If you have enough money and financial security, you can distract yourself with the meaningless nature of our existence. You can have fun and feel more positive emotions, so life wouldn’t feel that degrading.

Introduction:

The first thing I must say is that people often believe nihilism is inherently negative. However, I argue that this is a severe conceptual error. Darkness is not always synonymous with negativity; sometimes, it can illuminate us. I see darkness as an eternal home, a kind of clarity. I believe the future belongs to those who can endure pain, doubt, uncertainty, fear, discomfort, and unpleasant sensations. Nihilism, rather than leading to a dungeon, should show us that we can enjoy life more by expanding our frame and allowing experiences that challenge our mental limits.

Thesis Statement:

Nihilism should not be viewed as negative; instead, it should be seen as positive. This does not mean that the absence of a factory-installed meaning in life is not disheartening. However, it also does not mean we should reject darkness. We should embrace it as a longing, a breath, a vibrancy.

Body:

1. Nihilism as a Path to Freedom

Nihilism, by stripping away imposed meanings, frees us to create our own values. This liberation allows for genuine authenticity and self-expression. Instead of being trapped in societal expectations, we can forge our own paths, unburdened by external judgments.

2. The Power of Embracing Uncertainty

Nihilism teaches us to embrace uncertainty. In a world where nothing is inherently meaningful, we can find joy in the process of living itself. This mindset encourages curiosity, exploration, and growth. We become more resilient and adaptable, finding meaning in the journey rather than the destination.

3. Nihilism and Mental Expansion

By acknowledging the lack of inherent meaning, we open ourselves to experiences that challenge our mental boundaries. This expansion leads to a richer, more nuanced understanding of the world and our place in it. We can appreciate the beauty in the mundane and find depth in the seemingly ordinary.

4. The Role of Darkness in Illumination

Darkness, in the nihilistic sense, is not an absence of light but a space for personal illumination. It is in these moments of uncertainty and doubt that we often find our true selves. The darkness of nihilism can be a catalyst for self-discovery and personal growth.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, nihilism should not be feared or rejected. It is a tool for liberation, growth, and self-discovery. By embracing the darkness, we can find a unique and authentic path through life. To those who suffer from the lack of inherent meaning, I offer this: see the darkness not as a void, but as a canvas for your own masterpiece. Thank you for reading this, friend or friend.

Call to Action:

I hope this thesis brings solace to those who struggle with the absence of meaning. Embrace the darkness, and let it guide you to a life of purpose and passion.

If you believe that all humans have worth and everyone gets to determine their own meaning, then no one gets to tell anyone else how valuable their life is. If someone believes their life has meaning, no one else can provide “evidence” otherwise because no one else lives their life. Even if someone’s life looks terrible to you, as long as they are satisfied and find meaning in it, then who cares what you or anyone else thinks?

But the flip side of this is also true. If someone believes their life has no meaning or value, then that is the “truth” as far as existence is concerned. People who insist someone should be happy or “everyone’s life has value” ignores the fact that meaning is subjective and no one else gets to decide if someone else’s life is worth more or less than that person thinks themselves.

I find it interesting that even people who are accepting of the first principal have such difficulty accepting the flip side.

The nihilist came across an existentialist desperately searching for the meaning of life and an absurdist laughing at the fact that life had none.

He watched them for a few seconds, then said:

“The existentialist digs his own grave looking for a reason to live. The absurdist jumps into it laughing, because at least he’s finally found something amusing. Me? I sell you the shovels and wait for you to finish.”

The existentialist protested: “But then what’s the point of all this?”

The nihilist pointed at the grave.

“None. But at least now you have somewhere to bury your illusions.”

The absurdist burst out laughing. “And what if we turn out to be right in the end?”

“The problem,” the nihilist replied, “is that even if you are right, the universe won’t even give you a medal. You’re destined to die without answers, and the funniest part is that you’ve spent your entire lives arguing over who understood nothing better.”

