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Ultimately nihilism is non-prescriptive as to how you should behave or feel. Under nihilism you can very easily turn "Why Bother?" into "Why Not?", or "Why do I

Ultimately nihilism is non-prescriptive as to how you should behave or feel. Under nihilism you can very easily turn "Why Bother?" into "Why Not?", or "Why do I exist?" into "Why would I not exist?" - because all are meaningless questions. At least this is how I deal with the fatalist aspect. Live you life as you would "normally", take the actions you think are best and do what gives you emotional fulfilment. Nihilism is only a weight if you secretly want meaning (and are somehow disappointed that your actions are meaningless). Happiness isn't blocking certain truths, it is just a biological state. If you truly do not believe or wish for a meaning then Nihilism sets you free.

paraschopra 14y ago
It's not that a man secretly wants meaning but the facts deny any such thing. I guess evolution has programmed the man to seek meaning (from a psychological point of view). So no matter what intellectually he believes in, there would be a certain push to crave for that meaning that in reality doesn't exist. Thus the despair on the helplessness of situation. I know using medication or treatment I can block that craving for meaning (lack of which ultimately causes despair), but I'm just unsure right now whether such a thing should be done.
- roguecoder 14y ago
  The way I've seen it is that the quest for meaning is something to give up, to let go of, and so accept the joy of a transient experience. It is like experiential art: part of the point is that it will only happen once, for no reason whatsoever. You can either be sad that life is frivolous, or you can marvel that something so complex as this cosmos exists for no reason at all. Sometimes I look around a busy store and think about the massive coincidence in all these independent intelligences having come about and came to be here right now, buying detergent, and I am overwhelmed with the beauty of it. Not because it means anything, but because it doesn't have to. It just is, like fractals or recursion, and just like those forms of emergent beauty, that awe makes me happier than I could ever be striving for something that doesn't exist. I'd recommend looking into Buddhism and ignoring the bits about reincarnation and karma; the rest of it is basically Nihilistic and still leads to contented, happy lives (after all, the ultimate reward in some branches is total annihilation.) I personally assume that the purpose of doing good things is because we have a choice: we can make the world better or we can make the world worse. With no reason to do one over the other, what kind of asshole chooses to make the world worse? Especially since they then have to live in that worse world. It's just stupid.
  - expralitemonk 14y ago
    +1 on recommending Buddhism the philosophy, as distinct from Buddhism the religion. The philosophy teaches that everything changes, and all you have is now, so keep your mind on the now and the later will take care of itself. Mindfulness meditation is extremely useful in tamping down panic attacks or dealing with chronic physical pain.

paraschopra 14y ago

It's not that a man secretly wants meaning but the facts deny any such thing. I guess evolution has programmed the man to seek meaning (from a psychological point of view). So no matter what intellectually he believes in, there would be a certain push to crave for that meaning that in reality doesn't exist. Thus the despair on the helplessness of situation. I know using medication or treatment I can block that craving for meaning (lack of which ultimately causes despair), but I'm just unsure right now whether such a thing should be done.

roguecoder 14y ago
The way I've seen it is that the quest for meaning is something to give up, to let go of, and so accept the joy of a transient experience. It is like experiential art: part of the point is that it will only happen once, for no reason whatsoever. You can either be sad that life is frivolous, or you can marvel that something so complex as this cosmos exists for no reason at all. Sometimes I look around a busy store and think about the massive coincidence in all these independent intelligences having come about and came to be here right now, buying detergent, and I am overwhelmed with the beauty of it. Not because it means anything, but because it doesn't have to. It just is, like fractals or recursion, and just like those forms of emergent beauty, that awe makes me happier than I could ever be striving for something that doesn't exist. I'd recommend looking into Buddhism and ignoring the bits about reincarnation and karma; the rest of it is basically Nihilistic and still leads to contented, happy lives (after all, the ultimate reward in some branches is total annihilation.) I personally assume that the purpose of doing good things is because we have a choice: we can make the world better or we can make the world worse. With no reason to do one over the other, what kind of asshole chooses to make the world worse? Especially since they then have to live in that worse world. It's just stupid.
- expralitemonk 14y ago
  +1 on recommending Buddhism the philosophy, as distinct from Buddhism the religion. The philosophy teaches that everything changes, and all you have is now, so keep your mind on the now and the later will take care of itself. Mindfulness meditation is extremely useful in tamping down panic attacks or dealing with chronic physical pain.