Nihilism as a concept describes a thought or way of life where "Nothing matters" or "Nothing is true". It is a very dangerous notion that stems from a breakdown of personal belief systems. From it, thoughts rise up that convince people that if any one belief system is flawed, all of them are. Inevitably, this leads to demotivation and a pathological and sedentary life...
Nihilism as an excuse.
One of the advantages to living a pathological life is that there are no responsibilities except survival. As long as you can survive, everything is fine. This is an extremely destructive thought! If enough people live a pathological life, society will collapse. What will happen to innovators, artists and inventors?
Sometimes people truly are at the mercy of circumstance. Growing up poor or in an abusive house is not a choice...
Why then are there people that can break free from it? What is the limit to potential if you rather take responsibility?
Let us use an example: There are many cases of child abuse that can be attributed to abuse experienced by the abuser at some point in life. But should that be an excuse to become abusive? Why are there so many that do the opposite. Because they were abused, they will do everything in their power to be an improvement.
Why your actions matter
Social media gives us a greater connection to the people than ever before. People in Africa are communicating with people in China and the entire world is connected. For every action that you do, there will be observers. Those observers are connected to other potential observers and very quickly, the scale of communication becomes global.
Steemit is an opportunity for many to take responsibility. So what type of input will you give? Will you be the motivator, the entrepreneur and the contributor, or does nothing matter?
Here is motivational video that can be found on YouTube here:
By Team Fearless: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf9_s9ii6BZ-klpgmtIi3WQ
Excellent post! I recently started following Jordan Peterson he has some excellent lectures on Youtube. Many others edit them : here is an excerpt that addresses the points you made:
Don't be put off at first by references to Nietzsche overall he is quite accessible and explains well. Makes ya think. .
Thank you. I will check him out... His argument seems sound. Philosophy never puts me off!
EDIT: His argument is very similar to mine.
indeed, thats what made me remember it. This youtube channel does a great job of cutting up his lectures in to byte sized pieces : must see for anyone with an interest in psychology: Peterson seems more rigorous than most in that field. Full lectures here
Edits here (probably easier to browse the ideas, the comment section has a link to the original full lecture)
I am already onto a video about IQ. This guy is speaking my thoughts! Not surprising I suppose when I realise his citations. I am familiar with most of it!
Agree, agree, agree.
Quoting from your post: "Let us use an example: There are many cases of child abuse that can be attributed to abuse experienced by the abuser at some point in life. But should that be an excuse to become abusive? Why are there so many that do the opposite. Because they were abused, they will do everything in their power to be an improvement."
The mind is such a powerful tool. What you are describing here, resilience, is also one of the major focus points of positive psychology, which studies the strengths, virtues and skills that enable individuals to thrive. The philosophy which stands out most to me while reading your post, is Existentialism, which asks, What is the meaning of life? Nihilism, as you explained so well, is the exact opposite.
I love this post.
Keep spreading motivation ;)
Thank you very much. Each one of those aspects are intriguing philosophical views. From what I have learned from Philosophy is that it is the basis for logical thought and understanding.
Understanding yourself is the first step on your path to success!
I see less business here and more advice on being a decent well rounded person :-) I like it. Nice post!
I believe that in order to succeed in business, you need to understand yourself as a person first. This trail only activated 3 weeks ago, but I do have many plans and ideas... Eventually, this trail is going to act as a community whale for the Business, Economics and money tags...
Well I'm glad you are focusing on being decent first! Nice posts
Thank you very much.
What are your thoughts on the idea of there not being any 'inherent' meaning to life (nihilist perspective) which leaves space for us to find/create our own?
If finding meaning in life is your goal, then you do have a meaning. A somewhat odd way to think on it, but it still boils to the responsibility of action.
Do you believe there is no meaning, therefore nothing matters, or;
There is no meaning, therefore I must create one...
I believe one answer takes responsibility for action and can help you push your boundaries, where the other answer leads to nothing.
Dead on track. You create your own reality by feeding what's around you. If "nothing" matters, then being "nihilistic" is your world. And if you have a goal, nothing else but that goal(s) matter.
When I learn to take complete responsibility for my actions and that no one can make me do something I don't want to do and that everything in my life was attracted there by me and my own mindset, only then am I able to fully live. Anything other than taking 100% responsibility for my life and my decisions is acting like a victim. Victims cannot change because they are giving their power to someone else.
I believe that every sentient being should be free to do what they want, including retaliation, but in order to live in society, certain laws and rules must be followed.
Self-determination is a fantastic thing and I do not think anyone should determine your path. Part of the current flaws in the education system is how people are funnelled into a pre-determined direction. But nothing is stopping you from choosing your path as an adult!
Would religion be a "thing" if humans didn't evolve to the point of being capable of such existential thoughts, like their purpose or meaning?
Interesting question. One I would like to answer with a hypothetical..
If something happened tomorrow and all religious texts, icons and memory disappeared, what would happen? I believe that as a social species, religion was/is inevitable. Large groups need hope or something to believe in. Religion would not look the same as it does now, but with thought and consciousness, a belief system will always appear...
Appreciate the great response! Although considering all other species, it seems that us humans, the only species with such a developed awareness, are the only ones that really care about why we're here. Do you think that the animals that do not understand the concept of a religion/belief system will go to hell if they don't follow our invented moral codes? Or is heaven (or any other pleasant afterlife experience) reserved only for humans?
Animal psychology is still too primitive for them to question existence, but among certain 'higher' species like apes and dolphins, we can already see a developing social structure as far as some 'leaders' are more or less authoritarian. There are also superstitions emerging amongst some troops which leads me to believe that with enough time, other social species will develop religion.
With that said, what is heaven? Is it just a utopian dream that we as humans created? If not, then why would only humans be allowed?
From Wiki:
"Nihilism is a philosophical doctrine that suggests the lack of belief in one or more reputedly meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism, which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value."
The nihilism you're writing about is a specific branch, and it states that life doesn't have an objective meaning or intrinsic value. From a scientific standpoint, this is true. Or, rather, that the genetic mission of mating can't possibly be the only reason to be alive. This allows individuals to decide on their own subjective meaning and choose their own missions and goals.
I believe our actions "don't matter" on a cosmic scale, but that doesn't mean I haphazardly behave immorally. Nobody that has arrived at nihilism through science could ever ignore that all actions have consequences, whether they matter or not. "Mattering" is a vague human sliding scale of importance.
I agree that an extreme nihilist might behave in a pathological fashion, but that seems to be true also for any person that takes an ideology to it's extremes. Every religion ever created has been used by somebody to rationalize something terrible.
I'm curious how many great and important social contributors in history had nihilist leanings.
Good point. I think that a lot of our development can be attributed to 'Nihilists' that refused to accept their position and 'meaning' in life, but once again it boils down to the responsibility of action.
Nihilism has a place in society just as pessimism does. To be human is to embrace each aspect of our psychology and learn to control it...
Actions shape reality, and actions are determined by our thoughts, get your thoughts in order and you can achieve whatever you wish to achieve.
It's right.
And that's why I'm here.
Everything is mental. Thought is the cause of it all. Our thoughts manifest themselves in the physical after action is put behind them. I've very much appreciated this post. Please if you can find time check out a few of mine as I am sure you'll find a few of them as interesting as I have yours.
Really nice post !
Reap what you sow.