Nihilism: Embracing the Void of Existence

Why are we here? What are we supposed to do? What’s the goal? What’s the meaning of all this?
Without Christianity to guide us, the West now faces a void – a nothingness. If there’s no God to guide us, no Afterlife to suffer for, and no divine purpose, then what’s the point of living?

Even though Nietzsche was highly critical of Christianity (seeing it as a “life-denying” force), he acknowledged the danger of its decline: nihilism. Nihilism is the belief that nothing matters: the belief in nothing. This video explores nihilism and possible solutions by Friedrich Nietzsche and Albert Camus.

Video: Nihilism: Embracing the Void of Existence

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#nihilism #nietzsche #camus

00:00 - Intro
03:11 - An impossible leap of faith
06:16 - The many pathways through nothingness
08:52 - Finding and creating meaning
10:42 - Enjoying a pointless life

[gwwayner]

I'm 72, retired and always single. I simply enjoy the privilege of existence, try to avoid boredom and pain, go out into nature as much as I can, and forget about the stupidity of finding a 'purpose' in life other than reproduction. The animals have the right idea!

[TrollMcLolTheFirst]

“and when nobody wakes you up in the morning, and when nobody waits for you at night, and when you can do whatever you want. what do you call it, freedom or loneliness?” - Charles Burkowski

“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.” - Oscar Wilde

“Forgive me, for I am not myself.”

[abuzarjamil]

“The planet does not need more successful people. The planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers and lovers of all kinds.”
-Dalai Lama

[gabemoore]

You really have no clue how much you have impacted my life. Your videos help me grow. Thank you!

[jeremytorgersen]

Excellent video, I tend to fixate on this topic extensively. The suggestion of not overthinking about existence due to the universe not giving us the answer anyway is a great reminder to stop overthinking about it and simply just live in the present moment and enjoy it for what it is.

[lessmore]

“If it’s not enough that you’re here, alive & able to be consciously aware of it, you may just be missing the point” - The Void

[wanderingbiku]

Your pieces on Existentialism are of great help to me. I find it complements my Buddhist practice and almost allows myself some mental space. To step outside and look in. I can believe that there are no answers and thus not feel guilty when I cant find any. Very theraputic. Thank you.

[Yana-tfhe]

As going through a very hard time, I hardly believe if can make it through. Turning 18 less than a month ago but everything already overwhelmed me so much, starting from not fitting into social groups as a kid, the isolation during the coronavirus and losing loved ones, to the current invasion in Ukraine, where I stay in darkness with my own thoughts, constant fear, no electricity or heat for days. All these years just destroyed me, I lost any faith in myself, I feel like my most important years of growth were stolen from me as I was already vulnerable. Losing track of time, everything really just feels meaningless. To the point you don’t understand the reason of life, nothing to look forward to. Nihilism is scary but with all of this, it really looks real. Even without the struggles in life you just can’t help but question it..

[akhilajay]

Mother passed away
Breakup 💔
No family
No friends
Alone
At some point I saw no purpose to live and waking to my death everyday.. and there I found your channel. Surviving with your videos

[amulyamalhi]

As long as a person does not overthink, everything is under control. The moment an individual begins to overthink, the situation gets 'Out of Control.' Brilliant Video EZ :)

[somethingyousaid]

You're forced to play a game that you cannot win, according to rules that you cannot change. That's the appearance that it has.

[JamesSheffer]

"Thinking, " rather than "doing, " has always interfered with my fun times of work and play. It seems a waste of time to ask myself all of these questions. Better I go along doing those things that are on my TO-DO list for day. Are those things moral, effective, developmental for the future? Who's asking that? Maybe the people surrounding me, but are they feeling up and happy? Einzelgänger continues to be my favorite YouTube video. So much to be awakened to in this life... and maybe even carry it to the next!

[goldengriffon]

Many people play videos at an increased speed, but your videos I want to play at reduced speed. There is so much thought behind every second of your videos, I need time to absorb it fully. Excellent job, as always! You are doing humanity a great service, sir. Thank you for this channel. It is a bright shining star to help guide us through this dark existence. Thank you.

[sophos]

Thank you Einzelganger for posting the right video when I needed. I was just suffering again from nihilism and various thoughts of committing suicide had been haunting me for two nights because I had forgotten what it meant to live a meaningless life in a proper manner. But you made my day!

[elysianfields]

When there is nothing else to live for, that’s when life starts.

[alexkung]

Living is this world is painful sometimes.

[sandrakindecka]

I'm just going through a very painful and prolonged process of realizing that a love that was supposed to last a lifetime ended as quickly as the flame on a match goes out. Videos like this give me inner peace and I hope that everyone who feels the same sense of hopelessness as me will find at least a little happiness in everyday moments of life

[mmoly-cjbd]

Another great segment. I have read Stoicism For Inner Peace and refer back to it from time to time. Just great content! Thanks!

[glengilbow]

Great video! No one has anything more than “this present moment.” Forget about the past unless there’s a lesson to remember. Don’t focus too far in the future because you have less control than you may think. At the same time, don’t forget that you’re creating your future right now to some, smaller degree. The best, most encouraging description I’ve heard about this is “the meaning of life is love.”

[RJFares]

As always, love the quality of your videos and your calm voice. First time I feel to comment on a video, so here goes :)

One has to separate the meaning of life and the reason for living. I don't think the video examined this and mixed the two.

I'll go with the title "When there's nothing left to live for". Personally as a Christian I don't build my meaning because of my religion. My religion just was the best option I saw that explained some past events, and if I suppose one day I find proof that all was a lie, I still do not see why I have "nothing to live for":

I am hungry, I eat. My son needs me and love me, I love him and my wife. If I lose them, I still find joy in what I do or anything in life in the present moment. I think the key is framing and perspective without tainting it with what's not present (past events, regret, future worries...). This is why you can fill the void of "The meaning of life is [X]" with contradictory statements and it would still work. The meaning is subjective and can be anything you choose it to be, and objectively life is there and will go regardless what you think.

Also, the idea of losing critical thinking just because you attribute yourself to a religion is weird. You can still belong to a religion but maybe not stick to dogmatic ways of thinking. I don't take anything for granted and have logical explanations to many questions. In fact, I have created a website called skepticfaith which I hope I'll have enough time to write all the articles on my to-do list.