person. At the same time, he did not share Bazarov’s nihilistic views.

After Turgenev’s novel, Russian literature began to be filled with new nihilistic heroes, both positive and negative. This term began to be used to describe everyone who goes against the noble-serf-serf norms of building a society of that time.

You might be interested in knowing what romanticism is.

Nietzsche's Nihilism

Friedrich Nietzsche is a German scientist and philosopher.
Birthplace: Röcken, Germany (1844–1900) Among philosophers, Friedrich Nietzsche is most often associated with nihilism. For Nietzsche, there is no objective order or structure in the world except for the one that we ourselves give to him.

Penetrating through the shell of beliefs, the nihilist discovers that all values are baseless and reason is powerless.

Nietzsche writes in The Will to Power, 1883–1888. (original title: “Der Wille zur Macht”):

In his opinion, nihilism requires a radical renunciation of all imposed values and opinions (from “The Will to Power”):

Also in The Will to Power, Friedrich Nietzsche argues that the poisonous power of nihilism is unconditional, and during its study, “the highest values are devalued. The goal is missing, and the “why” is not answered” (from “The Will to Power”).

Friedrich Nietzsche suggests that nihilism will inevitably expose all cherished beliefs and sacred truths as symptoms of a defective Western myth.

This collapse of meaning, relevance and purpose will be the most destructive force in history, representing the truest assault on reality and nothing less than humanity's greatest crisis.

"If you look into the abyss for a long time..."

The famous phrase of Friedrich Nietzsche from his work “Beyond Good and Evil. Prelude to the Philosophy of the Future” reads in full as follows:

When our ancestors in the past successfully hunted and killed dangerous animals, they achieved livelihood and security. This way they earned the respect, love and admiration of the rest of the tribe. Once upon a time we perceived the act of hunting as the only way to survive, we saw animals as monsters that we had to kill so we could protect ourselves and feed ourselves. But at the same time, thanks to hunting, we have learned to turn into ruthless killers. And in the end it happened that a person began to kill another person, and for some other reason, which was not self-defense or food. And thus, the man turned into a monster, with whom he himself fought.

And regarding the abyss, probably with this phrase the philosopher was trying to convey to us that for any action there is a reaction. The passive act of contemplation becomes an interactive process of personal transformation. No matter how passive it may seem, every experience in life changes a person, in a positive or negative way.

He also wrote in his notes (1886-1887):

All our “objectivity” of visible reality is only the activity of our brain, the result of the work of the mind, which created it in accordance with its understanding of it.

Active nihilism and passive nihilism

Nietzsche divides nihilism into active and passive.

Active nihilism is “a sign of increased spiritual power.” Active nihilism proposes to comprehend truth, metaphysical and quasi-metaphysical, as a type of power or as a value.

Passive nihilism is “the decline and regression of the power of the spirit.” According to the philosopher, passive nihilism encourages the understanding that truth does not actually exist.

Nietzscheanism

A philosophical movement (named after its founder Friedrich Nietzsche), advocating a theory of a strong personality, through a revaluation of all values in his doctrine of the superman, which emphasizes the will as the main driving force of both the individual and society.

How to get rid of nihilism and is it necessary to do so?

It is unlikely that any radical nihilist will wonder how he can begin to admit everything that he denies. In addition, if this philosophy is dictated by an intrapersonal conflict born after childhood trauma, then it will not be possible to cope with this condition on your own. The best decision would be to contact a competent psychologist.

In this section, I will try to outline the most popular expert advice for those people who themselves want to change their position:

Remind yourself as often as possible that the desire to destroy the world is nothing more than an attempt to protect yourself before the world destroys you. What or who are you so afraid of? What do you want to protect yourself from? Think about it.
Think about what values are still relevant to you. Perhaps you are being a little disingenuous when you say that only your mind controls you. Why then do you feel angry, fearful, hateful, and other difficult feelings?
Take a piece of paper and make a list of everything that your adherence to nihilism deprives you of.
Try to remember when you first felt denial and rejection of the world. What event preceded this?
No matter what sphere of existence you deny, there can always be something good for everyone in society. What interests, attracts, and pleases. What could this mean for you?
Identify your main need, dissatisfaction, and consider how you could most environmentally compensate for it in society.
Study human psychology so that people appear to you not as biorobots, but as unique individuals with their own weaknesses, doubts, strengths, talents, motives, etc.

History of the term

In the Middle Ages there was a doctrine of nihilism

anathematized by Pope Alexander III in 1179. The doctrine of nihilism, falsely attributed to the scholastic Peter of Lombardy, rejected the human nature of Christ.

In Western philosophical thought, the term “nihilism” (German Nihilismus) was introduced by the German writer and philosopher F. G. Jacobi. This concept has been used by many philosophers. S. Kierkegaard considered the crisis of Christianity and the spread of an “aesthetic” worldview to be the source of nihilism. F. Nietzsche understood nihilism as an awareness of the illusory nature and inconsistency of both the Christian idea of a supra-mundane God (“God is dead”) and the idea of progress, which he considered a version of religious faith. O. Spengler called nihilism a feature of modern European culture, which is experiencing a period of “decline” and “senile forms of consciousness,” which in the cultures of other peoples supposedly inevitably followed a state of highest prosperity. M. Heidegger considered nihilism as a main movement in the history of the West, which could lead to a global catastrophe.

