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Nihilism by description and definition according to the philosophers who have analyzes it, it cannot be optimistic. Esp. according to Nietzsche, it's the moment or the state you are in when you realize the death of god, that state of despondency. Nietzsche, says that one should tackle this by being what he called the Free Spirit. Nihilism is like a very intellectual depression.
Nihilism gives me ease in life. Knowing that nothing matters even if I mess up it won't matter. If I did something wrong in the past it doesn't matter anyways. And if you want to achieve something work for it and achieve it, it will bring you hapiness but in the end it doesn't matter, still aproaching the goal is going to be fun and achieving it even more and if you fail who cares not like it matters. It makes it really easy to move on
Yeah for me it was always about setting goals and becoming very successful but we’re all gonna pass away soon and it’s not like we can bring all of our achievements into the afterlife. Nothing in this corporeal realm means anything to me now. Life to me is to just live it day by day until the day I die.
Optimistic Nihilism really is the greatest liberation. The notion of being able to find your own meaning when nothing matters is something that really helped me out. I feel free to conform to my own beliefs and values and to do whatever I want. There was a comment I saw in some other video that said "Optimistic Nihilism is like a hardcore Minecraft world. In the end you die, and it'll all disappear, but so what? It was fun while it lasted, and that made it worth it"
But what if it all doesn't disappear after you die? Just czz u haven't experienced doesn't mean its non existant.. Well you'd think, well see about it when it happens... But what if you've lost your chance What am i? A pessimist
@@MosopiaWhat matters is ultimately subjective. Not objective. For example each second that pass someone has died in the world. Should that matter to me? I will say no since for the most the people that are dying I don’t know them. Or have any clue who they are. So for me subjectively this fact doesn’t even matter.Since I chose to focus on something else and not be bothered by this fact.
Just imagine a glass of beer half full, the pessimist is sad because half of his beer is already gone, the optimist is happy because he still has half of his beer and the nihilist just drinks it and gets another one don't thinking about all that stuff and just enjoying his time.
I kinda see what you're saying here, but in context of this video and differentiating 'pessimistic' Nihilists and Optimistic Nihilists (and there's a 3rd type in the analogy) I don't understand.
Yeah I just live day by day until the day I die. No plans on setting goals or ambitions as nothing in life matters to me but I’ll just be content with what I have and just live it without thinking too much about it.
I never took life seriously. I'm lazy, maybe irresponsible, but I live life in the way it was intended: i take my time, knowing it will run out eventually. Nothing really matters, except your well being.
I think one thing people dont understand about nihilism is that it works both ways. If nothing matters, then there's no point in suicide, no point in not trying, no point in being depressed, no point in not being the best you can be. Just exist. Life doesnt need meaning for you to live it. Sometimes things just happen. It's okay. Just dont go too deep into it nihilism, and you should be fine. We dont need more depressed teens misinterpreting it and giving it a bad name
You either go all the way or not at all, if you have any drive to live at all, you cannot be a true nihilist, selfish and self important sure, but true nihilist no. The argument that not existing is the absence of suffering and that you will never experience enough positive to outweigh the negative necessitates a true nihilist to not exist. Which is why Nietzsche was so against nihilism, he knew it bred selfish apathy and a hell worse than non existence. The only direct answer to nihilism I have seen merit in is Camus' concept of rebellion, by which in the face of absurdity and meaningless, one chooses to willingly struggle for the sake of struggling, not for any meaning or reward or expectancy. Anyone claiming to truly believe in nihilism would promptly exit the game of life knowing the simple fact that non existence is preferable given their world view. The lack of any necessity in itself is in fact an argument to remain stationary until one dies of dehydration.
@ngnoiddottv you do more than you think. And why would you need a meaning in the first place? A meaning is nothing but a goal. A place to steer to,but not the end of the path. And when you get to it,what is next?
After a period of time living with all of these nihilism energy throughout my quarter's life, there's one thing that i found interesting. There's the day when you think that even if you've tried your best to pave your life's, or even if you do nothing just to enjoy everything as its be; always find a way to seek for the brightside of everything. This energy to always look out for the brightside is what really moves you forward. There's nothing wrong either if you decide to move backwards, the thing is none of your relatives/friends/society hoping you to degrades your own life. And that thing works the same for you, even though your ownselves fell deep to the void but you surely have a little hope in your heart for everyone's life that you ever knew.
Acid helped me realize life is both meaningless and meaningful. Nothing really matters but that gives us the ability to make anything matter. Life is like a game and we get to decide the rules. The most important thing to remember though is no matter what you’ll be okay.
"Embracing that none of these things ultimately matter is freeing. Forgive yourself for your past mistakes and look forward, excited to experience the future. Life is precious, beautiful, and awe-inspiring despite its chaos and disorder." I like this quote because it reminds us to let go of the pressure to find meaning in everything and instead embrace the freedom that comes with accepting the ultimate insignificance of our actions. It encourages us to forgive ourselves, live in the present, and find joy in the small wonders of life.
Optimistic nihilism has been the mindset I've always indulged myself in. It helps dealing with problems in life and pondering useless questions about every single occurrence. It's just as simple as, accept.
You realize that a nihilistic mindset would permit you to indiscriminately murder people bc nothing matters including human wellbeing. Also your world view doesn’t even have an establishment of what is “better” or “good” in the first place.
I don't know about everyone else but for me meaninglessness is incredibly liberating. I was set out to be a bright kid, with good parents, and well supported financially. I was free to choose the career I thought I'd like. Everyone, even myself, expected me to lead a great/extraordinary life. Yet I got bored easily and never have a love interest because I don't care much and can't force myself into anything for long. At the present, I am behind my friends both in career path, finance and marriage, yet I don't feel very bothered by it because I am content. Sometimes I wondered if I chose wrong somewhere, am I wasting my life, is there some grand purpose of my life that I ought to fulfill but neglected, did I fail at the test of life? Those questions could cause some stress for my otherwise carefree attitude in life. When embracing that there is no god, life is a meaningless but beautiful accident, I have no grand plan to follow, no reason to rush or worry, and the only certainty is this life that I get to experience, I feel all the worries about future vaporize and the present becomes most beautiful and precious. I don't necessarily love every moment of my life, but I love that I get to live through this unique life that I have.
i read the first lines as if i was describing myself, although i´m still trying to get to the part i feel content, i´m currently stuck thinking i wasted my life...
This is exactly how I feel about basically everything. Every once in a while, I get jealous of successful people, but then I imagine myself in their shoes, and I just don't want to be stressed out about feeling obligated to care about every little thing I do.
I made peace with nihilism I realised if there is no reasonable / meaningful existence then you are the one that makes your existence meaningful. Your everyday actions your feelings , your emotions , your experience bring meaning in life. It kinda made me stronger imo
I've been talking about this for awhile, I don't remember who I learned about this from, but I've discussed with many and the best way I like to put it into words is that "the only things that matter, are what you make matter to your individual" and if you don't openly choose a happy path, you won't find it.
