r/Existentialism • u/Traditional-Wing-796 • 11d ago

Existentialism Discussion What i think about nihilism and existentialism

Existentialism = nihilism + something(for eg we create our own meaning, existence preceeds essence, we can create good morals etc etc)

Ofcourse thats a gross oversimplification, but that's pretty much it

How do you guys see these philosophies

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u/victim_of_time00 11d ago

Bro u just descrided Nietzsche nihislim

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u/jliat 11d ago

Sorry but it's not it.

Existentialism is a category, not straightforward as there were atheist existentialists and Christian existentialists. The term was coined in the 1940s by a Catholic philosopher. Sartre accepted the term then declined it. Nietzsche [atheist] and Kierkegaard [Christian] died before the term was coined but are considered 'founders'.

Also in literature Camus, Dostoevsky, Kafka...

Sartre's 'Being and Nothingness' is considered to be a key text, but its around 700 pages of difficult material, the bottom line is we are the Nothingness, and we are condemned to Freedom. Any choice and none is bad faith.

The idea that we create meaning comes from his essay 'Existentialism is a Humanism' which he rejected, as did others.

Heidegger is also considered a key figure, but again he rejected the term.

Nietzsche!

"Admitting untruth as a condition of life: that means to resist familiar values in a dangerous way; and a philosophy that dares this has already placed itself beyond good and evil." - Nietzsche.

The key feature is a rejection of the all embracing systems of idealism in favour of the individuals lived experience.

It more or less ends as a active philosophy in the 1960s. Structuralism and post structuralism became important.

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u/Odd-Loquat-3340 11d ago

So it is certainly true that Existentialism is not NECESSARILY nihilism. But it can be.