Nihilists hold some or all of the following statements:

There is no (indisputable) reasonable proof of a supreme ruler or creator;
There is no objective morality;
Life, in a certain sense, has no truth, and no action is objectively preferable to any other.

List of famous nihilists

To provide a clear example of behavior, experts conducted research and then compiled a list of the most memorable personalities from different eras who promoted nihilism.

Famous nihilists list:

Nechaev Sergei Gennadievich - Russian revolutionary and author of the "Catechism of a Revolutionary";
Erich Fromm is a German philosopher, sociologist and psychologist who examines the term nihilism;
Wilhelm Reich - Austrian and American psychologist, the only student of Freud who analyzed nihilism;
Nietzsche is a nihilist who denied the existence of material and spiritual values.
Søren Kierkegaard is a nihilist and Danish religious philosopher and writer.
O. Spengler - propagated the idea of the decline of European culture and forms of consciousness.

Based on all the interpretations and movements, it is difficult to clearly characterize the essence of nihilism. In each era and time period, nihilism proceeded differently, denying either religion, the world, humanity, or authorities.

Notes

Novikov A.I.
Nihilism and nihilists: an experience of critical characterization. - L.: Lenizdat, 1972. - P. 10.
Zryachkin A. N.
Legal nihilism: causes and ways to overcome them (monograph). - Saratov: SGAP, 2009. - 128 p. — 500 copies. — ISBN 978-5-7924-0753-4.
↑ Stites R.
Chapter IV. Nihilist response. 2. Nihilism and women // Women's liberation movement in Russia: Feminism, nihilism and Bolshevism, 1860-1930 / Trans. from English = The Women's Liberation Movement in Russia Feminism, Nihilism, and Bolshevism. 1860-1930. - M.: “Russian Political Encyclopedia” (ROSSPEN), 2004. - P. 84-95. — 616 p. — (Gender collection. Foreign classics). — ISBN 5-8243-0387-8.

Literature

Baboshin V.V. Nihilism in modern society: phenomenon and essence: abstract. dis. doc. Philosopher n. Stavropol, 2011. 38 p.
Gulyaikhin V.N. Legal nihilism in Russia. Volgograd: Peremena, 2005. 280 p.
Gulyaikhin V. N. Psychosocial forms of human legal nihilism // Questions of law and politics. 2012. No. 3. P. 108-148.
De-Poulet M. F. Nihilism as a pathological phenomenon of Russian life. M.: University type. M. Katkova, 1881. 53 p.
Klevanov A. S. Three modern questions: About education - socialism, communism and nihilism - about the nobility on the occasion of the centenary of the nobility charter. Kyiv: type. P. Barsky, 1885. 66 p.
Kosykhin V.G. Critical analysis of the ontological foundations of nihilism: dis. doc. Philosopher n. Saratov, 2009. 364 p.
Pigalev A.I. Philosophical nihilism and the crisis of culture. Saratov: Publishing house Sarat. Univ., 1991. 149 p.

Nietzsche F. Human, too human.
Nietzsche F. Will to Power
Baboshin V.V. Nihilism in modern society: phenomenon and essence: abstract. dis. doc. Philosopher n. Stavropol, 2011. 38 p.
Tkachenko S.V. The myth of legal nihilism as one of the methods of information warfare.
Tkachenko S.V. Reception of Western law in Russia: problems of interaction between subjects: monograph. - Samara, 2009.
Rossinskaya E. R. Anti-corruption examination of normative legal acts and their projects. Compiled by E. R. Rossinskaya, Doctor of Law, Professor, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation.
Gulyaikhin V.N. Legal nihilism in Russia. Volgograd: Peremena, 2005. 280 p.
Gulyaikhin V. N. Psychosocial forms of human legal nihilism // NB: Issues of law and politics. 2012. No. 3. P. 108-148.
De-Poulet M. F. Nihilism as a pathological phenomenon of Russian life. M.: University type. M. Katkova, 1881. 53 p.
Klevanov A. S. Three modern questions: About education - socialism, communism and nihilism - about the nobility on the occasion of the centenary of the nobility charter. Kyiv: type. P. Barsky, 1885. 66 p.
Kosykhin V.G. Critical analysis of the ontological foundations of nihilism: dis. doc. Philosopher n. Saratov, 2009. 364 p.
Pigalev A.I. Philosophical nihilism and the crisis of culture. Saratov: Publishing house Sarat. Univ., 1991. 149 p.
Ulyanov V. A. Development of nihilism in New and Contemporary times: theoretical aspect // Omsk Scientific Bulletin. - Omsk, 2009. No. 2 (76).

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