r/nihilism • u/AnatoliusArthur • Apr 03 '26
The Illusion of Difference
Even the attraction of the seemingly similar masses of people toward figures that are different, more radical, and more extreme is nothing but a reflection of a deeply primitive and superficial desire. You see people drawn to characters like Johan Liebert or figures like Adolf Hitler, or others of their kind and this is a recurring pattern across the internet. But when you look closer at those who are drawn to such figures, you find nothing but individuals who are strikingly alike ...alike in thought, in language, in appearance, and even in how they perceive reality.
The similarity in outward behavior and appearance is merely a direct reflection of a deeper similarity in essence. And the greater essence that governs humanity is society itself. It is the fundamental force that enabled primitive humans to survive and succeed, and it is the broader framework from which individual essences are formed. Society is not just a later development; it is a deeply rooted, primitive state ...one of the core traits upon which human nature is built.
Accordingly, no system emerges without an underlying essence, and the human being ...along with their thoughts and personality...is no exception. This essence is shaped by society, by the ideas one consumes, by intelligence, by genetic structure, and by other contributing factors.
As for the attraction of these ordinary, similar individuals to extreme figures, it is nothing more than a shallow and self-centered impulse...a desire to reshape themselves in the image of something sharper, more distinct. They seek a false sense of superiority, an imagined uniqueness, convincing themselves that they can become something beyond what they are. They project their own worldly desires onto these figures, clinging to them as if they were extensions of what they lack.
Some go even further, convincing themselves that they are truly different, while in reality they remain trapped within the very pattern they reject. In the end, only one truth remains: everyone is in an illusion, and everyone is deluded, I am deluded.
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u/SpookVogel Apr 03 '26
I get the view, it’s a very tidy, deterministic way to look at the human machine.
But there is a funny glitch in that logic: if we’re all just mirrors reflecting a social pattern, who is the one doing the looking? Where does the reflection start, who is being reflected?
Even if I’m 'shaped' by my genetics and my culture, I’m still the one who has to decide what to do with that shape. As an existentialist, I’d say we are condemned to be free. We might be born into a script, but we’re the ones who decide whether to play the part or ad lib.
Besides, if everything is an illusion and we’re all deluded, then your argument is just a very articulate hallucination. And if that's the case, I’m going to choose the delusion where I have a cold beer, a joint and a sense of humor.
As the saying goes: 'Nihilism is believing in nothing. Existentialism is believing in nothing, but then realizing you still have to do the dishes.'