Nihilism

:This article is about the philosophical position. For the Russian political and revolutionary movement, see Nihilist movement.

Nihilism in art

There have been various movements in art, such as surrealism and cubism, which have been criticized for touching on nihilism, and others like Dada which have embraced it openly. More generally, modern art has been criticised as nihilistic due to its often non-representative nature, as happened with the Nazi party's Degenerate art exhibit.

Related Topics:
Surrealism - Cubism - Dada - Modern art - Nazi - Degenerate art

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Nihilistic themes can be found in literature and music as well. This is especially true of contemporary music and literature, where the uncertainty following what some perceive as the demise of modernism is explored in detail.

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Dada

The term Dada was first used during World War I, an event that precipitated the movement, which lasted from approximately 1916 to 1923. The Dadaists claimed that Dada was not an art movement, but an anti-art movement, sometimes using found objects in a manner similar to found poetry and labeling them art, thus undermining ideas of what art is and what it can be. At other times Dadaists paid attention to aesthetic guidelines only so they could be avoided, attempting to render their works devoid of meaning and aesthetic value. This tendency toward devaluation of art has led many to claim that Dada was essentially a nihilist movement; a destruction without creation.

Related Topics:
Dada - World War I - 1916 - 1923 - Found poetry - Aesthetic

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Because they attempted to undermine the way art was viewed in the 20th century, the dadaists chose to name their movement after a baby phrase to show the way their anti-art was shaking everything up.

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Nihilism in literature

Although the word nihilism is of recent historical vintage, the attitude it represents is not, as is seen in a famous passage near the end of Shakespeare's Macbeth — though Macbeth is not speaking of universal collapse or expansion but the brute and more immediate fact of human death:

Related Topics:
Shakespeare - Macbeth

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::Out, out, brief candle!

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::Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player

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::That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

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::And then is heard no more; it is a tale

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::Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

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::Signifying nothing. (Act 5, Scene 5)

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In nineteenth-century culture, nihilism was given wide currency by the Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev in his novel Fathers and Sons (1862) to describe the views of an emerging radical Russian intelligentsia. These consisted primarily of upper-class students who had grown disillusioned with the slow pace of reformism. The primary spokesman for this new philosophy was D. I. Pisarev (1840-1868) who articulated a program of Revolutionary Utilitarianism and advocated violence as a tool for social change. Pisarev was cast as Bazarov in Fathers and Sons much to his own delight; he proudly embraced his new status as a fictional hero and villain.

Related Topics:
Ivan Turgenev - Fathers and Sons - 1862 - Intelligentsia - Reformism - D. I. Pisarev - Utilitarianism

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After its popularization in the character of Bazarov, the word quickly became a catch-all term of derision for younger, more radical generations, and continues in this vein to modern times. It is often used to indicate a group or philosophy the speaker intends to characterize as having no moral sensibility, no belief in truth, beauty, love, or whatever else the speaker and his presumed audience values, and no regard for the current social conventions.

Related Topics:
Truth - Beauty - Love - Social conventions

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In Germinal (1885), by Émile Zola, the nihilist character Souvarine dramatizes the danger of nihilism when, in a climactic scene, he sabotages a coal mine and causes a catastrophic accident, then slips away. Souvarine's lack of belief, frequently expressed, is a foil to the optimistic socialism that fuels the coal miners' revolt.

Related Topics:
Germinal - 1885 - Émile Zola - Socialism

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In Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, the protagonist Rodion Raskolnikov mingles with nihilism, more specifically utalitarianism. Dostoevsky ultimately points out the emptiness of nihilism with the epilogue of the novel.

Related Topics:
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky

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The work of Albert Camus can be read as a sustained engagement with nihilism.

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In contemporary literature, themes of nihilism can also be found in Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and many of Kurt Vonnegut's books. Robert Stone, additionally, is a contemporary American novelist who has often thematized nihilism in his work. In A Flag for Sunrise (1981), for example, the anthropologist Holliwell is a protagonist struggling against his own nihilistic tendencies. Another American author who is commonly believed to deal with themes of nihilism is Chuck Palahniuk. In his 1996 novel Fight Club, for example, the ultimate goal of the book's 'project mayhem' is the destruction of modern civilization in order to rebuild humanity. Palahniuk, however, claims that he does not deliberately focus on the subject.

Related Topics:
Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand - Kurt Vonnegut - Robert Stone - A Flag for Sunrise - 1981 - Chuck Palahniuk - 1996 - Fight Club

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Nihilism in Music

Punk rock has often been regarded as taking a nihilistic and anarchistic view of the world around it. Another approach to nihilism has been taken by Black Metal and Death Metal, whose intentionally bizarre composition and morbid lyrics depict life's meaninglessness and a lack of absolute morals.

Related Topics:
Punk rock - Anarchistic - Black Metal - Death Metal - Lyrics - Absolute morals

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However, the subcultures that have sprung up around these genres contain some unique social norms and mores. An example would be so-called Pit Etiquette. These are the rules of common courtesy that dictate behavior in mosh pits at concerts. The existence of these mores suggests that although lyrically and artistically a philosophy of nihilism may permeate these genres, the draw to their normally younger fan base may be based more on an illusion of rebellion than any real nihilistic beliefs.

Related Topics:
Pit Etiquette - Mores

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John Cage is a notable avant-garde musician who has explored the theme of nihilism. John Cage's

Related Topics:
John Cage - 4'33" - Copyright

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