[MD] Thoughts on Nihilism

[Steven Peterson]

Hi Matt,

> (Though it would be
> surprising, given Steve's use of the term, if we were all of
> the time perfectly non-nihilistic.)

My use of the term--that the first step toward nihilism is to buy into
the religious or Platonic notion that the world is not sufficient unto
itself and that the justification for this world must come from some
other more true world of which this one is a mere shadow--comes from
Nieztche. I agree that this religious impulse is pervasive in our
culture, so it is likely that we all to some degree tend toward the
nihilistic urge since it is concordant with the religious impulse.

Nieztche's idea of the complete or radical nihilist is one who not
devoid of a sense of any meaning but rather one who does not look to
other worlds for justification. Instead the radical nihilist who has
stared long enough into the abyss to deny all externally imposed
meaning (and who is not a nihilist at all) _creates_ meaning. This
idea is consistent with his idea of the role of the philosopher in
society as the creator of values. I don't think that we are ever so
free as to have all of our meanings made rather than found. Instead,
the pragmatist blurs the found/made distinction to a degree where
"found" meanings like those we sense in raising our children is no
more real that the "made" meanings in our efforts to make the world
better than we found it and our creative endeavors. Finding out that
many of the things that gave our lives meaning that we once thought
were found are actually made can't leave us wallowing in despair for
lack of True meaning when we don't see anything deep and metaphysical
about the found/made distinction.

Best,
Steve