N Is for Nihilism: What it Is and Why it Matters



“Nihilism” comes from the Latin word nihil, or nothing, or “that which does not exist.” Nihilism can be defined as the belief that all values, and therefore institutions, are baseless. Consequently, it is often associated with pessimism and a radical skepticism that can go as far as condemning existence itself. A hardcore nihilist might believe in nothing, would have no loyalties, and might not have any purpose other than perhaps a burning desire to tear down and destroy. Hence, the root “nihil” appears in the verb “annihilate,” meaning to bring to nothing or to destroy utterly.

Surprisingly, nihilism can be seductive.

It’s easy to become disenchanted with, or contemptuous of, one’s relationships with others, or the current social and political landscape and established sociopolitical institutions and traditions, and succumb to the desire to raze it all to the ground to make room for “something else.” For example, folks frustrated with how our democratic form of government operates might be inclined to pull the lever, with a little help from nihilism, and chuck the democratic pillars of our society going back 250 years for “something else,” maybe even anything else behind “Door #3,” to use a game show metaphor. They are ripe for change without having any notion of what that change will look like, as it remains undefined. It could be some form of monarchy, or autocracy, or something else the U.S. fought against in World War II.

As an everyday example of nihilism’s relentless beckoning to “something else”, known political candidates, even fairly popular incumbents, tend to not fare well in polls when pitted against the Great As Yet Unnamed, Unknown Opponent.

Nihilism comes in different flavors.

Alethic nihilism is from the Greek root aletheia, or truth. Alethic nihilism refers to the rejection of “truth” or reality. Folks who subscribe to it tend to reject facts and empirical evidence as being entirely in the eye of the beholder. This is a slippery slope because once verifiable facts become not only objects of skepticism, but totally suspect and outright invalidated, then nothing is true.

Folks viewing the world through this lens tend to believe that there is no point in fact-checking anything because nothing is factual or real, and this may have multiple, serious real-world effects. Anyone can claim anything, such as a person “never said or did this,” and it’s just as valid as someone else’s fact-checked, reputably sourced statement, complete with citations and even the audio-video recording of a person saying or doing that thing. This can allow outright lies to be seen as “no big deal” or viewed as legitimate or valid.

Alethic nihilism’s effects can be witnessed in social media moguls’ promoting of conspiracy theories and choosing to discontinue forms of fact-checking and political leaders with a rich history of making baseless claims going unchecked on various news and media platforms. Under these conditions, hundreds of millions of persons can lend credence to outright lies and no longer believe that any statement or “fact” can and should be subject to further scrutiny, examination, verification, or review. In this way, folks give up agency, autonomy, and independence in favor of conformity.

What you can do to resist nihilism.

It’s important that a majority of citizens worldwide hold this truth to be self-evident: That these pesky, inconvenient things called facts do persist, that empirical evidence is still important, and that, to some extent, truth exists.

It is up to everyone to choose to nurture, sustain, and exercise their capacity to gather information and critically evaluate claims. This is what civically minded and engaged, critical thinking (Killian, 2024) citizens do instead of reflexively nodding their heads (un)knowingly to a false claim, shrugging their shoulders, and saying, “Sounds good to me.”

It’s a duty and obligation to stay sharp and fully capable of engaging and gauging everything we hear, read, send, and forward on to others, and continue to ask, “Is that really the case?” and say, “Okay, show me your sources for that,” and “No, it’s not ‘just my opinion,’ and here’s why.” It’s what responsible, well-informed adults do.


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