@@Galvvy I didn't say "pretend", but it's more that you strive for something to have more or less validity through the fluidity with which you can breathe life to said action or belief.
Throwing In my two cents, the universe is a meaningless arrangement of existence. You do not matter in the big equation, but there are still consequences for your actions. Also existing can be an adventure so don't forget you can enjoy it.
it only matters if you decide it does, if you get fired thats fine get a new job, if you get divorced thats fine get a new partner... everything is still temporary, the smaller contexts don't matter either but it is fun to act like they do, to believe in the illusion that something truly matters.
@@DiceDecides if you feel pain, it is not an illusion, it's real as happiness. I think people confuse "having fun" with "not care", and instead think that "suffering" is the result of "care".
@@yared8771 i never said nothing is real, real is not the same as something mattering. You can feel pain and be like "this rly sucks" but at the same time think "it's temporary and it won't matter in the far end". Strange concept in the first place that something "matters", if to achieve a goal sure things matter but not in the absolute sense. And since all the goals dont matter in the end then the specific contexts don't actually matter either, but I play into the illusion like everyone else because life is just richer that way.
It's so difficult to be nihilistic sometimes, especially optimistic nihilism. Sometimes I just forget and then start ruminating/worrying about some random temporary concept. But who cares, nothing matters.
I had this mindset for the last few years. They were some of the best years of my life. Know I am more stuck in my head than ever before. Needed this reminder. Thank you. Keep it up
I'm so glad you' made a video about this; Kurzgesagt has covered optimistic nihilism before and I have yet to find an essay-style video on this topic since then. Thank you!
I've read some of the most "depressing" philosophers in the History of Western metaphysics: From Schopenhauer to Nietzsche to Sartre to Derrida. And in all of them I've found happiness.
@@Alireza_farhoudi Really? You don’t see us gather every week and worship a sky daddy; where is our church? Where is our tax exemption? Where is our bible? you don’t see us going to war and murdering millions; you don’t see us attacking someone because they’re not an atheist. Atheism is reaction to the stupidity of religion. I can go on but I think point’s been made.
the only person that would seem to fit that bill of being "depressing" would be schopenhauer and even then he at least suggested some solution to happiness which is basically just his interpretation of buddhist philosophy mixed with "living healthy"
I’d say specifically it’s the recognition and acceptance of our relative insignificance and lack of objective meaning in life, then creating our own meaning relevant to ourselves
Camus never said to search for meaning, he in fact realized that people do that (which induces more suffering and why he heavily disagreed with other exitentialists who believed meaning could be conjured or procured like Sartre.) What he actually said, was to accept the lack of any inherent meaning, but to strive none the less within the natural order of life for its own sake. Which is the journey not the destination solving the definition of "meaning."
@@Galvvy Yes, I love Camus' philosophy in the sense that it doesn't even put pressure on an individual to create meaning for oneself, but rather revolt the meaninglessness by embracing and find joy in the nature of it.
Nothing matters, so there’s no point worrying about it. Embrace the moment to moment spontaneity and creativity life brings. Enjoy the time you do have
My biggest problem is that I relive all the times in the past where I have subjectively embarrassed myself. I am desperately trying to learn to let those moments go in order to not spend so much time agonizing over what I should've done differently. I recognize that these instances are when I was child, naive, ignorant, or just among the wrong peanut gallery. What I said in class when I was 16 is not something I would say now. Or what I did a few weeks ago taught me to not do it again. Yes, my mistakes give me meaningful feedback but, ultimately, the mistake is meaningless to the rest of the world. In order to let go, I need to try to understand that it is meaningless to hold onto it. That's what I am working on so I am not getting headaches thinking about something so insignificant. I believe in the concept of Nihilism (every version of it) but I resonate with the concept of Optimistic Nihilism.
Over the last year I began a fresh philosophical journey that sort of kicked off after several traumatic events, and it's interesting (and validating) to find this video because nihilism really resonated with me, but in trying to summarize to people how I was personally experience it, I found it challenging to emphasize the optimism and liberation I have been finding in it. So, thanks - nice to know this is a "thing"!
I find this video to be uncomfortably comforting. The thought of nihilism isn't new to me. It's what I believe in but struggle accepting. This video helps me to do just that. And only then I can move on. Thank you for making it, Aperture.
"I tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn't even matter I had to fall to lose it all But in the in it doesn't even matter" - Chester Binnington
When I was little I grew up in domestic violence. My mother drank a lot. I had to grow up at the age of 5. I didn't have time to pretend to be innocent when my whole world was going to hell. I learned to not trust my surroundings, and learned that nobody cared if I lived, or died. I learned that it didn't matter if anyone loved me, because everybody had the same temporary attitude. I just live my life today, because I'm here now.
I think this sounds very informed by your experience of "ego death" you mentioned in an earlier episode after a pscychodelic experience. The idea of nihilism does get levied on those who've had spiritual awakenings as well, and it does seem nehilistic in some ways to hear some of the "talking points" coming out of certain communities, like so-called "neo-advaita." What I hear often from these folks is that nothing matters, because nothing is really happening, there are no people doing things, there's nothing to do, no one to do it, etc. I've also heard it phrased in a way that we are all just like characters in a dream. The dream seems real to us and has its own set of rules, but it's not ultimately real an in "absolute" sense. The main takeway being that you can and should have fun in the dream, do whatever you want, but it's still isn't nice to be mean to people and cause people to suffer intentionally and unnecessarily, but ultimately everything that's happening, good AND bad is all still "perfect" - but maybe just as part of a dream? From a non-awakened person who hasn't had any shifts in reality, it's hard to make a ton of "sense" about this stuff, but then again, these are things that you aren't supposed to really cognitively "understand" but rather "realize" in a "knowing" that goes beyond cogntition. You might call it experiential understanding, but nondualists quibble about that word because they contend that there's no one actually experiencing, there's only the experience or happening - only the hearing, only the seeing, no hearer, seer, seen, or heard. This point of view also asserts no real "meaning" to life, the universe, and everything. Or perhaps the meaning is whatever you decide it should be "within the dream." The point being that you understand that you are in a dream and so to a certain extent you get to make the rules - at least around how you think, not around how things work physically, etc.
I've always wondered what the difference between optimistic nihilism and absurdism. But now realize that the first simply means doing whatever because nothing matters while the other is accepting nothing matters but still trying to enjoy it with the struggle as the point all along.
Yes Nihilism is all is permitted, murder, robbery, heinous sexual crimes whatever you want because consequences are also meaningless. Absurdism is living to the fullest extent within the guiding principle of the struggle for its own sake, while still retaining the morality of the heart.
@@GalvvyAll IS permitted in the grand scheme of things, that is demonstrably true by the fact that there are people that do those things. Those that dont do these things, dont do them either because they simply do not want to, for whatever reason, or they dont want to face the concequences imposed on them by other people. The universe couldnt care less.
