Editing Nihilism (section)

=== Cosmic nihilism ===
Cosmic or cosmological nihilism is the view that reality is [[Intelligibility (philosophy)|unintelligible]] and lacks inherent meaning. Closely related to epistemological and existential nihilism, it asserts that the world is blank, featureless, or chaotic, making it indifferent to human attempts to understand it. Cosmic nihilists often emphasize the vastness of the universe, arguing that it shows the insignificance of humans and their endeavors.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Crosby|1998|loc=§ Cosmic nihilism}} | {{harvnb|Crosby|1988|pp=26–27, 30}} | {{harvnb|Gertz|2019|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=vwZ9wgEACAAJ&pg=PA74 74]}} }}</ref>

A broad form of cosmic nihilism states that reality as a whole is unintelligible. According to this view, the chaotic nature of the world makes it impossible to comprehend the universe on any level or find meaningful patterns in it, leading to a complete alienation of human understanding. For example, [[Max Stirner]] characterized the world as a "metaphysical chaos" without "a comprehensive structure of objective meanings". In response to arguments stating that it is possible in certain cases to discern patterns and predict outcomes, some cosmic nihilists have proposed more narrow versions. One version acknowledges that humans can understand some aspects of reality, for example, through rigorous scientific study. Nonetheless, this view maintains that the universe remains impenetrable to comprehension and indifferent to human aspirations on other levels, lacking intelligible structures that correspond to objective values, moral principles, and a higher purpose.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Crosby|1988|pp=26–27}} | {{harvnb|Crosby|1998|loc=§ Cosmic nihilism}} | {{harvnb|Weller|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=TEZ9DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 11]}} }}</ref>