Nihilism is a type of worldview in which a person denies social norms, orders and values. We can say that this is a philosophy and way of life of a person. Perhaps now you thought that we would talk about antisocial individuals, vandals, hooligans, drunkards. No. Although all of this is a manifestation of nihilism, there are other, more attractive examples. And the concept itself is much more complex and broader. Let's take a closer look at what nihilism is and who a nihilist is in simple words.
Definition of the concept
Nihilism - what is it and what is the meaning of the word? It is derived from the Latin nihil, which translates as “nothing.” Nihilism is the denial and destruction of existing norms, systems, and order in society. The phenomenon has been studied and continues to be studied in philosophy, history, sociology, and psychology. And in different sciences this concept is given different definitions:
- Nihilism in history is the denial of all norms, principles and laws created by humanity, complete skepticism.
- Nihilism in literature is a manifestation of nonconformism, the desire to go beyond the system, the usual way of life.
- Nihilism in philosophy is the denial of generally accepted norms, values, ideals, culture, etc.
- Nihilism in psychology is a defense mechanism of the psyche, in which a person seeks to destroy the world so that it does not destroy it.
History of origin
Nihilism was first discussed in the Middle Ages. This was the name of the doctrine that rejected the human nature of Christ. The concept later became popular in Western philosophy. At first it was also associated with religion, and then nihilism began to be understood as a philosophy of life, according to which life itself has no meaning. The problem was studied by F.G. Jacobi, S. Kierkegaard, F. Nietzsche, O. Spengler, M. Heidegger.
In psychology, nihilism began to be studied after it separated from philosophy into an independent science (1876). E. Fromm and W. Reich made a special contribution to the study of the problem. Fromm believed that nihilism is a defense mechanism of the psyche. Faced with problems of adaptation and self-realization, a person seeks to destroy the world so that it does not destroy him. Reich viewed nihilism as a character neurosis and a defense mechanism.
The spread of nihilism in Russia is more connected with literature. It was there that this phenomenon was described in as much detail as possible. This concept was first used by N.I. Nadezhdin in the article “The Host of Nihilists” (1829). In the second half of the 19th century in Russia, those who denied religion and moral standards and wanted to destroy the existing social system were called nihilists. As a rule, it was about revolutionaries. In Western literature, the term “nihilism” was even used to describe the Russian revolutionary movement.
Note! Nihilists strive to destroy previous foundations, but do not offer anything in return. A nihilist is one who denies and criticizes, but offers nothing.
[edit] Plunge into the ABYSS and not emerge
- Bitard
- Steal kill
- Atheism
- Anarchism
- Chuck Palahniuk
- Misanthrope
- With special cynicism
| [ + ] “Nihilism is the opium of the people!” | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| [ + ] A nihilist is such a type of redneck. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
Characteristics of a nihilist
Who is a nihilist? Let's describe it briefly. This is a person who denies any norms, rules and values. This is a skeptic, a cynic, a critic, an egoist who focuses only on the material and physical. No one and nothing is a decree for him. He denies the very structure of the world. A nihilist always maintains a sober mind and does not give free rein to emotions and feelings. He is sure that social foundations, norms and orders limit his freedom and interfere with his life.
A nihilist can unite with people like him. But at the same time, all together they exist as if autonomously from society. They create their own world where outsiders are not allowed. There are no authorities or leaders in this group. There no one obeys anyone, no one admits warm feelings to anyone. These people unite to stand together against the whole world. And they demonstrate their disgust, contempt, and disdain through sarcasm, provocations, caustic jokes, ridicule, and impudent antics.
What kind of nihilist is he today?
Nowadays, nihilists have acquired new features - the theory of mindfulness, minimalists in relationships, religion. They, as before, deny everything that can fetter human freedom: morality, norms, rules, traditions. Such people do not vote, do not obey anyone’s orders, always clearly show their discontent and do not believe in the existence of a higher mind.
According to psychologists, today's nihilists are more like realists. This is a kind of reasonable skepticism, with an expanded interpretation of critical thinking. Such traits begin to appear in a person when he becomes disillusioned with spirituality, becomes selfish and begins to revere the material world.
Modern day nihilist
Causes
As we have already noted, from the point of view of psychology, nihilism is a defense mechanism of the psyche. And, like many problems, it has its roots in childhood. Nihilism is associated with a person’s non-acceptance and misunderstanding of himself, as well as with distrust of the world. This, in turn, is caused by distrust of parents. Probably, in childhood, the nihilist encountered an authoritarian style of family education or overprotection. That is, a person is accustomed to the fact that he was not loved, suppressed, forced. This gave rise to aggression, anger, and coldness in him. However, at the same time, every person has a living need to join society. Such a contradiction further fuels the internal conflict of the nihilist.