@@soleo2783The universe couldn't care less, but people affected by those things do care. You care what happens to you (atleast on a survival level), it is better for you if other people are doing well(rising waters raises all ships). Therefore while everything is meaningless, it is literally better for you and your offspring to live as tho consequences matter.
When real tragedy inevitably hits you, all this vague optimism will quickly evaporate because it has literally nothing to stand on. Right now you are just too comfortable to realize it.
I mean thats kind of the point hat this optimism has nothing to stand it. Its a though mental challenge, but imo with one of the biggest rewards. For this optimism you have to look beyond your own insignificant life.
As someone who had an issue with developing tilts it prevents it majorly. focus on the good things and ignore the bad things and your life becomes better.
I always appreciate your educational and informative way of putting things that ends up making me just a bit more optimistic in life. I definitely needed this video right now and I appreciate the tools we're gaining knowledge you shout out. I'm definitely more of an optimistic nihilism because I realized the meaninglessness of life but I am able to do anything I want in the time allotted to me.
Life doesn't matter after watching this video we all know that much, then again we keep searching for things that makes us happy. Having a bad day or a good day doesn't matter, because everything is going to end once your gone. People who knows you now will disappear too, your entire existence will disappear one day, then what's the point in worrying about it now. It won't change a thing.
good topic, i do think about this every single day. i try my best to be optimistic sometimes, i am sometimes i am not. nihilist through and through. being an optimistic nihilist is the only way forward. choosing things that actually has meaning to you, even if it has no meaning, when looking at the bigger picture.
Playing “the long game” and thinking about humanity smallness compared to the vastness of the universe can help some I’m personally more on board with humanity being awesome and we’re gonna shake this universe to its core
I was an optimistic nihilist when I was a child and only knew Catholicism. I was able to accept it My life was terrible and painful but none of that mattered because this world was a drop in the bucket compared to eternity in heaven. Losing that crushed me and nothing is ever really replaced it
never have been a fan of lables but optimistic nihilism pretty much summarizes what i think. there's no overarching purpose in life, no big picture, but at the same time what change does that make? enjoy your life, don't waste it worrying about "waa muh life's purpose" or "waa theres no point in trying"
I feel like I relate to this. In my view life is a game and death is the leaderboard. If none of it matters so may as well go for a high score or something. your score isn’t something you take with you when you go but simply the legacy you leave behind weather good or bad Popular or unknown it doesn’t matter you won’t be here to see the results so just have fun for the time being. Everything being meaningless means you can assign meaning to things. And it also teaches you to embrace the meaningless as our time is limited. Truthfully meaninglessness may be our meaning
The things that i fear is not so much the nihilism, but the apathy. i have a very hard time breaking away from the apathy. So the video of a perspective of using nihilism from a positive frame was refreshing. Life is tuff. My faith is a compass my nihilism is a path. May the destination be satisfying.
Yeah I didn't realize this but I guess I'm an optimistic nihilist with a touch of anthropic principlism. For some years now, my conclusion has been that in this vast, grand universe, our menial lives mean little to nothing in the greater scheme of things, yet also it's for this exact reason that life simultaneously means everything. At the same time, it is our role in our lives to create our own meaning, and without us the universe just simply exists. We are the universe's eyes, ears, heart and soul, and for that we should be ever grateful. These days I look at the relative meaninglessness of everything and can't help but to chuckle a bit. Here I am worried about this girl, my finances, family, friends, kids, cats, and everything that creates meaning for me in my life both good and bad, and it's all just nothing. The universe both doesn't care in the slightest and cares entirely about these things, as I am a manifestation of a part of said universe. 🧿✌️🕊️
As an optimistic nihlist, I will say, "you hit the nail on the head, when you said, 'Embrace the nothingness.'" When I learned how to embrace the nothing and jump into the void, only to find nothing was when I found peace. No more pressure to find 'God's Will, my destiny or some great meaning... just blissful meaningless. Life has no meaning. We are born, we die and we should find a way to enjoy the time in-between.
Our lives can weigh so heavy on us because we are so caught up in it. What helps is stop taking everything so serious, every feeling is temporary. Why do we think our lives are so significant, so remarkable? You are literally just one person living his life out of 8 Billion people on earth.
Thanks for giving a name to what I’ve been feeling for a while now! Actually, ever since I read the book Existential Kink. After years of Law of Attraction and other spiritual stuff, it’s been freeing and a huge relief to realize that I don’t actually NEED ANYTHING, because in the end it doesn’t really matter anyway…AND, through realizing this and letting my grip loosen, my life has changed for the better (and I got more of the things I wanted and am much happier).
My personal understanding of this is, Embrace the Void. If nothing matters, that is a reflect of everything mattering allowing more possiilities to assign matter too. Aspects that hold significance.
Fascinating video. I have been struggling for years with the meaninglessness of life, perhaps I could call myself a "negative nihilist". But being a "positive nihilist" seems to be a wonderful way to look into my life. I think you may have inspired me to explore this view with my therapist.
I became a true nihilist after my retirement. I was an atheist since childhood, but I still searched. I continually looked for the "end game". One day I woke up and realized I didn't really give a shit about much. I realized I'm just living day to day. It's freeing, win or lose, doesn't matter. I can still stress over day to day stuff and I still have a very inquisitive mind, it's just my process during life. One thing nihilism destroys is greed, you know damn well you aren't taking anything with you after you're dead, and no need to die "on top". I believe most people need religion though, they need to be governed and kept in check or it would be total anarchy.
*"I believe most people need religion though, they need to be governed and kept in check or it would be total anarchy."* ... As a nihilist, why would anarchy matter?
@@0-by-1_Publishing_LLC I understand your point. I've thought it over. Perhaps I would be fine with the rest of humanity in anarchy, but I sure do like my peace and quiet.
@@charlesdeal771 *"Perhaps I would be fine with the rest of humanity in anarchy, but I sure do like my peace and quiet."* ... That is a "value assessment" which contradicts nihilism. You "value" peace and quiet over anarchy. But for the nihilist, "peace and quiet" and "anarchy" should be equally irrelevant and meaningless, correct? The instant you value one over the other you are no longer a nihilist.
@@0-by-1_Publishing_LLC Guess that means I'm not a nihilist by the rule book. No biggie, Maybe my "belief" system can't be defined. Although I'm still inquisitive enough to find another explanation.
Living your life the way you want to shouldn’t be a revolutionary concept but it is. Do what makes happy unless you want to be unhappy then you can do that too ig.
Nihilism sounds so freeing... Definitely need to look into this more. The thought of nothing mattering in the long run feels so relieving. Thank you for this video. ❤️
Aperture, Can you do a video on the fact that adults always tell teenagers "I know it feels like the end of the world"? Speaking as a teenager, I understand that my problems and emotions seem petty and insignificant compared to those of full grown adults, but if we are meant to learn responsibility and maturity, shouldn't our elders spend less time telling us that our problems are small and more time helping us get through them?
