The post immediately below this one provoked a few emails about the definition of "nihilism." Since I'm spending my days hiding from the squirrels and flopping around in bed with a good book, I will quote a reliable source:
The caustic strength of nihilism is absolute, Nietzsche argues, and under its withering scrutiny “the highest values devalue themselves. The aim is lacking, and ‘Why’ finds no answer” (Will to Power).
Inevitably, nihilism will expose all cherished beliefs and sacrosanct
truths as symptoms of a defective Western mythos. This collapse of
meaning, relevance, and purpose will be the most destructive force in
history, constituting a total assault on reality and nothing less than
the greatest crisis of humanity:
What I relate is the history of the next two centuries. I describe what is coming, what can no longer come differently: the advent of nihilism. . . . For some time now our whole European culture has been moving as toward a catastrophe, with a tortured tension that is growing from decade to decade: restlessly, violently, headlong, like a river that wants to reach the end. . . . (Will to Power)Since Nietzsche’s compelling critique, nihilistic themes–epistemological failure, value destruction, and cosmic purposelessness–have preoccupied artists, social critics, and philosophers.
[. . .]
By the late 20th century, “nihilism” had assumed two different castes.
In one form, “nihilist” is used to characterize the postmodern person, a
dehumanized conformist, alienated, indifferent, and baffled, directing
psychological energy into hedonistic narcissism or into a deep ressentiment
that often explodes in violence. This perspective is derived from the
existentialists’ reflections on nihilism stripped of any hopeful
expectations, leaving only the experience of sickness, decay, and
disintegration.
[. . .]
In The Banalization of Nihilism (1992) Karen Carr discusses the
antifoundationalist response to nihilism. Although it still inflames a
paralyzing relativism and subverts critical tools, “cheerful nihilism”
carries the day, she notes, distinguished by an easy-going acceptance of
meaninglessness. Such a development, Carr concludes, is alarming. If we
accept that all perspectives are equally non-binding, then intellectual
or moral arrogance will determine which perspective has precedence.
Worse still, the banalization of nihilism creates an environment where
ideas can be imposed forcibly with little resistance, raw power alone
determining intellectual and moral hierarchies. It’s a conclusion that
dovetails nicely with Nietzsche’s, who pointed out that all
interpretations of the world are simply manifestations of will-to-power.
Bottom-line: once a culture has ceased linking the Good with the True, only Power matters. IOW, those with the most money and guns make the rules. And there's Nothing-No One There to appeal to when Money and Guns decides that you are a useless eater.
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