Learning Nihilism Across Philosophy

Definition, related terms, and etymology

Nihilism is a family of philosophical views that reject or deny certain aspects of existence. Different forms target different domains—such as existential nihilism (no objective meaning or purpose), moral nihilism (no objective moral facts or foundations), and epistemological nihilism (challenges the existence or universality of knowledge and truth). Nihilism is also used more broadly to describe a cultural phenomenon associated with modernity in the Western world, characterized by skepticism toward established norms and values, along with indifference or despair. The term “nihilism” is also discussed alongside related attitudes and concepts that overlap but are not identical, including pessimism, absurdism, existentialism, cynicism, and apathy. Its etymology comes from the Latin word nihil (“nothing”) combined with the suffix “-ism” (an ideology), yielding a literal sense of an “ideology of nothing” or “negation.” The concept is commonly traced to 18th-century Germany, where Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi coined and conceptualized it as a philosophical notion, later popularized in 19th-century Russia through Ivan Turgenev and the Russian nihilist movement, and further expanded in influence during the 20th century in response to thinkers like Friedrich Nietzsche.

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Ethics and value theory

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