Category Archives: optimism

How to define nihilism: Universal vs. egalitarian nihilism

nihilism, optimism, philosophy, Tractatus

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 →

Ignorance and Optimism – On Rosling’s “Factfulness”

book review, Ignorance, optimism

Hans Rosling with Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Rönnlund: Factfulness. Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – And Why Things Are Better Than You Think. London: Sceptre, 2018.

Rosling’s Factfulness popped up in my filter bubble several times and since two topics dear to my heart – ignorance and optimism – surface a lot in his book, I just had to read it with my philosophical glasses on. This isn’t a full review – the book is a nice read and I can certainly recommend it! –, just some comments on what Rosling has to say about ignorance and optimism. In a nutshell, Rosling argues that we (= adults from developed, level 4 countries) are mostly ignorant about the current state of the world, in particular about population growth, poverty, education, gender differences and health. This claim is based on a survey of 12,000 participants from 14 countries in which most participants consistently choose an option that represents the world as worse than it actually is. For example, most participants think that 50% or less of the world’s children are vaccinated against at least one disease – despite the correct answer being 80%. We aren’t just ignorant – we suffer from a pessimistic illusion! Continue reading Ignorance and Optimism – On Rosling’s “Factfulness” →