What is better - to be categorical in judgments or to remain democratic and try to understand and accept someone else's opinion? Each of us chooses his own, what is closer. There are many different currents expressing the position of man. What is nihilism, and what are the principles of nihilism - we suggest to understand.
Nihilism - what is it?
All dictionaries say that nihilism is a worldview that casts doubt on generally accepted principles, norms of morality and values. One can find the definition of negation, the complete negation of the social and moral phenomenon and mindset. It becomes obvious that the definition of this term and its manifestation at different times was different and depended on the cultural and historical period.
It is important to talk about nihilism and its consequences. In today's world, it is often possible to hear discussions about whether a given course is a disease or, conversely, a cure for ailment. The philosophy of supporters of this trend denies such values:
- moral principles;
- love;
- nature;
- art.
However, human morality is based on these fundamental concepts. Everyone should understand that in the world there are values, the negation of which is impossible. Among them - the love of life, to people, the desire to be happy and enjoy the beauty. For this reason, the consequences of such denial may be negative for supporters of this direction. As an option, after a while a person realizes the incorrectness of his judgments and refuses to accept nihilism.
Who is a nihilist?
Under nihilism understand the vital position of denial. A nihilist is a person who denies the norms and values accepted in society. In addition, such people do not consider it necessary to bow before any authority and little in what and in whom they believe in general. Moreover, for them, even the authority of the source does not matter. It is interesting that this concept first appeared in the Middle Ages, when there was a denial of the existence and faith in Christ. After a while, new kinds of nihilism appeared.
Nihilism - the pros and cons
The concept of nihilism as a denial of modernity expresses the negative attitude of a certain subject to certain values, views, norms, ideals. It is a form of sensation of the world and of a certain social behavior. As a trend of social thought, nihilism arose long ago, but gained popularity in the last century in the countries of Western Europe and Russia. Then he was associated with the names of Jacobi, Proudhon, Nietzsche, Stirner, Bakunin, Kropotkin. This concept has its pros and cons. Among the advantages of nihilism:
- The ability of a person to show his individuality .
- The ability of the individual to declare himself, to defend his own opinion.
- Searches and the likelihood of new discoveries.
However, there are many opponents of nihilism. They call the following flaws:
- Categorical in judgments, bringing harm to the nihilist himself.
- Impossibility to go beyond your own views.
- Misunderstanding by others.
Types of Nihilism
Such a concept as nihilism in modern society is divided into many species, the main ones are:
- Mereologichesky is a definite position in philosophy, affirming that the objects consisting of parts do not exist.
- Metaphysical - a theory in philosophy, which says that the existence of objects in reality is not mandatory.
- Epistemological - the denial of knowledge.
- Moral is a metaethical notion that nothing can be immoral or moral.
- Legal - active or passive denial of the duties of the individual and the rules and norms established by the state.
- Religious - denial and even sometimes rebellion against religion.
- Geographical - denial, misunderstanding, misuse of geographical directions.
Legal nihilism
By legal nihilism is understood the denial of law as a kind of social institution, as well as a system of rules of conduct that successfully regulates the relationship of people. This legal nihilism consists in the denial of laws, leading to unlawful actions, chaos and the inhibition of the legal system. The causes of legal nihilism can be:
- Laws do not meet the interests of citizens.
- Historical roots.
- Different scientific concepts.
Moral nihilism
Scientific literature says what nihilism means and what its kinds are. Moral nihilism is the meta-position, according to which nothing can be immoral or moral. A supporter of this type of nihilism assumes that murder, regardless of causes and circumstances, can not be called a good or bad deed. Moral nihilism is close to moral relativism, recognizing for statements some possibility of being true as well as false in a subjective sense, but does not allow their objective truth.
Youthful nihilism
Known about the concept of nihilism and the younger generation. Often in adolescence, children want to better understand themselves and choose their own way of life . However, it is not uncommon for a teenager to deny a lot. This behavior is called youthful nihilism. Youthful nihilism, like youthful maximalism, is an ardent and sometimes even accompanied by vivid emotions the negation of something. This kind of nihilism can be inherent not only to adolescents and boys, but also to emotional people of different ages and manifests itself in a variety of spheres:
- in religion;
- in culture;
- in public life;
- in knowledge;
- in the rights.
Mereological Nihilism
One of the most common types of such a concept as nihilism in our time is the Molecular one. Under it is accepted to understand a certain philosophical position according to which the objects consisting of parts do not exist, but there are only basic objects that do not consist of parts. An example is a forest. The nihilist is sure that in reality he does not exist as a separate object. It is a set of plants in a confined space. The very concept of "forest" was created in order to facilitate thinking and communication.
Geographic Nihilism
There are various forms of nihilism. Among them - geographical. It consists in the denial and misunderstanding of inconsistent use:
- geographical directions;
- geographical signs of parts of the world;
- substitution of geographical directions;
- parts of the world by culturological idealism.
This kind of nihilism is a new concept. Often it is called wrong, saying that if you deny values behind natural conditions and trying to tear out human society from the material world, you can come to idealism. In other words, this disadvantage is that if you ignore the natural environment, this may lead to underestimation of these conditions. Given their influence, one must be aware that at the different stages of it, the same combination of natural conditions can have different meanings and at the same time have different attention.
Epistemological nihilism
By epistemological nihilism is understood the radical form of skepticism, which affirms the doubtfulness of the possibility of achieving knowledge. It arose as a reaction to the ideal and universal purpose of ancient Greek thinking. The sophists were the first to support the skepticism. After a while, the school denied the possibility of an ideal cognition. Even then, the problem of nihilism, consisting in the reluctance of its supporters to obtain the necessary knowledge, was clear.
Cultural nihilism
Popular modern nihilism is a cultural one. It manifests itself in the denial of cultural trends in all spheres of society. Back in the sixties, a powerful counterculture movement arose in the West. Then it relied on the views of Rousseau, Nietzsche and Freud. Counterculture completely denied the whole of Western civilization and bourgeois culture. The sharpest criticism was directed against the cult of consumerism of mass society and mass culture. Supporters of this direction were sure that only the vanguard deserves to be preserved and developed.
Religious nihilism
It is true that nihilism is a modern phenomenon. One of its most popular species is religious nihilism. By this term it is customary to understand the insurrection of rebellion against religion from the standpoint of an egoistic personality, denial and negative attitude to the spiritual values of society. Such criticism of religion has its own specificity, expressed in spirituality, a pragmatic attitude to life itself. Without exaggeration, a nihilist can be called a cynic, for which there is nothing sacred. Such a person can desecrate religion because of his selfish goals.
Social nihilism
Social nihilism is a trend that manifests itself in a variety of manifestations, among which:
- The failure of certain sectors of society to take the existing course of reform.
- The failure to adopt a new way of life and new values.
- Dissatisfaction with innovations, changes.
- Social protests against various shock methods and transformations.
- Disagreement with different political decisions.
- Dislike (sometimes enmity) in relation to state institutions.
- Denial of Western patterns of behavior.