Transcription
What do we exist for in this world? Why are we here? What is our goal? Is there some kind of transcendental objective reason why we are here? Most of us are probably at school or college; after that, we will probably decide to apply for a job, work, find a partner, get married, have children if we are lucky, and then enjoy retirement, if retirement is indeed what we are prepared for. And we could die before all that happens. Is life just to survive? Is life just waiting to die? Is life just to fulfill biological needs while waiting to die? If we ask who our grandfather's father was, most people don't know him. Everything is forgotten; it is very difficult to live and be remembered by the generations after.
Even though we are very lucky because we have been able to have a big impact on the world, and we can be remembered by other people, we don't feel the feeling we get when other people remember us. If we don't know how we got here or where we came from, how do we know why we are here? If we don't know where we are going or what we will become, how will we know whether what we are doing now has any significance to the life we have? If we don't know the reason why we are here, if we don't know where we are going and what kind of person we will become, how do we know that our current actions have any significance to our future?
All these existential questions have actually been answered long ago by thinkers. From here, various beliefs, religions, concepts, and so on emerged. All the complicated concepts that have been created long ago can be destroyed with that one word. This leads us to the conclusion that in various religions, God created the entire universe, placed us in it, and whatever we do in this world will determine how our life will be in the afterlife. For some people, the meaning of life is when they can spend their lives with the closest people they have: friends, family, and those they love. Many people also say that the fact that we are alive is what makes life worth living.
All actions, suffering, good and bad, all have no meaning. Religion, love, life, all have no meaning. This is Nihilism, the belief in nothingness. At some point in our lives, we will definitely feel this nihilistic thinking; we feel like we have no purpose, feeling that our life has no meaning. Usually, this begins to appear when we question what we have believed all this time. As far as we can see, we become creatures in some mysterious reality for a short time, we do whatever we want to do, feel what we feel, until we die. This feeling is where we begin to grow from the values held by our parents, begin to learn new things, experience new experiences, and form our own values about how we see the world.
All these questions start when we begin asking, "Why?" Why do you believe that? Where did that come from? Why and why? Continuing to ask will get us to the point where we no longer have answers. Animals and plants seem calm when they hear this; they come into the world and do what they do: eat, reproduce, survive, and then die without asking anything. We are lucky and cursed at the same time because we have a superior brain, which makes us dare to ask questions that could make us fall into a hole of nothingness.
We really cannot be satisfied with the existing system without further explanation. We want to know everything about this life: "Why are we here?", "What should we do?", "What is the purpose of all this?" At this point, they come to the conclusion that there is no word "why?" that existence is nothingness; there is nothing. Nihilism is the idea that there is no grand design or purpose. There is nothing to believe in, and nothing matters. In nihilism, there are many divisions, such as political nihilism, ethical nihilism, aesthetic nihilism, and in this video, we will focus on existential nihilism, the knowledge that life has no purpose or meaning.
Kierkegaard, although he never said the word nihilism directly, explained the same concept under the name leveling. He said that when one reaches leveling, individuality and uniqueness become non-existent. Uniqueness gives us meaning, value, and fulfillment, and when everything is equal or the same, there is no meaning. Although he argues that leveling can teach us some degree of learning, he also argues that it can lead us to a lack of meaning. Nietzsche expressed the concept of perspectivism, namely the knowledge that an apple is red comes from our own perception and may be different from other people's eyes. The red apple that I see is not necessarily the same as the red apple that you see, especially what a horse or cat sees; there is no objective truth that apples are indeed red. All knowledge is tied to perspective. According to Nietzsche, this will all lead us to nihilism.
This explanation is the same as the absurd concept of Albert Camus. Nietzsche proposed two forms of nihilism; he did not like this because it only ends something without replacing it with something new. Nietzsche actually offers active nihilism. We may not be able to return to science because it only deflects the question and gives more questions. We may not be able to return to philosophy because that would only raise more questions or frame those questions in more complicated terms. The only thing we can possibly do to still be able to live in the world sanely is to believe enough to believe that maybe our lives here have meaning, even though there is no evidence that can explain this. Although belief is still irrational, it is enough to provide answers to questions about life and makes life possible to live.
Is seeking an eternal goal, an objective goal for everyone really necessary? Or do we really have to look for ourselves? For yourself and the situation you face? Can we still create meaning in a world that has no meaning? Nietzsche outlined the idea of the Übermensch, or Overman. A person who has mastered himself, creates himself, and is not constrained by rules created by others, but creates them himself. In doing so, he not only conquers nihilism but also protects himself from the brainwashing offered by various movements, ideals, or beliefs. According to Nietzsche, we must face nihilism first before moving forward. Nihilism provides the actual logical conclusion of the values and ideals that we have; feeling nihilism is important to find out the value that a value has.
Because destroying your house doesn't mean making you homeless; it could be an opportunity for you to build a better and bigger house. If nothing matters, why should we do anything? What is there to consider important if everything is meaningless? Actually, if you think about it, a universe lacking objective truth isn't such a bad thing. But it's other people's attitudes that make it problematic. Many people become depressed when faced with the absence of meaning in their lives; many become depressed when they realize that everything they do is of no use at all. Sadness, pessimism, and hopelessness dominate their minds.
Does the emptiness of life really have to be resolved? Why does life have to have meaning? Isn't life worth living even if it has no meaning? Why don't we throw all that burden off our shoulders and stop asking such existential questions? Nihilism doesn't actually need to be negative. Because, in contrast, we are given the freedom not to take things very seriously. Emil Cioran once said: "The fact that nothing is meaningful means that meaninglessness must also be meaningless." And it shouldn't make our lives more miserable because, actually, nothing has changed from before. According to Camus, the emptiness of life is not a reason to despair, but rather to stay alive by maximizing the quantity and variety of life experiences you have. The absurd individual lives life to the full, knowing consciously that everything ends in nothing. For Camus, having this thought means being free, having no fixed direction, no responsibility, and no goal. There is only life in the moment.