Whether or not someone should help really all depends on the severity of the situation. These smaller problems, should be left to you, it will help you gain confidence in yourself and give you a sense of control. It also depends on what we mean by "small" problem.
This served me really well in life into my early-mid thirties... then I tried to write a novel and MAN it's hard to make a fictional story whose lesson is "Nothing matters" that isn't just Hitchhiker's Guide but crappier.
Isn't optimistic nihilism another term for apsurdism. I was staring in nihilism about a year ago and then i discovered apsurdism by Albert Camus. It really changed my perspective on a lot of things. In the meantime i have forgotten about apsurdism and I started to be depressed. This video reminded me of filozofy of optimistic nihilism or apsurdism. This was really strong video to me. Thank you.
Coming across this made me chuckle. As I’ve jokingly referred to myself as being an optimistic nihilist. Primarily because I felt in the grand scheme of things humans are insignificant and exist in an uncaring random universe. To think otherwise felt egotistical. Did that mean I should fall into depressed nihilism. Nope. Humans are special and unique and should celebrate it. Look with wonder and not ego at the universe. If anything, this means we should treasure each other and be as compassionate as possible. Because we’re so rare and we are all we have.
I do not understand how anyone thinks this way. How could you possibly see purposlessness as a positive thing? Do you give yourself purpose? How is that not just finding religion with extra steps? How do you know your chosen purpose is correct? How do you know you’re not just deceiving yourself to try and feel better about the sheer magnitude of the hopelessness of your situation? It’s like being stranded in the middle of the ocean and saying, “well I can still swim so I’m okay.” It sounds like dissociation in an attempt to defend against terror.
No, it's actually the opposite. Nihilism postulates that nothing matters in the end, and that there is no "purpose" nothing is special and you are just a coincidence. Might as well just make it better if I don't matter. Might as well just live life to the fullest if it doesn't matter. In the end, we will all ultimately cease to exist. Different people might have different views about Nihilism, but personally, it's alleviates my problems and reassures me that it's okay...
@@TheNightWatcher1385 I think you couldn't fathom me quite well. I am talking about optimistic or active Nihilism (Happiness oriented Nihilism), not pessimistic or the generally conceived Nihilism. The former's very essence is encapsulated in the motto "Life doesn't matter, so give it your best"
@@truthloversseekers If you’ve found some way to make it work, more power to you I guess. To me it sounds like if you were falling to the ground from a great height, you know you can’t fly, but you decide to flap your arms anyway, even though that has no bearing on the outcome.
The idea that optimism makes nihilism any better is actually funny. I'm sure that optimism will provide great comfort and reason to persist adversity when life lays you low and nothing matters and nobody cares.
This has been my view point for a while now. I find it makes me happier to accept it, and live the best version I can, of this strange thing we call existence.
It's got in my head that every story i think of the protagonist will be center so I keep trying to push him aside untill he is no longer has a role, i have thousands of thoughts why then he would be the protagonist then i realised that in the protagonist I want myself but I am meaningless in my thoughts. Why am I so, then i searched till I found this is optimistic 😁 nihilism knowing all this meaningless no matter what I do still keep doing is the best self. Thanks for you i have a name for my feelings inside heart.
I'm a Nihilist. It doesn't affect me negatively because I am also a Stoic and a Taoist. You choose life's meaning. So you better choose wisely. You say "Nihilism is meant to be temporary" but that is not true. You grow into an "active nihilist" after conquering "passive nihilism." The passive nihilist says "life has no inherent meaning, we are lost" and the active (optimistic) nihilist says "life has no inherent meaning, we are free."
How can someone claim to be a nihilist then say something like "you better...". Really? You better? It's doesn't matter, so that statement makes zero sense in the context of Nihilism. There is no such thing as "you better" because it does not matter. We will all be gone and dust anyway so who cares.
NO WAY you made this video! Your first video was great and it covered nihilism but not so much of the optimistic side. That first video came to my mind a few days ago and I wondered how many people know about optimistic nihilism which is the way I also think. Thank you.
As a gamer I understand. Once i beat the final boss there is nothing left i have won. I feel an emptiness in that my goal is completed. As a Christian I realize the difference here. There is literally more for me to strive for. Its about the difference that I made and hopefully the souls I saved along the way. All else is distractions. Distractions that I admittedly spend way to much time on.
@@escapefrombabylon1182 what do you think on it? I recently turned 31. Been baptized for 25ish years. Been to church every day. I try to read my Bible often but I always fall off. I hold onto every verse I remember but I've never really dived. I have been married for 1 year and actively trying for a child but I dont feel like I'm really leading. I feel like I've always lived life on autoplay. After a small bout of depression I've taken to only living life for the current day.
@@escapefrombabylon1182 i value my friends and family above all and would do anything for them but I dont feel like I do enough to better myself for them
I'd say that while devotion to your faith is admirable, it should not go so far as to try to convert, or rather, "save" others. Developing your personal relationship with your own God should be front and center, while you let God handle and sort out those that don't believe. I'm agnostic but I fundamentally believe in consequences, so, if God DOES exist and we are all forfeit, it's not your fault. Don't be concerned with saving people's souls religiously. Be concerned with saving their souls on an earthly plane by being kind and fostering generosity and empathy, and hopefully passing that bug along.
@@joshreyes3624 isn't saving souls the end all be all of our life. After all why would God not just take us to live with him, and spare us the trouble of life, immediately upon salvation but to save others.
My personal way of thinking is not that life itself doesn't matter. But that life doesn't have a general meaning. A lot of people think that life needs to have some ultimate meaning in the grand scheme of things. But I don't believe that life has any general meaning. But that is a good thing. Because it means you get to choose what life means to you. That there isn't some ultimate goal you should be working towards but that you get to choose your own goals. So not exactly nihilism, but nihilism inspired.
Optimistic and Nihilism are two excluding terms that cancel each other out. Either you face life with the foreseen conviction that whatever shitty situation will be soon to pass, or just bundle yourself into fetal position and lay wheresoever you may be, which is the nihilistic depressed cousin that follows, named pessimism. The one will eventually lead to the other. There are no gray areas, there is no middle point. Crawl towards nothingness or face life with the realism that life's cycles do changes from one spectrum towards the other. "Do or do not; there is no try"
nihilism is not inherently pessimistic. It literally means “belief in nothin,” and is most often used in an existential context to describe the belief that there is no meaning to life or the universe. The term in definition has nothing to do with pessimism or optimism, but it has been associated with nihilism because it rejects our desire for meaning and intuition that meaning exists. However, one can still be optimistic as a nihilist.
Nihilism: Nothing matters Optimistic Nihilism: Since nothing matters, you're free to assign value to whatever you want. So you don't have to feel like you've wasted your life playing video games and reading comic books. It made you happy. So it mattered. And if it mattered to you, you mattered too.
