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Created page with 'File:lighterstill.jpgright|frame ==Origin== German ''Nihilismus'', from Latin ''nihil'' nothing *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_cen...'
[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:Nihilism_-_Version_2.jpg|right|frame]]
==Origin==
German ''Nihilismus'', from [[Latin]] ''nihil'' nothing
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_century 1817]
==Definitions==
*1a : a [[viewpoint]] that traditional [[values]] and [[beliefs]] are unfounded and that [[existence]] is senseless and useless
:b : a [[doctrine]] that denies any objective ground of [[truth]] and especially of [[moral]] truths
*2a : a doctrine or belief that conditions in the [[social]] [[organization]] are so bad as to make destruction desirable for its own sake independent of any constructive [[program]] or [[possibility]]
:b capitalized : the program of a 19th century Russian party advocating revolutionary [[reform]] and using [[terrorism]] and [[assassination]]
==Description==
'''Nihilism''' (pron.: /ˈnaɪ.ɨlɪzəm/ or /ˈniː.ɨlɪzəm/; from the [[Latin]] ''nihil'', nothing) is the philosophical [[doctrine]] suggesting the negation of one or more putatively 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]]. Moral nihilists assert that [[morality]] does not [[inherently]] exist, and that any established moral [[values]] are abstractly contrived. ''Nihilism'' can also take [[epistemological]] or metaphysical/ontological forms, meaning respectively that, in some aspect, [[knowledge]] is not possible, or that reality does not actually exist.
The term ''nihilism'' is sometimes used in association with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anomie anomie] to [[explain]] the general [[mood]] of [[despair]] at a perceived pointlessness of [[existence]] that one may develop upon realising there are no [[necessary]] norms, rules, or laws. [[Movements]] such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futurism_(art) Futurism] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deconstruction deconstruction], among others, have been identified by commentators as "nihilistic" at various times in various [[contexts]].
''Nihilism'' is also a characteristic that has been ascribed to time periods: for example, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Baudrillard Jean Baudrillard] and others have called [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodernism postmodernity] a nihilistic [[epoch]], and some Christian theologians and figures of religious [[authority]] have asserted that postmodernity and many aspects of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernism modernity] represent a [[rejection]] of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theism theism], and that rejection of their theistic [[doctrine]] entails ''nihilism''.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihilism]
[[Category: Philosophy]]
==Origin==
German ''Nihilismus'', from [[Latin]] ''nihil'' nothing
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_century 1817]
==Definitions==
*1a : a [[viewpoint]] that traditional [[values]] and [[beliefs]] are unfounded and that [[existence]] is senseless and useless
:b : a [[doctrine]] that denies any objective ground of [[truth]] and especially of [[moral]] truths
*2a : a doctrine or belief that conditions in the [[social]] [[organization]] are so bad as to make destruction desirable for its own sake independent of any constructive [[program]] or [[possibility]]
:b capitalized : the program of a 19th century Russian party advocating revolutionary [[reform]] and using [[terrorism]] and [[assassination]]
==Description==
'''Nihilism''' (pron.: /ˈnaɪ.ɨlɪzəm/ or /ˈniː.ɨlɪzəm/; from the [[Latin]] ''nihil'', nothing) is the philosophical [[doctrine]] suggesting the negation of one or more putatively 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]]. Moral nihilists assert that [[morality]] does not [[inherently]] exist, and that any established moral [[values]] are abstractly contrived. ''Nihilism'' can also take [[epistemological]] or metaphysical/ontological forms, meaning respectively that, in some aspect, [[knowledge]] is not possible, or that reality does not actually exist.
The term ''nihilism'' is sometimes used in association with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anomie anomie] to [[explain]] the general [[mood]] of [[despair]] at a perceived pointlessness of [[existence]] that one may develop upon realising there are no [[necessary]] norms, rules, or laws. [[Movements]] such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futurism_(art) Futurism] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deconstruction deconstruction], among others, have been identified by commentators as "nihilistic" at various times in various [[contexts]].
''Nihilism'' is also a characteristic that has been ascribed to time periods: for example, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Baudrillard Jean Baudrillard] and others have called [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodernism postmodernity] a nihilistic [[epoch]], and some Christian theologians and figures of religious [[authority]] have asserted that postmodernity and many aspects of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernism modernity] represent a [[rejection]] of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theism theism], and that rejection of their theistic [[doctrine]] entails ''nihilism''.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihilism]
[[Category: Philosophy]]