Nihilism (
/ˈnaɪ(h)ɪlɪzəm, ˈniː-/; from
Latin:
nihil,
lit. 'nothing')
[1] refers to a number of different views in
philosophy, all of which express some form of
negation towards common philosophical concepts: such as
knowledge,
existence, or the
meaning of life.
[2][3] Different forms of nihilism hold variously that
human values are baseless, that life is meaningless, that knowledge is impossible, or that some set of entities does not exist.
[2][4]
Most commonly,
nihilism refers to
existential nihilism, according to which life is believed to be without
objective meaning, purpose, or
intrinsic value.
[5] Moral nihilism asserts that nothing is
morally right or wrong. Among others, nihilism may also take the form of
epistemological nihilism, according to which knowledge is impossible, and a number of
metaphysical forms of nihilism, which assert that
composite objects do not exist, that
necessary objects do not exist, or even that life itself does not exist.
The term is sometimes used in association with
anomie to explain the general mood of
despair at a perceived pointlessness of existence that one may develop upon realising there are no necessary
norms, rules, or laws.
[6]
Nihilism has also been described as conspicuous in or constitutive of certain
historical periods. For example,
[7] Jean Baudrillard[8][9] and others have characterized
postmodernity as a nihilistic epoch
[10] or mode of thought.
[11] Likewise, some
theologians and figures of religious authority have asserted that postmodernity
[12] and many aspects of
modernity[13] represent a rejection of
theism, and that such rejection of theistic
doctrine entails nihilism