So basically make up a purpose with no backing to it. A made up purpose. A makeshift salvation with nothing but deception. To delude yourself with a temporary peace of mind. I find that pretty pathetic. Edit: let me rephrase my statement. I just don't understand when people say life is nothing but then try to make up something. I don't buy that they actually believe in something. In my eyes they are just trying to cope and deep down are sad. So I don't believe anyone actually believes in something while believing in nothing. Deep down they know they are coping. The reason why I say pathetic, I mean the hypocrisy itself is pathetic. I hate hypocrisy. It's in the realm of lies, and delusion. But it's whatever since almost everyone is a hypocrite. I don't really care that much though I just wanted to unload my thoughts.
@AzureWolf168 that's exactly what I mean. It's like a ball is coming to hit your head, so you close your eyes and pretend it's not their even though you know it's there
@AzureWolf168 That's the same thing as what I was replying to, unless you believe in a higher power or reincarnation, purpose is made up by human imagination
the fact that anyone can say that nothing matters and it's ok is funny asf to me because it is contradicting statement. If we are here to simply give our selves a made up purpose, wouldn't that in itself be the purpose why we are here?
@@MrKDon-rz1ef Nah, it won't last long and can push you into a depressive whore if you are not carefull. Or it makes you stupid, for example if you believe in a random god and must think anyone else must be stupid to not do like yourself.
I prefer to be a Christian rather than being a nihilist because it's better putting my faith on someone who promises me internal life if I believe rather than not believing in anything at all but simply dieing and hope to feel nothing after death
I believe that Christianity is superior to optimistic nihilism in the sense that optimistic nihilism crumbles when confronted with the overwhelming force of tragedy. Sure, their rational minds can say "it does not matter," but matter of fact is that the inner world has been severely wounded. I would find it hard to believe that such people are incapable of feeling negative emotion. In the end, it really did matter.
@@_Dolichenus yes it does the ability to simply not believe in anything and just go with wat the world presents isn't really satisfying as humans we want to live to have a fulfilling life and an entertaining one at that and if GOD is able to promise us that and all we need to do is believe in his son Jesus Christ I'd take that offer and gift instead dieing in a life that couldn't be entertaining or exiting for me to enjoy
Everyone has something to care about and nothing escapes it. To not change is to care about remaining the same, if you dont then you shifted your care to change. Not caring has to be a form of care for those willing to stick with it because if you dont care about not caring then you care about caring.
If you are not in the financial market space right now, you are making a huge mistake. I understand that it could be due to ignorance,but if you want to make your money work for you...prevent inflation
Nihilism is a fallacy. When following your train of thought you can maneuver a bit, saying "but still", however this attitude doesnt work when faced with the reality of life. if im sitting at home doing nothing its easy to follow any philosophy because it never comes into question. When you try to live though, you ll get challenged and it will boggle your mind, it happens to me almost every day. When trying to think about things in a wider scope, nihilism fails. Why should you be good or benevolent if nothing matters? Does being kind make you happy? Why should you strive to be happy, it doesnt matter anyway. Humanity crumbles when we stop considering our soul. When we deny that we are meant to be something more than what we are at any given moment. They say its a matter of perspective but perspective will only last you so long in face of fact. You can cope momentarily thinking you had fun in your life but if you deny that eternity follows death, you realise this joy is fleeting and it fades with this realisation. If you assume there is no purpose to any of this, why is it "ok"? Its not ok, thats a cope and nothing more. If you accept nihilism you can doubt everything, and reach evil this way. Digging deep enough you will see the evil of nihilism surfacing in different scenarios. In a totally self centered approach i could say "oh, being kind makes me happy" but does that matter? no nothing matters. So i can murder people on a whim. did the fact that i was upset matter? no, nothing matters, not even my own emotions because the soul doesnt exist. The fact that an ideology has the potential for this makes it evil. If you try to bargain by saying "oh but i dont interpret it like this" then you accept only the surface level traits of it, the "nothing matters so i can move on from past mistakes" right? So the ideology is flawed and requires a partial look for very few apothegms to have the slightest application in real life. "Nothing matters" is not a relief, its an excuse for our ego to survive unharmed as we go live the worst life possible. To make something out of nothing is impossible and its not whats happening in our lives. There is something there, as there was something when the universe was born. The problem is we dont focus on that something. We stick to the material things, and now, when people realise its unnatural they go ahead and say nothing matters. Thats not true. The material things dont matter. What matters is our soul. The love for each other, making sure our co humans can live in a utopia in the afterlife. So when you say nothing matters, in your soulless perception of existence, you meant the material world. to that i agree. this world doesnt matter. But the next one does, and so our life, and our souls matter, because thats when we will meet our true purpose and be with each other and God and experience existence in full and true bliss, instead of this phony fleeting substitute for joy delegacy we experience now
Nonsense. It is your ego that has created the idea of an afterlife because it is afraid to not exist. A soul, what is a soul? Do animals have souls? Again human egos created idea of souls. Being kind and so forth, is a behaviour rewarded by society, we are a tribal species, hence we feel good when we are kind, our brains reward us with dopamine. Being selfish for or ancestors would have meant kicked out of the tribe and then death. Striving to find happiness is a no brainer, why wouldn't one want to be happy.. Doesn't matter if everything is meaningless, you can still have fun.
@@simon4life764 i know we live after this. if you dont believe we live after this life i cant change that, i can only tell you what i believe. but i know
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Where did you find these images for your video
Nihilism by description and definition according to the philosophers who have analyzes it, it cannot be optimistic. Esp. according to Nietzsche, it's the moment or the state you are in when you realize the death of god, that state of despondency. Nietzsche, says that one should tackle this by being what he called the Free Spirit.
Nihilism is like a very intellectual depression.
that's just absurdism
What would you say is the main difference between optimistic nihilism and absurdism?
Nihilism gives me ease in life. Knowing that nothing matters even if I mess up it won't matter. If I did something wrong in the past it doesn't matter anyways. And if you want to achieve something work for it and achieve it, it will bring you hapiness but in the end it doesn't matter, still aproaching the goal is going to be fun and achieving it even more and if you fail who cares not like it matters. It makes it really easy to move on
Yeah for me it was always about setting goals and becoming very successful but we’re all gonna pass away soon and it’s not like we can bring all of our achievements into the afterlife. Nothing in this corporeal realm means anything to me now. Life to me is to just live it day by day until the day I die.
Nothing to lose ..we all are winners coz we exist.
Great word brother
It's about the journey and enjoying the ride 😮
Give life whatever meaning you want and roll with it😅
Money still matters in this world
Optimistic Nihilism really is the greatest liberation. The notion of being able to find your own meaning when nothing matters is something that really helped me out. I feel free to conform to my own beliefs and values and to do whatever I want. There was a comment I saw in some other video that said "Optimistic Nihilism is like a hardcore Minecraft world. In the end you die, and it'll all disappear, but so what? It was fun while it lasted, and that made it worth it"
But you care about Ukraine out of all things dude😂
But what if it all doesn't disappear after you die? Just czz u haven't experienced doesn't mean its non existant..
