Results for: Nihilism

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Who started nihilism?

The term nihilism and its philosophical development are attributedto Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi, a German philosopher. Nihilism is thetotal negation of established laws or inst… (MORE)

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In Philosophy and Philosophers

Is nihilism a form of depression?

The short answer is no. Not at all. Nihilism is a denial of existence or its significance. There are many types of nihilism and the term is applied subjectively across many… groups of individuals who would not necessarily consider themselves nihilists and therefore are not true nihilists. Nihilism requires the knowledgeable denial of something considered fundamental. Nihilism is a theory and not a recognized mental illness. Being a nihilist may cause depression but it is not a symptom. If it were a symptom of depression it would be considered a delusion and not nihilism (remember that nihilism is a rational thesis and delusions are theses based upon irrational thoughts). The purpose behind labeling it a delusion is because if it were a SYMPTOM it would go away when the depression was cured. This would imply an irrational array of thoughts led to the thesis; hence it would be considered a delusion. If while depressed an individual lucidly rationalized the ideology, it would no longer be a symptom because after the depression, the thesis of nihilism would persist as the individual's fundamental beliefs. Although it can become increasingly difficult to cure the depression due to humanities negative perspective toward entropy. The following are some of the more common types of nihilism: Existential - Existence is futile. All existence, known or unknown, comprehensible or incomprehensible is without meaning or purpose and all events unfolding in the "physical" world are merely coincidence occurring as the result of external stimuli. There is no free will. The lack of free will manifests from our understanding that our consciousness is brought into existence via chemical reactions propagating through synapses. Since the yielded sum of these reactions can be predicted in a constant accurate manner (given enough computational and analytical power) it follows logic that thoughts are not within the control of the individual. Thoughts, or individual moments of lucidity brought about through the conscious mind, are merely the sum of an equation whose variables consist of the individual composition of the brain in question and the stimuli conflicting with it. The largest argument against this is the fact that we do question it. The ability to question free will would seem to imply that we have free will. Existential nihilists argue that it is merely a coincidence. There was no planning on their part to question this and events have unfolded in a pattern that has CAUSED THEM to ask these questions. Moral - Man is unable to determine what is moral or ethical because those bounds are imposed by man. Man is not in control of the universe nor does man have a complete understanding of its functions. Therefore, man cannot determine what is morally acceptable and what is not. It could be in the greatest interest of eternity and all existence that a murder takes place. Society may observe this action as morally objectionable. This leads extreme moral nihilists to believe that law should be opposed (anarchism). Many moral nihilists are political nihilists. Political - The belief that society is fundamentally flawed and should be deconstructed. This is often misinterpreted to be a destructive for of nihilism. It is not a destructive form of nihilism but a anarchistic form. The only thing that political nihilists (unless there are opinions beyond the nihilistic theory) wish to dismiss is society (not the individuals but the abstract values it utilizes to determine how to constrain on our actions). A political nihilist does not necessarily desire chaos, they believe that current systems or procedures are useless or detrimental to the population and they must be removed in whole. Many times a political nihilist is acting proactively in an attempt to prevent chaos or disorder. Please note that this may include rebuilding the social fundamental which were deconstructed, or it may not. It could potentially be anarchistic in view. This, however, is generally referred to as anarchy and not nihilism, although anarchist ARE political nihilists (but necessarily the other way around). If you are interested in this form of nihilism, please study the early Russian Nihilistic and Anarchistic movements. Mereological (compositional) - Nothing is made of a unique part. Elements are composed of similar parts that never unify or connect. Quarks and leptons (or smaller undiscovered items) are held together by a force that is not perceivable in the same way that we can not perceive the individual quark or lepton. The easiest way to understand this is to look at a magazine with a magnifying glass. Most magazines print tiny dots of primary colors that are positioned strategically so they are perceived as another color altogether and forming an image that is much larger and dissimilar in shape from the original dots. When we use a magnifying glass, we can see the individual dots (ie forest for the trees). Without the magnifier we see a whole image of multiple colors whose Pantones are drastically dissimilar to the original. If the beginning of existence is considered a temporal paradox, (this is argued) this philosophically resolves all non temporal paradoxes. Metaphysical - The denial of existence of any and all objects are being anything other than abstract. This is the most extreme form of nihilism. This form of nihilism is generally found amongst philosophers who rationalize that if we are only able to experience existence, how do we know non-existence exists. Without non-existence nothing could exist because nearly all probable theories on relativity suggest that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. You can not create something from nothing and since the universe was probably nothing before existence, existence does is not something actually occurring. The actual ability to believe in whole in metaphysical nihilism is a paradox. This belief would require someone with a consciousness to realize that there was no consciousness or even themselves as an entity. People who declare themselves metaphysical nihilists are generally mereological nihilists or the mentally ill. In the mentally ill this often manifests as either the individual is non-existent (ie think they are deceased) or the world surrounding them is non-existent (ie this is all a dream). Any of the above theses can and are commonly combined with other forms of nihilism to form a hybrid thesis. Commonly a hybrid thesis will be formed in order to resolve specific paradoxes and can be quite effective at doing so in a philosophical environment. It is important to comprehend that nihilism is a philosophical thesis and not a physical one. Since the thesis of nihilism is in itself abstract, it cannot be proven with numbers. It also, cannot currently be disproven and can be hybridized to flow with all probable theories of relativity. Nihilism is a byproduct of physics. I apologize for any errors. I am not a doctorate of any kind and cannot offer medical advice. It is also very late. Therefore, grammatical errors and inconsistencies are highly probable. (MORE)

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In Catholicism

What is the meaning of Nihil Obstat?

nihil obstat Definition . nihil obÂ·stat (nÄâ²hil ÅÌb â² stÃ¤t). noun. R.C.Ch. a printed phrase, followed by the name of an officially appointed cens… (MORE)

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In Example Sentences

How do you use 'nihilism' in a sentence?

Those who see nihilism as the way to solve the world's problems tend to come up with individualistic solutions and to avoid traditions and established chains of command..

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In Latin to English

What is the root of nihil?

The word nihil comes from the latin word which means "nothing". This is why today in English we say "nil" to mean nothing.

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In Example Sentences

Nihilism in a sentence?

From the point of view of nihilism, any behavior is acceptable since no rules of ethics exist. (used as a noun)

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In Latin to English

What does Sine Labore Nihil mean?

Sine Labore Nihil was an old saying of the Roman empire. It literally means, "Without Labor Nothing." However, the true ideal it represents is "nothing comes without work." It… (MORE)

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In Science

What is the way out of nihilism?

The way out of nihilism would involve defining yourself and what you do. To escape nihilism, you would need honest faith in "the greater good", or to believe in reality as mor… (MORE)

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In Religion & Spirituality

How does atheism lead to nihilism?

It doesn't. Many atheists embrace life even more because they understand that after this life, we don't get another chance at an afterlife. They choose to understand the vastn… (MORE)

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In Latin to English

What does 'Nihil aliud in nobis' mean?

We need more context, but this is what it could mean in certain contexts: "(There is) nothing else in us." No matching link found.. No matching link found.. No matchin… (MORE)