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.

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