Nihilism — Do we really exist?
We all see dreams. Sometimes few characters exist only in our dreams. They have no connection to the real world. We see them only in our dreams and as soon as the dream is over — boom! -they are gone. Have you ever thought — what if we don’t really exist? What if we are just characters in someone else dream (let’s say a monster!) and as soon as he wakes up, we all would cease to exist? Half of you must think of me as a maniac. But let me tell you — that’s what philosophy is. That’s what NIHILISM is.
Introduction–
Nihilism is a belief that nothing in the world has a real existence. It labels all values as worthless and associates itself with extreme pessimism and a radical skepticism, having no loyalties. It rejects the possibility of true knowledge and absolute moral values.
Origin-
“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.
That was just a small introduction to a philosophical term. Now let’s dive deep into philosophy!
A true nihilist believes in nothing. He denies the possibility of truth, knowledge, moral values, good, evil and even our existence (which I was talking about). For a nihilist, life is meaningless. He believes that all facts are nothing but inductions yet to be countered.
“To live is to suffer. To survive is to find meaning in the suffering.”
This is what Friedrich Nietzsche said. He was a German philosopher and somewhat a nihilist too (not a pure nihilist). His doubts about the viability of Christian underpinnings for moral and cultural life are not offered in a sunny spirit of anticipated liberation, nor does he present a sober but basically confident call to develop a secular understanding of morality; instead, he launches the famous, aggressive and paradoxical pronouncement that “God is dead”. He described in his notebooks a choice between active and passive nihilism.
Active nihilism v/s Passive nihilism-
Are you an iconoclast? Do you have a tendency to attack cherished beliefs , traditional institutions etc, as being based on error or superstition? If yes, then you are an active nihilist. Active nihilist believe in destroying false beliefs in order to create something logical which is worth believing in.
On the other hand if you doubt the true value of traditional values but still continue to believe in those values, then you are a passive nihilist. Passive nihilists believe in these values just for the sake of believing and being a part of this society. They prefer to be a part of the crowd than to stand alone and challenging the crowd.
Is Nihilism good?
The question is similar to- “Is believing in nothing good?” Some may think that by rejecting all values, traditions, emotions etc, one can attain true happiness. And maybe believing in nothing has positive potential. But just think of a world where no one believes in anything — where people believe that everything is a myth. I guess it’s not difficult to imagine what chaos this belief can create. Considering life as meaningless, no one would be willing to work. So, nihilism can prove to be dangerous as well.
One may be choose to be a nihilist or not. If not, then he will continue to do something positive in life. But even if we choose to be a nihilist and believe that we don’t really exist , then also we have to accept the fact that we exist in a world (which maybe is temporary) and we have to work in a positive direction to survive ( at least till the world comes to an end).
