Are you a nihilist?

[absyntheNsugar]

Do you beleive that there is no good or evil, no wrong or right, no god or devil...and that all of our actions and decisions are merely more complex conditioned responses based on primal needs and desires?

Discuss....

[ALago1]

1. No

I do believe in ethical standards but am agnostic as to the existence of God.

These two positions are not contradictory, imo.

[absyntheNsugar]

3. No theyre not

you can beleive in objective ethical standards without the belief in a god...but to be a nihilist you do have to answer yes to all the above.

[Whitacre D_WI]

2. No, I am not.

Ponder that for awhile.

[tigereye]

10. hmm my head is hurting

I need to find something else to do, but the Chinese rest. line is busy. It's Chinese take out night.

[Whitacre D_WI]

11. Get the #36!

[Ksec]

4. No

I think nihlism is too depressing although it may be true. I got into this at one time and read quite a bit on it.

[absyntheNsugar]

6. It may seem depressing to some

but my nihilist friends actually find it quite liberating. As they put it, the spook who's two steps behind you everywhere you go suddenly vanishes.

I, myself, am not a nihilist....but I can see the logic clearly.

[saltpoint]

5. No. I think ol' Nietzsche got the gods thing right --

-- but I admire the zip of the Helenist/pagan pantheon. Those people knew how to party.

Pure nihilists rarely occur in literature. Authors allow even their most negative characters some small redeeming feature, or even a powerful redeeming feature.

The Bush administration has several, though. Rove. Perle. etc.

[absyntheNsugar]

7. Well don't forget Beavis and Butthead

LOL...seriously tho if you take the ultimate nihilist you have them.

BTW....even notice how the characters in Pulp Fiction were always wrestling with nihilism?

[tigereye]

9. no I'm not

i'm an optimist, not sure how after all these years.


Relevant Favorite quote from a college buddy of mine, "Don't be an existentialist, you'll ruin your twenties." He was right.

[ALago1]

13. Not all existentialism is doom and gloom...

Kierkegaard (sp?) and Nietzsche are pretty uplifting and inspiring albeit very different in their philosophies...

[tigereye]

15. no, I agree, it was just a funny comment since

at the time I was taking an existentialism class ( you are right about Kierkegaard) and a Kafka class at the same time and was always complaining about the mundaneness of existence. Little did I know.

[ALago1]

16. It was a very witty comment and does have some truth to it

n/t

[saltpoint]

18. Good Christ, I just remembered that --

-- my first hint of what nihilism is was from Dionne Warwicke singing "Alfie," back in another time and place. It was the line, "...and if only fools are kind, Alfie, then I guess it is wise to be cruel..."

I was too young to get the point, but just old enough to know that moral good is possibly a relative and shifting thing. Dionne Warwicke: Top 40 Courage Teacher.

[Shanty Oilish]

8. You picked a fine time to ask that...

But I will say... uh... there is an objective good/evil, however, uhhhhhhh....complex conditioned responses are the default mode. Most folks would rather not respond with thought when there is a built-in stash of un- and semi-conscious responses available. It's an energy-saving thang. Nihilists are corner-cutters. Except in Russia. There, they're onto something.

[tigereye]

12. no you're a biological psychologist

[H2O Man]

14. No.

I think that our body, including our brain, is an organic machine. Thus, in a way, most of our actions are unconscious, although most people believe that they are conscious! We react, we respond, and are driven by passions too often beyond our control. Obviously, the fuel that we put into the machine makes a huge difference. But by and large, we humans are slaves to the exact same wants and needs, and desires and fears, as our most primitive ancestors. However, there is an energy that brings life to the machine, much like the electricity that brightens a light bulb. And that energy is our true essence. It is accessable. And this is the theme of all of the world's religions and is the message that each of the men and women who served as the great teachers of various cultures. When this concept is understood, human beings such as bush & friends are viewed as less evil (though their ACTIONS are evil!) and more as our sick brother, with the insight of a dog. Bush is no more able to resist the temptations to do his evil acts as, say, my German Shepard would be able to resist eatting a steak if I left it within his reach tonight.

[rockymountaindem]

17. That's wierd.

I was just learning about this in Russian history today. Things happen to me in twos. Sometimes I hear about the most obscure stuff and then it crops up right away a second time.

[saltpoint]

19. Hi, rockymountaindem -- yeah, me too on things --

-- seeming to occur in twos like that.

Either Jung's theory of synchronicity is for real or else John Ashcroft is fucking with us.