Amerika

Observers of politics will find that both the Right and the Left detest nihilism, which is a rejection of the belief that universal, absolute, and objective forms of truth, values, and communications exist. Why do people fear it? Societies are glued together with belief, but that becomes an end in itself instead of a means to an end.

Nihilism rejects means-over-ends thinking and supports adopting adaptation to reality instead, which requires ends-over-means Darwinism, or finding what is real and determining appropriate behavior based on a need to find realistic solutions to questions of survival and thriving:

Truth doesn’t exist. Truth is our perception of what does exist; our assessment of it. You will have to find the truth that’s appropriate to your own life. Note that I did not say “your own truth.” Individualism is the greatest con job ever. You are the product of those who came before you in your bloodline, and the factors of your life. You do not exist separately from the world and you cannot escape this state. Furthermore, there’s no point. Pursue truth as it is evident to you. If you’re insane, your role in the universe is to be the insane failure that others mock and later, kill.

Once “truth” is declared, it becomes a substitute goal for adaptation to reality.

This in turn means that “truth” will be manipulated by others for their own advantage, to the disadvantage of the manipulated and society alike.

Nihilism is therefore not fatalistic anarchism, but radical realism that demands a naturalistic approach:

Nihilism also avoids the “do whatever you want” because to prescribe that is to give it a value. The only statement nihilism makes is that nothing is real except reality. Human projections are irrelevant because they are unrelated to outcomes.

Every action we undertake on earth is a choice. Do I eat the red-spotted mushroom? The utilitarians will say that if most people like eating them, you should do it; the formalists will say that if it’s socially approved, you should do it; the instrumentalists will ask if the goal of eating the mushroom is moral; the materialists of course will say that it depends on what comforts or wealth it gets you. A nihilist says to use the scientific method and look at what the whole of the results are. Will it poison you? Will it mislead others? Will it harm the forest? Will it bring about any gain of any kind? These are all choices, and must be considered in turn.

Nihilism is not a morality. Morality is what comes between humans and making choices. I can choose to commit crimes, but if morality exists, I will be reacting to the moral judgment of right/wrong instead of the consequences of my actions. This puts us back to measuring our acts by intentions, when we really should instead look at what the results will be. We then have to confront those results and say, “The result of this crime is that I’m going to force this person to work another 40 hours to pay for what I took, and my reward will be 10% of the purchase value, and it’s likely that more people will follow my example and commit crimes.”

This clashes with the idea that there can be one standard for all people, one mode of behavior, and one procedure for dealing with reality. Nihilism emphasizes perceiving reality (mindfulness) and applying time-honored solutions on a case-by-case basis, like conservatism.

Tags: conservatism, nihilism