Interesting! The problem of public and personal, preservation of individuality and self-realization in society is one of the most difficult problems in psychology. Not all people can be free, preserve and express their uniqueness within the system, while maintaining identity with some group.
The essence of nihilism
The essence or philosophy of nihilism (principles and beliefs, features of the thinking of a nihilist):
- there is nothing that cannot be seen or touched (for example, a nihilist is sure that there is no God until the contrary is proven);
- there is no objective morality and morality - only a subjective vision of the world;
- there is no meaning or truth in life, so no one thing can be considered as the most preferable.
A nihilist will never believe in anything just like that; he needs a logical explanation, facts, reasons. He will not believe in something until there is irrefutable evidence of its existence. The nihilist denies everything that can be denied. He stands for complete freedom from faith, rights, frameworks, norms, values, society, family, power, etc. Manifestations of nihilism may change, as well as the understanding of this phenomenon, but the phenomenon itself will never disappear.
Moral Nihilism: What makes you think your values are universal?
In moral philosophy, nihilism is defined as. As Donald Allen Crosby argues in The Specter of the Absurd (1988), moral nihilism is a consequence of epistemological nihilism.
If knowledge and truth do not have objective foundations, then there are no objective foundations for judgments about good and evil. This means that morality is based only on our idea of good and evil, which can be different for each historical era, each culture and each individual person
An action is usually considered right because God says so, because common sense says so, or because it can make us happy.
The philosopher Immanuel Kant recognized that using God or happiness as the basis for morality leads to . Belief in God can motivate people to act morally, but only in order to go to heaven, not hell. The desire for happiness may motivate people to act morally, but it is impossible to know in advance which actions will ultimately bring happiness.
Therefore, Kant argued in favor of morality based on common sense. He proposed a principle: before committing an act, a person must imagine whether a society consisting of creatures endowed with reason could exist if everyone acted as he was going to do.
Kant believed that logic (not God or the pursuit of happiness) can tell us whether an action is right (universalizable) or wrong (non-universalizable)
But common sense morality also has its drawbacks. One of them was pointed out by Jacques Lacan in Kant with Sade (1989): using the principle of universalization as a criterion of good and evil allows cunning people (like the Marquis de Sade) to justify their terrible atrocities if they can prove that these atrocities can pass the Kantian test. Another flaw, described by John Stuart Mill in Utilitarianism (1861), is that reason is not the only tool with which man is endowed, so following the Kantian moral law will turn people into heartless robots.
Nietzsche pointed out another flaw: common sense may be no more reliable than God or happiness. In The Genealogy of Morals (1887), Nietzsche notes that reason is not something absolute and universal, but something that has emerged over time. Just as lab rats can learn to make rational decisions after participating in a few experiments, so humans have learned to be rational through centuries of philosophical, religious, and political “experiments.”
Kinds
Types of nihilism in modern society:
- social is the denial of norms, morality, rules, stereotypes;
- legal is the denial of laws, the regulatory framework of society;
- moral nihilism or ethical is the denial of morality and morality due to the inability to justify the evil and injustice of the whole world;
- cultural is the negation of culture, the creation of subcultures;
- youthful or demonstrative nihilism is the desire of a teenager to express himself, to stand out from the “gray mass”;
- mereological is the negation of something whole, unified.
There are other types of nihilism, for example, political, cosmic, existential. You can name even more types, the essence is one – denial, non-acceptance. Only the subject of negation changes. A common feature of all forms and types of nihilism is a rejection of the norms accepted in society.
Separately, it is worth noting positive nihilism. In short, its essence is this: we are all going to die anyway, so let’s have fun, enjoy ourselves and live the way we want. After death, it won't matter what you did right or wrong, so why not give up all these rules and regulations right now?
What is nihilism and the history of its origins
Nihilism in simple words is nothingness, emptiness, the destruction of the ideals of previous generations, the denial of moral and moral principles.
Filling the void is not among the interests of nihilists, therefore their philosophical ideas are negative in nature, since they do not offer anything in return . Nihilism flourishes on the basis of the devaluation of life, the loss of its meaning and purpose.
