In all seriousness, I have long been interested in philosophical matters. I actually considered majoring in philosophy in college, but opted for history instead under the mistaken assumption that it was a better choice from a professional standpoint.
A couple of caveats: One, I make no claims of being some sort of expert on philosophy. I am a layman. A reasonably well-informed layman, but still layman. Two, my approach to philosophy is very personal and subjective. Some of my views may be confusing, troubling, or even offensive to some readers.
With that, please enter freely and of your own free will!
To kick off Philosophy Thursday, I want to look at the cheery
subject of nihilism. What is nihilism, or better yet, what is a nihilist? For
the purposes of this post, I'm going to go with Friedrich Nietzsche's
definition:
A nihilist is a man who judges of the world as it is that it ought not to be, and of the world as it ought to be that it does not exist.
I tend to simplify this by saying a nihilist as one who
thinks that the world that should exist doesn't, and that the world that does
exist shouldn't.
Sounds like a rather dark way to view existence. I should
know, as I've struggled to resist the lure of nihilism most of my life.
That statement might sound a bit melodramatic, but it's
true.
