I'm so tired of people thinking that nihilism (Nietzsche's main philosophy for those unaware) is depressing. It's not at all, it's actually very hopeful and liberating. Nihilism can basically be boiled down to "nothing matters" which sounds depressing, but what it really means is that "nobody can tell you what matters from your perspective, only you can decide what matters to you". It was considered depressing and was railed against by the public at the time because it goes against religious teaching which tells you that religion matters objectively and unquestioningly.
It's extremely liberating even today despite religion not having a choke hold on society as much as it did during Nietsche's time. It's liberating because if what truly matters to you is shitposting on Lemmy, then that's great! Go live your most meaningful existence! Enjoy yourself and be proud of your accomplishments in that field! You choose your own worldview and what matters to you, and that's obviously a very a positive thing, it's not depressing or morose or narrow-minded and I'm tired of people just boiling it down to "Nihilism is for depressed people".
I don’t know if this is a joke or not but Nietzsche’s whole effort was spent on defining and opposing nihilism, not creating and advocating for it.
He realised that God (the philosophical entity which guarantees meaning) is dead and knew that God was a tool used to combat nihilism. He was afraid that at the time nihilism was seen as the only alternative to belief in God. He spent his whole life trying to establish the virtues that were required (the ubermensch) in order to lead a meaningful life when there is no guarantee that the world itself had a meaning.
The death of God may lead beyond bare perspectivism to outright nihilism, the belief that nothing has any inherent importance and that life lacks purpose. While Nietzsche rejected the traditional Christian morality and theology, he also rejected the nihilism which many thought was the only alternative to it.
Add comment