“Nihilism is a pose, not a doctrine.” Carlos Ruiz Zafon. "Angel's Game"
V. Dahl in his dictionary gave a succinct and witty definition of nihilism:
“...an ugly and immoral teaching that rejects everything that cannot be touched.”
The term “nihilism” (from the Latin nihil - nothing) came from the Middle Ages, as in the 12th century they called one of the heresies that denied the divine-human nature of Christ.
The word itself has been used in European languages since the 18th century to mean the denial of norms accepted in society. Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi introduced this term into philosophy in 1799 in his work “Sendschreiben an Fichte”.
Famous nihilists
There have always been those who criticized or supported nihilism. Famous representatives of nihilism among philosophers, psychologists, writers and revolutionaries:
- M.A. Bakunin - Russian thinker and revolutionary anarchist;
- P.A. Kropotkin - Russian revolutionary anarchist;
- DI. Pisarev - Russian publicist and literary critic, translator, democratic revolutionary;
- E. Fromm - German philosopher;
- Nietzsche is a German psychologist.
Some researchers classify V.I. as a nihilist. Lenin.
How to get rid of nihilism
Do we need to get rid of nihilism? If we view this as a defense mechanism, then yes, it needs to be dealt with. Excessive rationality, suppression of feelings and emotions are dangerous for burnout, depression or the development of other mental disorders. In addition, a nihilist cannot fully realize himself in society. The individual cannot develop outside of society, and nihilists do everything to get out of society, to destroy it, to destroy the system.
How to get rid of nihilism:
- Admit the problem. Analyze and make a list of what nihilism deprives you of.
- Remember when disgust for the world first arose. Determine the approximate cause of your condition.
- Know and accept yourself, see the uniqueness of each person. Do you believe science? Stock up on research, books on psychology and study the problem of abilities, inclinations, and temperament. We are not such biorobots, although in many ways this is true.
- Determine the main unsatisfied (frustrated) need. Think about what tools you lack and how to get them in society.
- Find what is valuable to you, come up with your “before and after story” (Mark Manson's definition). What does it mean? For example, this could be raising a worthy citizen of society, writing a book, creating your own school or courses, developing your own website or writing a column in some magazine. I think that every person is a nihilist in some way, but at the same time everyone can find what they like in our society.
Often getting rid of nihilism involves working with childhood traumas. Not all people are ready and able to make this journey on their own. As motivation, remind yourself often that trying to destroy the world is trying to protect yourself before the world destroys you. So what or who are you actually protecting yourself from? What is still meaningful and alive to you? You are disingenuous when you say that you live only according to the laws of reason. Something makes you angry, afraid, hate. What is this?
An example of nihilism
You can find many examples of nihilism in literature. One of the brightest nihilists of literature is Bazarov from the work of I.S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons". Few people know that the writer was inspired to create such an image by a real person - a doctor whom Turgenev had the chance to meet.
What kind of person is this - Bazarov:
- he argues with everyone and always, puts himself in opposition to everything;
- he doesn’t care what others think about him;
- he does not choose his words, does not try to be tactful or affable, friendly;
- he denies all social orders.
He calls art, religion and philosophy rottenness and stupidity. For him there is only one authority - science. Neither faith nor people interest him. He treats humans exclusively as a biological species and believes that all people are the same. He does not believe in love, the soul and is not subject to emotions. He is always guided by reason.
As it later becomes clear, Bazarov lives in conflict with himself, family and society. On the basis of this, his attitude to the world, his philosophy of life arose.
How to communicate with such people
People who deny everything are not always pleasant interlocutors. Typically, a nihilistic interlocutor demonstrates a wry smile, obvious distrust of the speaker, ironic behavior, and disrespect for someone else’s point of view.
It is worth building communication with such a person:
- Never fall for his provocations or manipulations.
- Remain calm and in control of the situation.
- Try not to copy your interlocutor, not to tease him, even if you really want to do this.
- If a tense situation arises in a conversation, try to cope with it with the help of a sense of humor.
- Adequately assess your own potential, do not allow a nihilist to sow doubts or self-doubt in your soul.
- Do not give unsolicited advice, and if a nihilist is interested in the opinion of the interlocutor, then give it in the most neutral or optimistic manner possible.
- There is no need to try to convince a person, start reading morals to him, appealing to his conscience.
- Try to treat the nihilist condescendingly and with understanding. There is no need to be like him; it is much more productive to find an approach and common ground together.
The main task that needs to be achieved when communicating with a nihilist is to find a compromise solution, even if it is difficult.
What life hacks do you use when communicating with nihilists? Tell us about them in the comments.
