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>If nothing has inherent meaning then you are the one who has power to give meaning to things. You can avoid giving meaning to mishaps, mistakes, past, nasty co
by brazzy 7y ago
>If nothing has inherent meaning then you are the one who has power to give meaning to things. You can avoid giving meaning to mishaps, mistakes, past, nasty comments and anxiety while cherishing and making other things more meaningful (to yourself). That's one outlook on nihilism
As I understand it, that is, in fact, existentialism, not nihilism.
- thrwaway69 7y agoThat's correct. I wasn't saying it was nihilism but proposing that by discovering nihilism (meaninglessness), you can employ existentialism or solipsism to your advantage as a response.
- mirimir 7y agoAgreed. But nihilism is the gateway.
- ahartmetz 7y agoAFAICT existentialism is nihilism plus a bunch of pretentious gibberish, so if I was going that route, I'd rather stop at nihilism.
- mirimir 7y agoYou do have a point. Basically it's making up stuff to believe in, rather than believing in "nothingness" (which is not just "nothing"). As Landmark says, "We are meaning making machines." So it's very hard to stay centered on nothingness. And that's what TFA alludes: > as nihilism is all about hiding from despair So with existentialism, you're just manipulating yourself. But that's arguably better than being manipulated by others, your culture, authoritarian structures, and so on. Another perspective is that it's all games. But that we're prone to forgetting that, and thinking that it means something else.