Nihilism - Etymological Origins

Nihilism as a philosophical position is the view that the world, and especially human existence, is without meaning, purpose, comprehensible truth, or essential value. Some philosophers are considered nihilists if they hold the philosophical position that either (1) nothing exists (all there is is nothing), (2) the reality we humans experience does not exist at all as we see it, or (3) reality is unknowable, and thus the pursuit of objective understanding is pointless. It is more often a charge leveled against a particular idea ...

Including:

• Nihilism - Etymological Origins
• Nihilism - Nihilism in Philosophy
• Nihilism - Nihilism in Ethics and Morality
• Nihilism - Postmodernism and the Breakdown of Knowledge
• Nihilism - Nihilism and Nietzsche
• Nihilism - Nihilism Self-consistency and Paradox
• Nihilism - Nihilism in Art
• Nihilism - Dadaism
• Nihilism - Nihilism in Literature
• Nihilism - Nihilism in Music
• Nihilism - Books on Nihilism

Read more here: » Nihilism: Encyclopedia - Nihilism

The term comes from the Latin nihil, meaning "not anything". The Oxford English Dictionary gives 1817 as its earliest use in English, and Alain Rey's Dictionnaire historique de la langue française (rev. ed. 1995) gives 1787 as the first use of the word in French, noting that nihiliste was used in 1761, though in a religious sense of 'heretic' that is now obsolete. Rey also argues that the Russian equivalent nigilizm (нигилизм) that appeared in 1829 was an impulse to ...

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Nihilism, Nihilism - Etymological Origins, Nihilism - Nihilism in Philosophy, Nihilism - Nihilism in Ethics and Morality, Nihilism - Postmodernism and the Breakdown of Knowledge, Nihilism - Nihilism and Nietzsche, Nihilism - Nihilism Self-consistency and Paradox, Nihilism - Nihilism in Art, Nihilism - Dadaism, Nihilism - Nihilism in Literature, Nihilism - Nihilism in Music, Nihilism - Books on Nihilism

Read more here: » Nihilism: Encyclopedia II - Nihilism - Etymological Origins

Though the term nihilism was first popularized by Ivan Turgenev (see below), it was first introduced into philosophical discourse by Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi (1743–1819), who used the term to characterize rationalism, and in particular Immanuel Kant's "critical" philosophy in order to carry out a reductio ad absurdum according to which all rationalism (philosophy as criticism) reduces to nihilism, and thus it should be avoided and replaced with a return to som ...

See also:

Nihilism, Nihilism - Etymological Origins, Nihilism - Nihilism in Philosophy, Nihilism - Nihilism in Ethics and Morality, Nihilism - Postmodernism and the Breakdown of Knowledge, Nihilism - Nihilism and Nietzsche, Nihilism - Nihilism Self-consistency and Paradox, Nihilism - Nihilism in Art, Nihilism - Dadaism, Nihilism - Nihilism in Literature, Nihilism - Nihilism in Music, Nihilism - Books on Nihilism

Read more here: » Nihilism: Encyclopedia II - Nihilism - Nihilism in Philosophy

There have been various movements in art, such as surrealism and cubism, which have been criticized for touching on nihilism, and others like Dada which have embraced it openly. More generally, modern art has been criticised as nihilistic due to its often non-representative nature, as happened with the Nazi party's Degenerate art exhibit. Nihilistic themes can be found in literature and music as well. This is especially true of contemporary music and literature, where the uncertainty following what some perceive as the demise of modernism is explored in detail. ...

See also:

Nihilism, Nihilism - Etymological Origins, Nihilism - Nihilism in Philosophy, Nihilism - Nihilism in Ethics and Morality, Nihilism - Postmodernism and the Breakdown of Knowledge, Nihilism - Nihilism and Nietzsche, Nihilism - Nihilism Self-consistency and Paradox, Nihilism - Nihilism in Art, Nihilism - Dadaism, Nihilism - Nihilism in Literature, Nihilism - Nihilism in Music, Nihilism - Books on Nihilism

Read more here: » Nihilism: Encyclopedia II - Nihilism - Nihilism in Art