I don’t know what nihilism is and how to distinguish it from similar views. For example, I don’t know for sure what the difference is between the nihilistic “nothing is good or bad so I just do what brings me pleasure” and the hedonistic “I just do what brings me pleasure because in the end nothing is really good or bad”. But it seems to me that there are, at a fundamental level, two different ways of defining nihilism.

Nihilism can either be an equality thesis: With respect to value or meaning everything is equal. Neither meaningful/insignificant nor good/bad allow us to draw any differences in the world because everything has the same meaning or value.

Alternatively, nihilism can be a universality thesis: Everything is meaningless or valueless. No matter where you look you won’t find any meaning or value.  Continue reading How to define nihilism: Universal vs. egalitarian nihilism →