Then he walked away, leaving them to argue.

Not because he had anything better to do.

Simply because even wasting your time requires a certain degree of conviction.

If you don't have the people you love

We don't choose when we would be born and where we will be born. Neither do we choose our parents. The formative years of our life shape our core beliefs and these beliefs keep running us for our entire life. We may be able to change some of our beliefs, but its not as easy as some self help guru says

Luck plays a huge part in success. More than we'd like to admit. The very fact that we would work hard is dependent on luck. Some people are just naturally more driven than others. Intelligence is also not something that's in our control.

Most of our thoughts are automatic. Maybe 1% of our thoughts are chosen consciously by us. The rest of the thoughts lead to feelings, emotions and actions. Essentially, what we do is pretty much outside our control

Our society keeps feeding us the lie that there are some things under our control, and we would have to believe in that if we don't want to go insane. There would be no legal system, morality etc if society admitted that everything we do is outside our control. That would lead to total chaos

I remember this conversation in a book that left an impact on me, I hope you could too decipher the profound meaning in it, It really caters to the idea of post-nhilism

"Well what does it mean to repeat the same day waiting for that “day” to come ? Why not make every day a connection to that essence, Why not every day make it a special day, Defy society’s annoying conventions" "We live in a sphere of everyday life, But do you ever believe that what you achieved will ever be truly meaningful for you" "Do you know what meaningful or achievement or trueness or even the sphere of everyday life" "Yes, I’m talking about anything of substance that will truly take you somewhere" "See why you should pay attention when i’m talking, Those terms are humane terms, And they’re not a priori or universal thoughts, Do you see nature labeling itself with names ? Do you see a tree writing about its planks ? See what i’m talking about here.
You’re just mentioning conventional terms to make up for the void of life, Yet not knowing that you feed into mundanity by supposing that you challenge it."

So in this dialogues, It just really shows you how we just make up for the meaninglessness (even the word meaningless does not have an inherent absolute meaning but this still leads into hyper-self awareness) by filling the space, But do you think post-nhilism itself leads us to soul stuff ?

Esto es una propuesta algo abstracta; se me perdonará que lo diga. Me he burlado de mis compañeros, esos nihilistas que parecen atrapados en las mismísimas cerdas de sus yacentes y sórdidas mentes, pequeñas y claustrofóbicas.

Empezaré diciendo que cuando la gente sufre, o cuando adopta tal o cual postura sobre tal o cual cosa, me río. Porque en el fondo, toda alusión a un objeto, ¿no es acaso una proyección hacia uno mismo? Me río de mí mismo. Del objeto de mis enseñanzas.

Solo puedo imaginar una vida nihilista, sulfurosa, triste y apesadumbrada, y eso me hace sentir genial. Pero lamento también, y mucho, que mis compañeros, esos nihilistas, sufran por estas ideas. ¿Acaso todos vosotros pensáis solo en suicidaros ante el más mínimo sufrimiento o descontento?

Soy optimista en un único sentido, y en el sentido más desnudo de la palabra: en el sentido de que no le encuentro razón a vuestro sufrimiento, hermanos míos. No se la encuentro. Espero que la salvación llegue a vosotros, una salvación diabólica.

The nihilist looks at a man who has found meaning in his life and says:

‘How adorable. You’ve found a reason to suffer. I stopped looking for one and now I suffer for free.’”

I'm curious to hear what you guys think about this.

I also wanted to post something on here that isnt someone crying or whining about this subject.

Kind of long in a world full of reels. Perhaps consider putting it on as you go to sleep.

Let's end this meaningness crisis.

You exist, This is VERY personal. This is vivid. This is serious. This is life.

The point of your life is your life. You exist as this right now and that is the entire point and that is the purpose of it.

Let's imagine your in chronic pain, That is the meaning of your life, to experience chronic pain.

Let's imagine you have existential dread everyday, That's exactly the meaning of your life.

