Nihilism and Philosophy

Nihilism and Philosophy PDF Author: Gideon Baker
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350035173
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
The question of nihilism is always a question of truth. It is a crisis of truth that causes the experience of the nothingness of existence. What elevated truth to this existential position? The answer is: philosophy. The philosophical will to truth opens the door to nihilism, since it both makes identifying truth the utmost aim and yet continually calls it into question. Baker develops the central insight that the crises of truth and of existence, or 'loss of world', that occur within nihilistic thought are inseparable, in a wide-ranging study from antiquity to the present, from ancient Cynics, St Paul, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Foucault, Agamben, and Badiou. Baker contends that since nihilism is always a question of the relation to the world occasioned by the philosophical will to truth, an answer to nihilism must be able to propose a new understanding of truth.

Nihilism and Philosophy

Nihilism and Philosophy PDF Author: Gideon Baker
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350035173
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 252

Get Book Here

Book Description
The question of nihilism is always a question of truth. It is a crisis of truth that causes the experience of the nothingness of existence. What elevated truth to this existential position? The answer is: philosophy. The philosophical will to truth opens the door to nihilism, since it both makes identifying truth the utmost aim and yet continually calls it into question. Baker develops the central insight that the crises of truth and of existence, or 'loss of world', that occur within nihilistic thought are inseparable, in a wide-ranging study from antiquity to the present, from ancient Cynics, St Paul, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Foucault, Agamben, and Badiou. Baker contends that since nihilism is always a question of the relation to the world occasioned by the philosophical will to truth, an answer to nihilism must be able to propose a new understanding of truth.

Philosophy in a Meaningless Life

Philosophy in a Meaningless Life PDF Author: James Tartaglia
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474247687
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 233

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Book Description
This book is open access and available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. It is funded by Knowledge Unlatched. Philosophy in a Meaningless Life provides an account of the nature of philosophy which is rooted in the question of the meaning of life. It makes a powerful and vivid case for believing that this question is neither obscure nor obsolete, but reflects a quintessentially human concern to which other traditional philosophical problems can be readily related; allowing them to be reconnected with natural interest, and providing a diagnosis of the typical lines of opposition across philosophy's debates. James Tartaglia looks at the various ways philosophers have tried to avoid the conclusion that life is meaningless, and in the process have distanced philosophy from the concept of transcendence. Rejecting all of this, Tartaglia embraces nihilism ('we are here with nothing to do'), and uses transcendence both to provide a new solution to the problem of consciousness, and to explain away perplexities about time and universals. He concludes that with more self-awareness, philosophy can attain higher status within a culture increasingly in need of it.

Nihilism:

Nihilism: PDF Author: James B. Whisker
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781536197419
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Nihilism is a highly negative system of thought with roots in early Greek philosophy. It came into prominence as a major movement with Friedrich Nietzsche's unparalleled assault on Christianity and Christian morality. It became a dominant theme in the dark philosophical system known as existentialism, and thus became an important force in nineteenth century literature and in twentieth century ideologies. It seeks destruction of one or more aspects of society without offering a viable alternative, frequently assuming that the better world will automatically appear after the old world is obliterated. Loathing the building blocks of the present system, nihilism asserts that the better world will be composed of new, but unspecified, components.French philosophy during and after the French Revolution, and virtually all nineteenth century Russian literature, was dominated by nihilism. German Nazism had a nihilistic base which was carefully concealed by racist rantings. Marxism, with so many of its ideas stolen from Russian and French nihilists, proclaimed that faulty economics brought about misery and poverty which would be eradicated by the new but unspecified and undescribed socialist ethic.Revolutionary systems in the twentieth century have delved heavily into the rich trove of nihilist literature to promote, describe, and espouse revolutions which have marked much of that century. Few contemporary nihilists have offered any new insights into reality, choosing only to manipulate the basic concepts heretofore advanced. But the earlier nihilistic ideas have become an all-inspiring training primer for nihilists of future polities. To understand the philosophy of nihilism is to understand the revolutions that have continued to challenge modern societies.

The Sunny Nihilist

The Sunny Nihilist PDF Author: Wendy Syfret
Publisher: Souvenir Press
ISBN: 178283804X
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 151

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Book Description
'Mindful nihilism is all about seeing yourself as an insignificant cog in the universe - and it works' Evening Standard In an era defined by stress and selfishness, self-care, and obsessive individuality, emptiness can offer peace. A balm for the soul of burnt-out Millennials - disillusioned with the search for meaning through career success, a beautiful life and a beautiful Instagram account - The Sunny Nihilist explains why achievement has not made us happy. Looking anew at a philosophy usually associated with grumpy pessimists, writer Wendy Syfret examines our modern experience of work, love, religion and wider society, and asks whether a touch of upbeat nihilism could actually lighten our loads. Making the case for rejecting the cult of purpose and accepting our un-importance in the universe as a positive reality, The Sunny Nihilist urges us to be cheerful in the face of it - because if nothing matters, we might as well be happy and good to each other.

