What is nihilism?
Q: What is nihilism?
A: Nihilism is a way of thinking which rejects meaning, concepts, or life. It can mean the belief that values are meaningless ideas and that nothing has any purpose or meaning.
Q: Who wrote about nihilism?
A: Friedrich Nietzsche was a German thinker who wrote many things about nihilism. His writings are often considered to be the most important explanation of nihilism.
Q: How did Nietzsche explain nihilism?
A: Nietzsche wrote that nihilism comes from questioning traditional values until they fall apart, which he called "value destruction".
Q: Who popularized the word "nihilism"?
A: The word "nihilism" was made popular by a Russian novel called Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev. The hero of the story is a nihilist named Bazarov.
Q: What did Fyodor Dostoevsky think about nihilism?
A: Fyodor Dostoevsky was almost also a nihilist but became an anti-nihilist after ten years in exile. He wrote about his views on nihilism in many novels such as Crime and Punishment.
Q: How did Nietzsche view Christianity's role in value destruction?
A: Nietzsche thought Christianity had made value destruction happen, and called it a type of nihilism because it was life-denying with an unhealthy attitude towards living.
Q: Is Buddhism like Nihilim?
A: Sometimes people think parts of Buddhism are like Nihilim, even though other parts reject it completely.