Well you'd think, well see about it when it happens... But what if you've lost your chance
What am i? A pessimist
That is just absurdism
@@mildass6173 People pretend to be nothing matters, in fact everything matters. This dude is probably crying for every bullets Putin firing lol
@@MosopiaWhat matters is ultimately subjective. Not objective. For example each second that pass someone has died in the world. Should that matter to me? I will say no since for the most the people that are dying I don’t know them. Or have any clue who they are. So for me subjectively this fact doesn’t even matter.Since I chose to focus on something else and not be bothered by this fact.
Just imagine a glass of beer half full, the pessimist is sad because half of his beer is already gone, the optimist is happy because he still has half of his beer and the nihilist just drinks it and gets another one don't thinking about all that stuff and just enjoying his time.
And he also knows the value in personal development whether his spirit or brain moves on or not.
Or he is stupid.
In other words, focusing on the present moment :)
I kinda see what you're saying here, but in context of this video and differentiating 'pessimistic' Nihilists and Optimistic Nihilists (and there's a 3rd type in the analogy) I don't understand.
So can I say the nword?
this is honestly the mindset i’m striving to have; nothing really matters but it’s fine because we can make something from nothing
In this economy is barely true
@@penguingobrrbrr353the economy doesn’t matter it is outside of your control
Yeah I just live day by day until the day I die. No plans on setting goals or ambitions as nothing in life matters to me but I’ll just be content with what I have and just live it without thinking too much about it.
Yeah! Right to kill!
You’ll love absurdism then.
I never took life seriously. I'm lazy, maybe irresponsible, but I live life in the way it was intended: i take my time, knowing it will run out eventually.
Nothing really matters, except your well being.
Nihilistic people tend to be lazy 😮.
Give whatever meaning you want and roll with it😅
My meaning is this : take your time, for life in itself is meaningless
@@pdcdesign9632i see, then im guilty of this
Yes
Nothing matters except your well being? Your well being doesn't mean squat either, mr nihilist.
I think one thing people dont understand about nihilism is that it works both ways. If nothing matters, then there's no point in suicide, no point in not trying, no point in being depressed, no point in not being the best you can be. Just exist. Life doesnt need meaning for you to live it. Sometimes things just happen. It's okay.
Just dont go too deep into it nihilism, and you should be fine. We dont need more depressed teens misinterpreting it and giving it a bad name
You either go all the way or not at all, if you have any drive to live at all, you cannot be a true nihilist, selfish and self important sure, but true nihilist no. The argument that not existing is the absence of suffering and that you will never experience enough positive to outweigh the negative necessitates a true nihilist to not exist. Which is why Nietzsche was so against nihilism, he knew it bred selfish apathy and a hell worse than non existence. The only direct answer to nihilism I have seen merit in is Camus' concept of rebellion, by which in the face of absurdity and meaningless, one chooses to willingly struggle for the sake of struggling, not for any meaning or reward or expectancy. Anyone claiming to truly believe in nihilism would promptly exit the game of life knowing the simple fact that non existence is preferable given their world view. The lack of any necessity in itself is in fact an argument to remain stationary until one dies of dehydration.
exactly my thoughts
@ngnoiddottv you do more than you think. And why would you need a meaning in the first place? A meaning is nothing but a goal. A place to steer to,but not the end of the path. And when you get to it,what is next?
@@Galvvy its sad how people dont understand. Its not about not caring. Its about not caring about the bad stuff,becouse you know it wont matter
After a period of time living with all of these nihilism energy throughout my quarter's life, there's one thing that i found interesting.
There's the day when you think that even if you've tried your best to pave your life's, or even if you do nothing just to enjoy everything as its be; always find a way to seek for the brightside of everything. This energy to always look out for the brightside is what really moves you forward.
There's nothing wrong either if you decide to move backwards, the thing is none of your relatives/friends/society hoping you to degrades your own life. And that thing works the same for you, even though your ownselves fell deep to the void but you surely have a little hope in your heart for everyone's life that you ever knew.
Acid helped me realize life is both meaningless and meaningful. Nothing really matters but that gives us the ability to make anything matter. Life is like a game and we get to decide the rules. The most important thing to remember though is no matter what you’ll be okay.
haha, kind of like a bad acid trip made better by telling myself I'll be okay once this wears off!
i like stims and ops. Life feels worth living atleast for a while
nobody cares lmao
@@mildass6173 you don’t care corrected it for you (:
@@non-ofyo-business3399 not even your mom cares
"Embracing that none of these things ultimately matter is freeing. Forgive yourself for your past mistakes and look forward, excited to experience the future. Life is precious, beautiful, and awe-inspiring despite its chaos and disorder."
I like this quote because it reminds us to let go of the pressure to find meaning in everything and instead embrace the freedom that comes with accepting the ultimate insignificance of our actions. It encourages us to forgive ourselves, live in the present, and find joy in the small wonders of life.
Optimistic nihilism has been the mindset I've always indulged myself in. It helps dealing with problems in life and pondering useless questions about every single occurrence. It's just as simple as, accept.
this is honestly the best mindset for everyone to have, it's very balanced compared to regular nihilism
Yes
You realize that a nihilistic mindset would permit you to indiscriminately murder people bc nothing matters including human wellbeing. Also your world view doesn’t even have an establishment of what is “better” or “good” in the first place.
Facts
I don't know about everyone else but for me meaninglessness is incredibly liberating. I was set out to be a bright kid, with good parents, and well supported financially. I was free to choose the career I thought I'd like. Everyone, even myself, expected me to lead a great/extraordinary life. Yet I got bored easily and never have a love interest because I don't care much and can't force myself into anything for long. At the present, I am behind my friends both in career path, finance and marriage, yet I don't feel very bothered by it because I am content. Sometimes I wondered if I chose wrong somewhere, am I wasting my life, is there some grand purpose of my life that I ought to fulfill but neglected, did I fail at the test of life? Those questions could cause some stress for my otherwise carefree attitude in life. When embracing that there is no god, life is a meaningless but beautiful accident, I have no grand plan to follow, no reason to rush or worry, and the only certainty is this life that I get to experience, I feel all the worries about future vaporize and the present becomes most beautiful and precious. I don't necessarily love every moment of my life, but I love that I get to live through this unique life that I have.
i read the first lines as if i was describing myself, although i´m still trying to get to the part i feel content, i´m currently stuck thinking i wasted my life...
This is exactly how I feel about basically everything.
Every once in a while, I get jealous of successful people, but then I imagine myself in their shoes, and I just don't want to be stressed out about feeling obligated to care about every little thing I do.
Life is a meaningless but beautiful accident, that phrase is brilliant
Hmm. Hits different after prozac. Fk everything who cares.
I made peace with nihilism I realised if there is no reasonable / meaningful existence then you are the one that makes your existence meaningful. Your everyday actions your feelings , your emotions , your experience bring meaning in life. It kinda made me stronger imo
stronger for what purpose? to die?