Nietzsche, Nihilism and the Philosophy of the Future

Nietzsche, Nihilism and the Philosophy of the Future PDF Author: Jeffrey Metzger
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1441102159
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
Nietzsche, Nihilism and the Philosophy of the Future examines Nietzsche's analysis of and response to contemporary nihilism, the sense that nothing has value or meaning. Eleven newly-commissioned essays from an influential team of contributors illustrate the richness and complexity of Nietzsche's thought by bringing together a diverse collection of perspectives on Nietzsche. Nietzsche's engagement with nihilism has been relatively neglected by recent scholarship, despite the fact that Nietzsche himself regarded it as one of the most original and important aspect of his thought. This book addresses that gap in the literature by exploring this central and compelling area of Nietzsche's thought. The essays concentrate on Nietzsche's philosophical analysis of nihilism, the cultural politics of his reaction to nihilism, and the rhetorical dimensions and intricacies of his texts.

Philosophy of Nietzsche

Philosophy of Nietzsche PDF Author: Rex Welshon
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN: 0773585303
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
Nietzsche's influence upon European philosophy has been, and continues to be, profound. Indeed, recent years have seen Nietzsche scholarship become the battleground for debates over philosophical method between the analytic and continental traditions. This fresh introduction to Nietzsche's philosophical work provides students new to Nietzsche with an excellent framework for understanding the central concerns of his philosophical and cultural writings and why Nietzsche's ideas continue to spark controversy in philosophy and in allied disciplines. The book is divided into three parts. In the first section "Nietzsche Against the Tradition", the author shows why Nietzsche rejects wholesale certain components of the Western philosophical and religious traditions and examines the implications of rejecting them. Those components are considered under the headings of morality, religion and nihilism. In the second part "Nietzsche and the Tradition", the author explores Nietzsche's ambivalent and sophisticated reflections on some of the central topics in the Western philosophical tradition. These include Nietzsche's criticisms of metaphysics, his analysis of truth and knowledge, and his reflections on the self and consciousness. In the final section "Nietzsche Beyond the Tradition", Welshon discusses some of the ways in which Nietzsche does, or is thought to, transcend the Western philosophical tradition with chapters on the will to power, politics and education, artistry and the flourishing life. The book provides readers with balanced, clear analysis and is ideally suited as a companion resource for students tackling Nietzsche's challenging prose style.

The Essence of Nihilism

The Essence of Nihilism PDF Author: Emanuele Severino
Publisher: Verso Books
ISBN: 1784786128
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 469

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Book Description
In 1969, Emanuele Severino underwent a Vatican trial for the 'fundamental incompatibility' between his thought and the Christian doctrine, and was removed from his position as professor of philosophy at the Catholic University in Milan. The Essence of Nihilism published in 1972, was the first book to follow his expulsion, and to firmly establish Severino's preeminent position within the constellation of contemporary philosophy. In this groundbreaking book, Severino reinterprets the history of Western philosophy as the unfolding of 'the greatest folly', that is, of the belief that 'things come out of nothing and fall back into nothing'. According to Severino, such a typically Western understanding of reality has produced a belief in the radical 'nothingness' of things. This, in turn has justified the treatment of the world as an object of exploitation, degradation and destruction. To move beyond Western nihilism, suggests Severino, we must first of all 'return to Parmenides'. Joining forces with the most venerable of Greek philosophers, Severino confutes the 'path of night' of nihilism, and develops a new philosophy grounded on the principle of the eternity of reality and of every single existent.

Fashionable Nihilism

Fashionable Nihilism PDF Author: Bruce Wilshire
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791454305
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description
One of America's foremost philosophers reflects on the discipline and its relation to everyday life.

Nihilism

Nihilism PDF Author: Brett Stevens
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780994595836
Category : Nihilism (Philosophy)
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
A work of philosophy in the continental tradition, Nihilism examines the human relationship with philosophical doubt through a series of essays designed to stimulate the ancient knowledge within us of what is right and what is real.

Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World

Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World PDF Author: Iddo Landau
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190657669
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Book Description
Is it possible for life to be meaningful when the world is filled with suffering, and when so much depends merely upon chance? Landau argues our lives often are, or could be made, meaningful-- we've just been setting the bar too high for evaluating what meaning there is. He offers new theories and practical advice that awaken us to the meaning already present in our lives and demonstrates how we can enhance it.