Editing Nihilism (section)

== Definition, related terms, and etymology ==
Nihilism is a family of views that reject or negate certain aspects of [[existence]].<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Gertz|2019|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=aU6qDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 1–4, 73–76]}} | {{harvnb|Crosby|1988|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=9VnPgFiW0CIC&pg=PA35 35]}} }}</ref> Different forms of nihilism deny different features of reality. For example, existential nihilism denies that life has [[Meaning of life|a higher meaning]] and moral nihilism rejects the existence of [[Morality|moral phenomena]]. Similarly, epistemological nihilism questions the possibility of objective [[knowledge]], while political nihilism advocates the destruction of established [[political institution]]s.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Crosby|1998|loc=Lead section}} | {{harvnb|Joyce|2013}} | {{harvnb|Crosby|1988|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=9VnPgFiW0CIC&pg=PA35 35]}} }}</ref> The precise definition of the term is disputed, and many other definitions and types of nihilisms have been proposed, covering a wide range of topics studied by different branches of philosophy, such as [[ethics]], [[value theory]], [[epistemology]], and [[metaphysics]].<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Crosby|1998|loc=Lead section}} | {{harvnb|Joyce|2013}} | {{harvnb|Gemes|Sykes|2013|p=671}} | {{harvnb|Stewart|2023|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=oImzEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA2 2, 18]}} | {{harvnb|Crosby|1988|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=9VnPgFiW0CIC&pg=PA8 8, 35]}} }}</ref>

In addition to philosophical theories, nihilism can also refer to a broader cultural phenomenon or historical movement. In this context, it is primarily associated with [[modernity]] in the [[Western world]], characterized by deep skepticism towards established norms and values alongside indifference, [[despair]], and a lack of purpose.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Gemes|Sykes|2013|p=671}} | {{harvnb|Pratt|loc=Lead section}} | {{harvnb|Diken|2008|p=3}} | {{harvnb|Slocombe|2006|p=1}} | {{harvnb|ter Borg|1988|pp=1–2}}}}</ref> Outside the academic discourse, the term ''nihilism'' is used in a looser sense in everyday language to describe negative, destructive, or [[Anti-social behaviour|antisocial]] attitudes, expressing that someone fails to care about a particular issue. For instance, [[conservatives]] may be labeled as nihilistic for not valuing progress, while [[progressives]] may be described as such for disregarding established norms.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Gertz|2019|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=aU6qDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 3–5]}} | {{harvnb|HarperCollins|2022}} }}</ref>

[[File:Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi portrait.jpg|thumb|alt=Oil painting of a man in a dark coat with golden embroidery and his arms crossed|[[Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi]] conceptualized the term ''nihilism'' as philosophical notion.<ref>{{multiref| {{harvnb|Gertz|2019|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=vwZ9wgEACAAJ&pg=PA32 32]}} | {{harvnb|Livieri|di Giovanni|2023|loc=Lead section, § 1. Life and Intellectual Career, § 3.5 The Open Letter to Fichte (1799)}}}}</ref>]]

Nihilism is closely associated with other terms expressing negative attitudes toward the world, like ''[[Philosophical pessimism|pessimism]]'', ''[[absurdism]]'', ''[[existentialism]]'', ''[[Cynicism (contemporary)|cynicism]]'', and ''[[apathy]]''. Although the meanings of these terms overlap, they have distinct connotations and do not necessarily imply one another.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Gertz|2019|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=aU6qDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA59 59]}} | {{harvnb|Cutler|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=LdAdBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA33 33]}} }}</ref> Pessimism contrasts with [[optimism]] as a negative outlook focusing on bad outcomes and characterized by [[hopelessness]]. A key difference to nihilism, according to one interpretation, is that pessimists see the world as inherently bad, whereas nihilists deny that it has any positive or negative meaning.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Gertz|2019|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=aU6qDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA60 60–64]}} | {{harvnb|Tartaglia|Llanera|2020|pp=27–28}} }}</ref> Absurdism argues that the world is not just meaningless, as existential nihilism asserts, but also absurd. It examines the absurdity arising from the paradoxical attempt to find meaning in an inherently meaningless universe.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Tartaglia|2015|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=acazCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA44 44–45]}} | {{harvnb|Crosby|1998|loc=§ 3. Existential nihilism}} | {{harvnb|Gordon|1984|pp=15–18}} }}</ref> Existentialism is a philosophical tradition that includes aspects of absurdism while exploring the [[human condition]] through themes like [[anxiety]], death, freedom, and [[Authenticity (philosophy)|authenticity]].<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Aho|2025|loc=Lead section}} | {{harvnb|Burnham|Papandreopoulos|loc=Lead section}} }}</ref> Cynicism is a distrustful attitude toward the motives of other people or society in general.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Gertz|2019|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=aU6qDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA64 64–65]}} | {{harvnb|Bewes|1997|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=iR3C_y0kYCgC&pg=PA1 1–2]}} | {{harvnb|Diken|2008|pp=55–56, 59}} }}</ref> Apathy is a [[mental state|state of mind]] in which a person does not care about things, characterized by indifference and a lack of desires and emotions.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Gertz|2019|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=aU6qDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA68 68–71]}} | {{harvnb|American Psychological Association|2018}} }}</ref>

The word ''nihilism'' is a combination of the [[Latin]] term {{lang|la|nihil}}, meaning {{gloss|nothing}}, and the [[suffix]] ''-ism'', indicating an [[ideology]]. Its literal meaning is {{gloss|ideology of nothing}} or {{gloss|ideology of negation}}, reflected in terms like ''annihilate'' and ''nihility''.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Gertz|2019|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=aU6qDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA4 4]}} | {{harvnb|Crosby|1998|loc=Lead section}} | {{harvnb|Gemes|Sykes|2013|p=671}} | {{harvnb|Pratt|loc=§ 1. Origins}} | {{harvnb|Hoad|1996|p=313}} }}</ref> The word emerged in 18th-century Germany, first as a literary term and later as a philosophical notion, which [[Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi]] conceptualized to criticize philosophical thought that rejects meaning or existence.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Gloy|2013|p=[https://brill.com/display/title/51616 146]}} | {{harvnb|Gertz|2019|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=vwZ9wgEACAAJ&pg=PA32 32]}} | {{harvnb|Livieri|di Giovanni|2023|loc=Lead section, § 1. Life and Intellectual Career, § 3.5 The Open Letter to Fichte (1799)}} }}</ref> Its first recorded use in English dates to the 1810s.<ref>{{harvnb|OED staff|2025}}</ref> The term became popular in 19th-century Russia through [[Ivan Turgenev]]'s novel ''[[Fathers and Sons (novel)|Fathers and Sons]]'' and the [[Russian nihilist movement]]. Interest in it increased more broadly in the 20th century in response to [[Friedrich Nietzsche]]'s works while its meaning expanded to cover a wider range of philosophical and cultural phenomena.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Gillespie|1996|pp=xi, xix–xx, 110}} | {{harvnb|Gemes|Sykes|2013|pp=671–673}} | {{harvnb|Crosby|1998|loc=§ 1. Historical Background}} | {{harvnb|Pratt|loc=§ 1. Origins}} }}</ref>