The Meaning of Nihilism
Nietzsche on Nihilism
The German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote:
“What does nihilism mean? That the highest values devaluate themselves. The aim is lacking; “Why?” Finds no answer”
(Nietzsche, The Will To Power)
Our lives are guided by values. Some of these values are inherited from culture. Some of them we choose for ourselves.
Values are important because they structure our lives and give meaning to our pursuits. If we didn’t truly believe that the things we do are valuable, then why would we do them?
Nihilism is the idea that life has no value or meaning. It is the idea that when we really think about whether our values matter, there is nothing but silence.
When we are fully immersed in our day to day lives, everything we are doing seems important. From the first personal point of view, we need to close a deal, or else we might not get a promotion. We need to finish our degree, or else we might not land our dream job. These beliefs form a pyramid of values that structure our lives.
The Nihilist is someone who traces the lines of the pyramid all the way to the top, and asks for a further answer. Why do we need to close the deal? Because we need the promotion to pay our bills. Why do we need to pay our bills? Because we need to survive. Why do we need to survive? Because that is just what life is meant to do — to make more life.
At this point, you might either think that our lives are either totally pointless, or make total sense. For some people, the idea that the point of life is to create more life is justification enough to keep going, and to keep caring about life’s daily problems. For others, the Nihilist poses a genuine threat to the meaning of our lives. They have removed the head of the pyramid, leaving it permanently unfinished.
Many people today face a crisis of meaning. Where traditional belief systems have fallen by the wayside, they have largely been replaced by the endless acquisition of material goods, or consumption of memes. Even for those who can afford to travel and enjoy all of the most pleasurable experiences that the world has to offer, things can begin to feel a bit pointless after a while. But these worries can usually be sidelined by the thrill of something new.
Not everyone takes the Nihilist seriously. It is easy to dismiss this figure as an immature or annoying critic of our lives. But the Nihilist is happy to retreat into the shadows, knowing that even the briefest moment of exhaustion or doubt might be all he needs to get a hold of us for good.
The idea of meaning being defined by going to the top of the pyramid seems coherent at first. But asking why goes to the bottom of things not the end of things. Answering the meaning question requires one to know what we are standing on; why is there something erected in the first place. It is defining cause, not effect. Why we are here cannot be understood by discovering the end of a thing but the beginning of a thing. The end of a thing is purpose. Teleology is thought of as a thing that pulls us toward an end. Since drive is fundamental we think in terms of the end. But if the pyramid exists for no reason (there was no intent behind it existing) then all attempts to answer the meaning question and whatever answers we come up with related to the end of things are futile. That is nihilism.