@@redpack7694 Strong to have your own purpose in a perpetual cold reality.
I've been talking about this for awhile, I don't remember who I learned about this from, but I've discussed with many and the best way I like to put it into words is that "the only things that matter, are what you make matter to your individual" and if you don't openly choose a happy path, you won't find it.
You can pretend it matters, but that's not objective meaning, which is different than the argument laid out by existentialism.
@@Galvvy I didn't say "pretend", but it's more that you strive for something to have more or less validity through the fluidity with which you can breathe life to said action or belief.
Value is arbitrary. It is assigned by the observer
Nothing is inherently valuable it's all just part of the spectacle 🫥
Throwing In my two cents, the universe is a meaningless arrangement of existence. You do not matter in the big equation, but there are still consequences for your actions. Also existing can be an adventure so don't forget you can enjoy it.
That's one of the tricky paradoxes of life, nothing really matters and at the same time almost everything matters to some extent in specific contexts
Exactly gotta love a good contradiction
it only matters if you decide it does, if you get fired thats fine get a new job, if you get divorced thats fine get a new partner... everything is still temporary, the smaller contexts don't matter either but it is fun to act like they do, to believe in the illusion that something truly matters.
@@DiceDecides if you feel pain, it is not an illusion, it's real as happiness. I think people confuse "having fun" with "not care", and instead think that "suffering" is the result of "care".
@@yared8771 i never said nothing is real, real is not the same as something mattering. You can feel pain and be like "this rly sucks" but at the same time think "it's temporary and it won't matter in the far end". Strange concept in the first place that something "matters", if to achieve a goal sure things matter but not in the absolute sense. And since all the goals dont matter in the end then the specific contexts don't actually matter either, but I play into the illusion like everyone else because life is just richer that way.
@@DiceDecides yes. Now I get what you mean. Right ✅ I got it
It's so difficult to be nihilistic sometimes, especially optimistic nihilism. Sometimes I just forget and then start ruminating/worrying about some random temporary concept.
But who cares, nothing matters.
❤
Ive been subconsciously following this mindset for years, and didn't realize it, thanks for enlightening me, this has changed nothing.
I had this mindset for the last few years. They were some of the best years of my life. Know I am more stuck in my head than ever before. Needed this reminder. Thank you. Keep it up
I'm so glad you' made a video about this; Kurzgesagt has covered optimistic nihilism before and I have yet to find an essay-style video on this topic since then. Thank you!
I've read some of the most "depressing" philosophers in the History of Western metaphysics: From Schopenhauer to Nietzsche to Sartre to Derrida. And in all of them I've found happiness.
Militant atheism is just as religion as christianity.
@@Alireza_farhoudi Really? You don’t see us gather every week and worship a sky daddy; where is our church? Where is our tax exemption? Where is our bible? you don’t see us going to war and murdering millions; you don’t see us attacking someone because they’re not an atheist. Atheism is reaction to the stupidity of religion. I can go on but I think point’s been made.
@@Alireza_farhoudiwho asked
the only person that would seem to fit that bill of being "depressing" would be schopenhauer and even then he at least suggested some solution to happiness
which is basically just his interpretation of buddhist philosophy mixed with "living healthy"
So we can say that optimistic nihlism is Albert Camus's ABSURDISM in a way where we know that there is no meaning but we keep looking for it anyway.
I’d say specifically it’s the recognition and acceptance of our relative insignificance and lack of objective meaning in life, then creating our own meaning relevant to ourselves
Camus never said to search for meaning, he in fact realized that people do that (which induces more suffering and why he heavily disagreed with other exitentialists who believed meaning could be conjured or procured like Sartre.) What he actually said, was to accept the lack of any inherent meaning, but to strive none the less within the natural order of life for its own sake. Which is the journey not the destination solving the definition of "meaning."
@@Galvvy Yes, I love Camus' philosophy in the sense that it doesn't even put pressure on an individual to create meaning for oneself, but rather revolt the meaninglessness by embracing and find joy in the nature of it.
@@Galvvy in other words, ENJOY THE RIDE while it lasts. *****************
No, it's like the Taoist attitude towards life without belief in the Tao.
I’ve always struggled to put my belief of this into words that aren’t harsh and ugly.
This video was wonderful
Nothing matters, so there’s no point worrying about it. Embrace the moment to moment spontaneity and creativity life brings. Enjoy the time you do have
My biggest problem is that I relive all the times in the past where I have subjectively embarrassed myself. I am desperately trying to learn to let those moments go in order to not spend so much time agonizing over what I should've done differently. I recognize that these instances are when I was child, naive, ignorant, or just among the wrong peanut gallery. What I said in class when I was 16 is not something I would say now. Or what I did a few weeks ago taught me to not do it again. Yes, my mistakes give me meaningful feedback but, ultimately, the mistake is meaningless to the rest of the world. In order to let go, I need to try to understand that it is meaningless to hold onto it. That's what I am working on so I am not getting headaches thinking about something so insignificant. I believe in the concept of Nihilism (every version of it) but I resonate with the concept of Optimistic Nihilism.
“Nothing matters 😔” vs “nothing matters so you may as well have fun 😁👍”
This optimistic Nihilism mindset keeps me less depressed and less stressful in life about things
Over the last year I began a fresh philosophical journey that sort of kicked off after several traumatic events, and it's interesting (and validating) to find this video because nihilism really resonated with me, but in trying to summarize to people how I was personally experience it, I found it challenging to emphasize the optimism and liberation I have been finding in it. So, thanks - nice to know this is a "thing"!
This channel has had one of the greatest impacts of my life. It has completely changed how I view the world around me. Extremely grateful ❤
I find this video to be uncomfortably comforting. The thought of nihilism isn't new to me. It's what I believe in but struggle accepting. This video helps me to do just that. And only then I can move on. Thank you for making it, Aperture.
Sometimes I feel like life is like one of those movies that drags on well beyond where it should have ended.
its all pointless
Develop your mind and soul as much as you can in this life, because it will live on in another environement.
That's called depression
When stress and anxiety overshadows everything. Take some stuff. Occasional benzos completely give a new perspective to life.
@@aGenericBananabenzos wont fix nothing man
i unknowingly became nihilistic at the age of 12 and it has improved me so much and made my life much better
"I tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn't even matter
I had to fall to lose it all
But in the in it doesn't even matter"
- Chester Binnington
When I was little I grew up in domestic violence. My mother drank a lot. I had to grow up at the age of 5. I didn't have time to pretend to be innocent when my whole world was going to hell. I learned to not trust my surroundings, and learned that nobody cared if I lived, or died. I learned that it didn't matter if anyone loved me, because everybody had the same temporary attitude. I just live my life today, because I'm here now.
