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The program is easy to use. ’t a nihilist he’s a rationalist and so nihilism has to wait until the 19th century when Nietzsche and others start writing about it and they do so in a way that has very little to do with Kant’s rationalism but instead focuses on the idea that in a world without any higher meaning or purpose life is ultimately meaningless and absurd
Now if we had a dime for every time the word nihilism has been uttered on this channel, we probably have enough money for a two-topping pizza and a six-pack of domestic beer. But for all the time we spent using nihilism as a tool to analyze film, TV and culture, it still feels like we’ve barely scratched the surface.
Now for many, nihilism is just the negative vibe characterized by those who are “black pilled” enough to think that everything sucks and nothing means anything. For others, it’s a way to smugly judge those who use religion, philosophy or politics to find meaning. And for others it’s a way of saying that there is no such thing as morality and ethics in our dark and lonely universe.
So, which one is it? All of these? None of these? Something completely different? Well, let’s find out in this Wisecrack Edition on nihilism: What is it? No, really, what is it?
Okay, so a little personal story. When I was in grad school, I had a seminar with a professor named Andrew Benjamin and one day we’re sitting outside in the seminar and we’re chatting about Nietzsche and he brings up this idea that the constant misreadings of Nietzsche’s writings on nihilism leads to his words being used by “angry 17 year old atheists”. Now, if you are or were an angry 17 year old atheist, please be honest and let us know in the comments.
Now, I think this is how many of us (self included) interpret the meaning of nihilism and especially the version we get in Nietzsche, but also how nihilism is represented in the media. Now, if you Google “Wisecrack Plus nihilism”, you’ll find one of our most viewed videos ever written by this is on nihilism in Rick and Morty and BoJack Horseman, because apparently you all like Rick and Morty and nihilism - who would have thought?
Now, Rick is maybe the recent representation of a certain form of nihilism. He’s a super smart rationalist who knows that God isn’t real and that nothing means anything, which allows him to do all sorts of wild antics without any concern for higher meaning or purpose. “I’m a scientist because I invent, transform, create and destroy for a living and when I don’t like something about the world, I change it.”
Another example are the nihilists from The Big Lebowski, whose definition of nihilism is “he believes in nothing”. And of course there’s the gang from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, whose antics seem to be motivated by a disbelief in any system or authority outside of themselves. Or are they just more angry 17 year old atheists who misread Nietzsche?
Now, I’m gonna get into it, but first we got to go through a quick list of the things that nihilism is definitely not. These are from Nolan Gertz’s recent book aptly titled “Nihilism”, which I’ll be referring to throughout this video. Now according to Gertz, nihilism often gets confused with things like pessimism, cynicism and apathy, but according to him, nihilism is thus much closer to optimism, idealism and sympathy than it is to pessimism, cynicism and apathy. And throughout the video, I’ll show you why. But if you want to see his full argument, get his book - it’s great and getting books is great. You know, buy books not drugs. But for now, let’s get back to figuring out what nihilism is.
For that, we need to take a second look at the history of the concept. While the idea of nothing has been around almost as long as the idea of something, nihilism was first written about in 1799 when German philosopher Friedrich Jacoby, in a letter criticizing Emmanuel Kant, used the term to talk the latter’s work. Jacoby thought that in Kant’s attempt to refute the epistemological nihilism that you get in someone like David Hume - for whom actual knowledge of the world is impossible - his resulting philosophy ends up leading to a sort of practical nihilism, because its emphasis on the use of reason made faith way less important. In other words, Jacoby thought turning everything into an object of reason evacuates any human or spiritual meaning from philosophy and our lives.
Soren Kierkegaard would make a similar critique about 50 years later, but for most, Kant isn’t a nihilist - he’s a rationalist. And so, nihilism has to wait until the 19th century when Nietzsche and others start e to fight this type of nihilism by making sure that we don’t just accept the world as it is but that we actively fight against the injustices of the world.
Kierkegaard was already worried back in the 19th century that media would slowly suck the passion and meaning out of life. This fear has been continually proven true in tandem with the rise of new forms of news media and entertainment that are designed to keep us distracted and consuming as much as possible. To fight this type of nihilism, we need to actively fight against the injustices of the world rather than accepting it as it is. Examples of this can be seen in shows like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and in the 1999 film Office Space, where characters are broken by modern American life and the mundanity of an economic system that presents work as the most meaningful thing we can do. What is most striking and discouraging to me is that people are so apathetic in the face of racism and reactionary attitudes, even though they are neither blind nor unconscious to them. This apathy is born of a kind of fascism, where individual value is abstracted and worshipped, stifling the collective spirit and robbing people of their power. In 1947, American culture was characterized by a type of deeply ingrained passive nihilism, and this may still be true today. Our mix of empty individualism and free-market brains have turned us into a culture of nihilistic zombies, and it may seem that there is no way out. Is nihilism the mood of our era? Does every generation have its own nihilist core, or is it just an excuse for whiny philosophers to complain that the world isn’t structured how they want it to be? Let us know in the comments, and please let us know if you liked this style of video. We’ve hesitated for a long time to make videos that are explicitly philosophical, so if you enjoyed this, it’s important that you let us know. Also, let us know what topics you would like to see us cover. Our patrons have created a community of active nihilism that we really enjoy being a part of. You can check out our Patreon by clicking the link in the description. Finally, thank you to all of you for joining us and engaging with our content - it helps us stay alive! So, stay nihilist in the good way, and I’ll see you later. Thank you!