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I find attitudes like this bewildering. I can't imagine being so uncreative as to assert that the only authentic non-religious attitude is a nihlistic one. How
by shmageggy 13y ago
I find attitudes like this bewildering. I can't imagine being so uncreative as to assert that the only authentic non-religious attitude is a nihlistic one. How hard is it to take the human condition and it's joys and sorrows seriously and at face-value, exalting what we are and might become without resorting to silly supernatural fairy tales. We don't need religion for great art, we need to cultivate our expressions of humanism.
- steveklabnik 13y agoEven Mr. God Is Dead himself was not a nihilist. He talked about it a lot, but because it was something he saw in the world, not because he thought it was a good thing. Art certainly can be about overcoming nihilism, but it certainly does not require religion to do it.
- defen 13y agoAs always with these discussions, I think it comes down to what you mean by "nihilist". He certainly thought that the end of traditional Christian values was a good thing, which is why many people call him a nihilist. That's not to say he believed in "nothing", Big Lebowski style, though.
- steveklabnik 13y agoVocabulary is so hard. :/ Yes, you're totally correct, though.
- toupeira 13y agoLike it or not, religion (or more correctly, spirituality) is a big part of being human, especially when expressed as art. I think ever since the Age of Enlightenment we've made a big mistake in dismissing anything that can't be rationally explained by science as "silly supernatural fairy tales". We're relying too much on our senses and logical thinking, and neglecting feeling and intuition.