The Prophets Of Nihilism

In this engaging study, Sean Illing examines the impact of Fyodor Dostoevsky and Friedrich Nietzsche on the development of Albert Camus's political philosophy. It innovatively attempt to offer a substantive examination of Camus's dialogue with Nietzsche and Dostoevsky. The connections among these writers have been discussed in the general context of modern thought or via overlapping literary themes. This project emphasizes the political dimensions of these connections. In addition to re-interpreting Camus's political thought, the aim is to clarify Camus's struggle with transcendence and to bring renewed attention to his unique understanding of the relationship between nihilism, ideology, and political violence in the twentieth century. The book focuses on Camus's dialogue with Nietzsche and Dostoevsky for three reasons. First, these are the thinkers with whom Camus is most engaged. Indeed, the problems and themes of Camus's work are largely defined by Dostoevsky and Nietzsche; a full account of this dialogue will therefore enhance our understanding of Camus while also reinforcing the enduring importance of Nietzsche and Dostoevsky. Second, it allows a recasting of Camus' political philosophy as both a synthesis of and a response to Nietzsche and Dostoevsky's projects. Finally, this approach allows for a reassessment of Camus's broader political significance, which I contend has been undervalued in the literature. Ultimately, I argue that Camus remains among the most important moral and political voices of the twentieth century. Although limited, his philosophy of revolt offers a humane portrait of justice and articulates a meaningful alternative to the extremes of ideological politics.

The problem addressed in this study is nihilism. The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche traced its origin to the long history of apocalyptic and eschatological thought in Western religions, and to the survival of the linear and universalizing aspects of their theology in modern secular thought. Nietzsche saw this unconscious legacy affecting everything from Enlightenment philosophes, to the natural and biological sciences, to politics and economics. An existential crisis in European civilization---the advent of nihilism---thus came about because of the "death of God", i.e., the loss of unshakeable objective faith amongst Europeans in the truth of the Abrahamic faiths.I take seriously Nietzsche's suggestion in Thus Spoke Zarathustra of a genealogical relationship between the ancient Iranians and the ancient Hebrews, which Nietzsche scholars have neglected. Exploring that historical interchange allows us to establish that Zoroastrian concepts of universal time and absolute morality entered Judaism, and thus the West, at a formative stage. I then discuss some key modern thinkers to which Nietzsche's project responded, and show that apocalyptic eschatology lived on in the work of Kant, Hegel, Marx, and the Darwinians. Having established for himself that modernity was tainted at its origin by this kernel of religious dogma, Nietzsche saw no need to save modernity from itself, and thus looked beyond it, and beyond the naive worship of reason that underpinned it.The solution to the problem of nihilism, in Nietzsche's view, was not to overcome religion, but to transform it. What was needed was a new mythology---one consistent with the natural sciences, and one which glorified the world as it is, and not an ideal world to come. His challenging notions of Eternal Recurrence and Overhumanity were contributions to this new, life-affirming mythology.I make use of an extensive body of primary sources, ranging from the works of philosophers and scientists of the nineteenth century, to that of the ancient Greeks whom Nietzsche so admired, to the scriptural traditions of Zoroastrianism and Judaism. The work involves close reading and historical contextualization, seeking to establish contingent relationships as ideas moved and were transformed over time.

Nietzsche’s Lenzer Heide Notes on European Nihilism / By Daniel Fidel Ferrer. ©2020 Daniel Fidel Ferrer. All rights reserved. Book formatted: 177 pages. Publisher: Kuhn von Verden Verlag. Language: English ISBN-13: 978-1979968591. Includes many bibliographical references. I have translated the entire group of Nietzsche’s notes that start with a note giving Nietzsche’s location “Lenzer Heide” (Graubünden, Switzerland) dated June 10, 1887 (Lenzer Heide den 10. Juni 1887). From the first note, eKGWB/NF-1886. 5 [71] and then subsection ending at the final note: eKGWB/NF-1886. 5 [110]. Volume information, KSA 12. Nachgelassene Fragmente 1885-1887, (1967). Section for this notebook is five. 5 = NVÜ3. Sommer 1886—Herbst 1887. Pages for this subsection are p. 211-229 (KSA 12). Over 190+ Nietzsche’s notes are also translated in this book. Additional materials from his published writing are included in the topics discussed. Principle conclusion: all of Nietzsche’s philosophical thought can be seen as his response to the urgent crisis of Nihilism. Countermovement to Nihilism. “The tragic era for Europe: due to the struggle with nihilism.” (Das tragische Zeitalter für Europa: bedingt durch den Kampf mit dem Nihilismus). KGWB/NF-1886, 7 [31]. More translations from all of Nietzsche’s writings covering such topic as: the eternal return of the same, Will to Power, B. Spinoza, concept of meaninglessness, Nihilism and Nietzsche Thought, Stages or the outline of Nihilism, Chronological Nietzsche’s Thoughts on Nihilism, and Nietzsche on the Nihilist. Nietzsche Contra Metaphysics: Rejection of ontology and Being Rejection of God Rejection of metaphysicians Rejection of the idea of eternal Rejection of supersensuous Rejection of Platonism Rejection of the dignity of humanity (metaphysicians) Rejection of eternal values Rejection of immorality Possible Metaphysical Claims for the idea of Will-to-Power, Connection of Will to Power and Amor Fati, Anti-metaphysical and perspectivism, Nietzsche's Metahistory of philosophy, and Bibliographic sources.