The perspective and the experience you are having and your existence. All of this, which is called a life, is the meaning of it.

Why are you not evaluating this correctly? Because suffering makes you think that your existence at this very moment is valueless. Just because you believe something has no value, it does not follow that it is not the reason you exist.

There is no higher purpose or higher meaning that you're searching for that is the reason you exist.

THIS is the reason you exist. Are you able to read this? That's because you exist. Your life's purpose is to exist.

What is the true purpose of this existence? We are born, we struggle, we reproduce, and we die—an endless cycle that everyone accepts without question. Where is the joy in any of it? The world feels weighed down by sadness and decay, and while I haven't seen life beyond India, I often wonder if peace exists somewhere else. Right now, stuck in this overwhelming numbness, I just wish I could step out of the cycle entirely.
Blessed are those who are ignorant of these thoughts.

If you are on this subreddit, there is a good chance you have been thinking negatively of life lately. There's just this depressing question:

Why live when we will all die anyway?

After some thinking, I came up with this answer. It is the best answer I can give, but it is still discussable:

Because immortality is the worst possible curse.

If we all wouldn't die, then we would all keep living forever. But the sun will one day turn into a red giant and swallow Earth, and the universe will end, leaving nothing but void behind. We will be floating in empty space for eternity, and even though we would not die, we would still suffer. And because we wouldn't die, the suffering is infinite. This does give a life a meaning, though, the meaning being to suffer. But is that really better than having no meaning? No meaning is neutral, and neutral is better than negative. In this case, no meaning might be better than a bad one.

It might be the best one, too. We will die, therefore every negative experience, every bad thing you've done to someone, every bad thing someone's done to you and every moment of pain, will be forgotten and no longer be relevant. You can live without the worry of making a mistake, without the stress of having to do something right, without the anxiety of having to achieve.

I hope this helps.

I've been thinking a lot about the point of existence lately, and I keep coming back to the same uncomfortable questions.

We spend decades studying, working, earning money, maintaining relationships and trying to build a future. We're told that if we work hard enough, make the right decisions and remain disciplined, things will eventually fall into place.

But what is all of this ultimately for?

You spend years preparing for a career, then most of your waking hours go towards earning a living. You need money to survive, but the pursuit of money consumes the time you could have spent actually living. Relationships fade, people move on, circumstances change, and even the things we accomplish eventually become irrelevant on a sufficiently long timescale.

I'm not necessarily arguing that life has to possess some cosmic purpose. I'm more interested in what happens when the conventional sources of meaning—career, financial success, social status and achievement—stop feeling convincing.

I struggle to understand why we're expected to invest so much of ourselves in systems and goals that we never chose in the first place, simply because participation is necessary to survive.

If meaning is something we construct ourselves, how do you construct it without feeling that you're just inventing reasons to keep going? And if nothing has any inherent meaning, what makes one way of living more worthwhile than another?

I'm curious how other people who identify with nihilism approach these questions. Have you found a way to live without needing an ultimate purpose, or does the absence of one continue to bother you?

if nothing matters anyways why don’t I just be a hedonist and chase euphoric pleasures like drugs and sex etc. wouldn’t that be the best option than nothing anyways? or should I not fall into that trap

What did you expect, little guy? You're the reason people are sad,my problem is overly optimistic people, not the sad people on this sub. Toxic positivity is an ugly disease. Stay away from it.

Although it's my life ....seems it's not anymore as we grew older the control of society takes over your life, my will is theirs will now we're just a dummies better to say puppets..with the diminishing own thoughts continuously working for them..... To live so called socially civilized life althought who are saying to be social the most unsocial one's... Governments are now just exploiting people to be in center to be permanent no one in this era is working for their own people....

People out there are so boring, so please make me laugh a little.

Hey everyone, Today is going to be a really boring day, so please make me laugh a little.

I have just started getting into philosophical literature and I'd like to explore the topic, could you share your favourite books if you've read any?