New readings and perspectives on Nietzsche's work are brought together in this collection of essays by prominent scholars from North America and Europe. They question whether Nietzsche's work and the conventional interpretation of it is rhetorical and nih

Contemporary politics is faced, on the one hand, with political stagnation and lack of a progressive vision on the side of formal, institutional politics, and, on the other, with various social movements that venture to challenge modern understandings of representation, participation,and democracy. Interestingly, both institutional and anti-institutional sides of this antagonism tend to accuse each other of "nihilism", namely, of mere oppositional destructiveness and failure to offer a constructive, positive alternative to the status quo. Nihilism seems, then, all engulfing. In order to better understand this political situation and ourselves within it,The Politics of Nihilism proposes a thorough theoretical examination of the concept of nihilism and its historical development followed by critical studies of Israeli politics and culture. The authors show that, rather than a mark of mutual opposition and despair, nihilism is a fruitful category for tracing and exploring the limits of political critique, rendering them less rigid and opening up a space of potentiality for thought, action, and creation.

"Wendy Brown diagnoses a crisis of nihilism in the United States, as market ideals displace values of truth and integrity and identity politics encourage a destructive epidemic of victimhood. Taking strength from Max Weber's WWI-era calls for moral courage, Brown aims to renew commitments to basic values of citizenship and public life"--

Thirty years have passed since Cornel West's book Race Matters rose to the top of the bestseller lists in 1993. Yet his book remains as relevant as ever to American culture--even more so, if one considers its influence on contemporary racial justice movements such as Black Lives Matter, prison justice, and the fight for police reform. Prophetic Leadership and Visionary Hope, an edited volume of essays by leading scholars in Black studies, religious studies, and social justice history, looks back to the original 1993 text and forward into the future of racial understanding and healing in our current century, responding to Dr. West's own repeated insistence that we can only understand our present and future by looking back. By reengaging with West's book at this seminal moment, Prophetic Leadership and Visionary Hope offers new points of entry into the thorny issues that the 1993 text addressed: the challenge of leadership in a culture marked by the legacy of white supremacy; the limited value of liberal affirmative action programs in promoting the affirmation of Black humanity; the dangerous seductions of African American conservatism and the question of Black self-regard (what West called "black nihilism"); the necessity and difficulty of cross-race solidarity and cross-religious affinity; the need to channel legitimate Black rage over untenable conditions of existence into productive opportunities and viewpoints. All of these issues are even more marked in American society today. The voices collected in this volume are the legitimate intellectual heirs of the original Race Matters. With essays that span the topics of history, politics, philosophy, religion, cultural studies, music, and aesthetics, Prophetic Leadership and Visionary Hope is as wide-ranging as the thinker whose ideas it engages, interrogates, and celebrates. Contributors:Nkosi Du Bois Anderson, Paul A. Bové, Matthew M. Briones, Farah Jasmine Griffin, Susannah Heschel, Lucius T. Outlaw Jr., Andrew Prevot, Brandon M. Terry, Cornel West, Barbara Will.

One of the pastoral problems of religiosity in Slovakia today is that contemporary Christianity is pervaded by nihil-inclinations. Such inclinations manifest themselves in the loss of orientation and meaning, and a disinterest in Christianity, which has by and large remained on a doctrinal, moralistic, and ritual level without offering a constructive faith response to the 'signs of the times'. This dissertation argues that nihilism is not an entirely negative or morose concept that leaves behind a void or abyss without values, rendering this world meaningless. Nihilism as such is not an absolute (demonizing) danger; rather, it is the failure to adequately engage it that constitutes the pro-nihilizing threat. My analysis of nihilism begins with Nietzsche. In analyzing his texts, I propose my own interpretation of his nihilism. Because of the tensive state of Nietzsche's nihilism, which on the one hand lacks a firm ground of higher values, and on the other, exhibits a recurring tendency to return to these values, I refer to this state as 'nihilism-in-tension'. I suggest that 'nihilism-in-tension' may be conceived as the condition of thought that bears some resemblance to divine kenosis. I argue that kenosis is an appropriate epistemological instrument to disclose the mechanism or unknown function working within 'nihilism-in-tension', and may be described through a transformative kenotic formula ('pro-kenotic-nihil'). To reveal this mechanism, I employ the experiential theory of the sublime as the vantage point from which to uncover the inner constituents of kenosis and 'nihilism-in-tension'. Here I argue that the event which imparts transformative meaning to 'nihilism-in-tension' is the radical imitation of the deepest Christian mystery exemplified in the kenotic life of Christ. This may be expressed in the following formula: nihil and its kenotic radicalization (maximization of nihilism) = annihilation of nihil (negation of nihilism). To apply this mechanism to ecclesial life, I introduce the nada of John of the Cross and the “weak thought” of Gianni Vattimo as two modalities, spiritual and philosophical, that can translate the postmodern condition of 'nihilism-in-tension' into a practical pursuit of wisdom and right relationship. The former transmutes the nihil of 'nihilism-in-tension' from nada to todo, or from self-emptying to union with the divine. The latter transforms the nihil of 'nihilism-in-tension' through the philosophy of “weak thought,” which calls for tentative and non-foundational modes of thought and a weakening of immutable structures. I demonstrate that nada and “weak thought” are appropriate instruments for “weakening” authoritarian church structures and reinterpreting (or rewriting) the tradition in kenotic, inclusive, and dialogical forms. This study demonstrates that the kenotic movement of the nihil of 'nihilism-in-tension' into the nihil of kenosis, or fructifying todo, is a potential pastoral instrument to address the problem of nihil-inclinations in the religious context of Slovakia. It attempts to give some orientation to the local Church by raising awareness of its kenotic origins, and offering its theological, spiritual, and philosophical apparatus to approach the problem.