"Once you realize that nothing matters the universe is yours"
I think this sounds very informed by your experience of "ego death" you mentioned in an earlier episode after a pscychodelic experience. The idea of nihilism does get levied on those who've had spiritual awakenings as well, and it does seem nehilistic in some ways to hear some of the "talking points" coming out of certain communities, like so-called "neo-advaita." What I hear often from these folks is that nothing matters, because nothing is really happening, there are no people doing things, there's nothing to do, no one to do it, etc. I've also heard it phrased in a way that we are all just like characters in a dream. The dream seems real to us and has its own set of rules, but it's not ultimately real an in "absolute" sense. The main takeway being that you can and should have fun in the dream, do whatever you want, but it's still isn't nice to be mean to people and cause people to suffer intentionally and unnecessarily, but ultimately everything that's happening, good AND bad is all still "perfect" - but maybe just as part of a dream? From a non-awakened person who hasn't had any shifts in reality, it's hard to make a ton of "sense" about this stuff, but then again, these are things that you aren't supposed to really cognitively "understand" but rather "realize" in a "knowing" that goes beyond cogntition. You might call it experiential understanding, but nondualists quibble about that word because they contend that there's no one actually experiencing, there's only the experience or happening - only the hearing, only the seeing, no hearer, seer, seen, or heard.
This point of view also asserts no real "meaning" to life, the universe, and everything. Or perhaps the meaning is whatever you decide it should be "within the dream." The point being that you understand that you are in a dream and so to a certain extent you get to make the rules - at least around how you think, not around how things work physically, etc.
I've always wondered what the difference between optimistic nihilism and absurdism. But now realize that the first simply means doing whatever because nothing matters while the other is accepting nothing matters but still trying to enjoy it with the struggle as the point all along.
Yes Nihilism is all is permitted, murder, robbery, heinous sexual crimes whatever you want because consequences are also meaningless. Absurdism is living to the fullest extent within the guiding principle of the struggle for its own sake, while still retaining the morality of the heart.
😅
@@GalvvyAll IS permitted in the grand scheme of things, that is demonstrably true by the fact that there are people that do those things. Those that dont do these things, dont do them either because they simply do not want to, for whatever reason, or they dont want to face the concequences imposed on them by other people. The universe couldnt care less.
@@soleo2783The universe couldn't care less, but people affected by those things do care. You care what happens to you (atleast on a survival level), it is better for you if other people are doing well(rising waters raises all ships). Therefore while everything is meaningless, it is literally better for you and your offspring to live as tho consequences matter.
@@Kainpound In some cases i agree, but that contradict what i said.
When real tragedy inevitably hits you, all this vague optimism will quickly evaporate because it has literally nothing to stand on. Right now you are just too comfortable to realize it.
I mean thats kind of the point hat this optimism has nothing to stand it. Its a though mental challenge, but imo with one of the biggest rewards. For this optimism you have to look beyond your own insignificant life.
That's how life works, buddy. We're aware that tragedy will come. But you know what will happen? We'll deal with it like everyone else does.
As someone who had an issue with developing tilts it prevents it majorly. focus on the good things and ignore the bad things and your life becomes better.
I always appreciate your educational and informative way of putting things that ends up making me just a bit more optimistic in life. I definitely needed this video right now and I appreciate the tools we're gaining knowledge you shout out. I'm definitely more of an optimistic nihilism because I realized the meaninglessness of life but I am able to do anything I want in the time allotted to me.
The greatest aspect of optimistic nihilism is it keeps you going in life, no matter what. So in a way, it’s a moral compass or at least part of one.
Life doesn't matter after watching this video we all know that much, then again we keep searching for things that makes us happy. Having a bad day or a good day doesn't matter, because everything is going to end once your gone. People who knows you now will disappear too, your entire existence will disappear one day, then what's the point in worrying about it now. It won't change a thing.
Missed this content from Aperture. Thanks so much for returning to your roots.
(space videos next, pls?)
good topic, i do think about this every single day. i try my best to be optimistic sometimes, i am sometimes i am not. nihilist through and through. being an optimistic nihilist is the only way forward. choosing things that actually has meaning to you, even if it has no meaning, when looking at the bigger picture.
Playing “the long game” and thinking about humanity smallness compared to the vastness of the universe can help some
I’m personally more on board with humanity being awesome and we’re gonna shake this universe to its core
I was an optimistic nihilist when I was a child and only knew Catholicism. I was able to accept it My life was terrible and painful but none of that mattered because this world was a drop in the bucket compared to eternity in heaven. Losing that crushed me and nothing is ever really replaced it
I used to think and say nothing matters and I do from time to time but it really means I want something to matter.
I think our own personal development/knowledge is what really matters. Learn what you can from everything because our energy never dies.
i really love videos on topics like this from you so much. your voice is almost therapeutic and the writing is on par with it
So glad your covering this
Love your content Aperture keep up the hard work 🐐
I suffer from depression and ever since I discovered Nihilism and Stoicism it's helped me a lot.
Hope you can recover!
Here's what i get from this video
Instead of thinking "life is meaningless, why bother?" Start thinking "might as well have fun while we're here"
never have been a fan of lables but optimistic nihilism pretty much summarizes what i think. there's no overarching purpose in life, no big picture, but at the same time what change does that make? enjoy your life, don't waste it worrying about "waa muh life's purpose" or "waa theres no point in trying"
I feel like I relate to this. In my view life is a game and death is the leaderboard. If none of it matters so may as well go for a high score or something. your score isn’t something you take with you when you go but simply the legacy you leave behind weather good or bad Popular or unknown it doesn’t matter you won’t be here to see the results so just have fun for the time being. Everything being meaningless means you can assign meaning to things. And it also teaches you to embrace the meaningless as our time is limited. Truthfully meaninglessness may be our meaning
The things that i fear is not so much the nihilism, but the apathy. i have a very hard time breaking away from the apathy. So the video of a perspective of using nihilism from a positive frame was refreshing. Life is tuff. My faith is a compass my nihilism is a path. May the destination be satisfying.
Yeah I didn't realize this but I guess I'm an optimistic nihilist with a touch of anthropic principlism.
For some years now, my conclusion has been that in this vast, grand universe, our menial lives mean little to nothing in the greater scheme of things, yet also it's for this exact reason that life simultaneously means everything.
At the same time, it is our role in our lives to create our own meaning, and without us the universe just simply exists. We are the universe's eyes, ears, heart and soul, and for that we should be ever grateful.
These days I look at the relative meaninglessness of everything and can't help but to chuckle a bit. Here I am worried about this girl, my finances, family, friends, kids, cats, and everything that creates meaning for me in my life both good and bad, and it's all just nothing. The universe both doesn't care in the slightest and cares entirely about these things, as I am a manifestation of a part of said universe.
🧿✌️🕊️
As an optimistic nihlist, I will say, "you hit the nail on the head, when you said, 'Embrace the nothingness.'"
When I learned how to embrace the nothing and jump into the void, only to find nothing was when I found peace.
No more pressure to find 'God's Will, my destiny or some great meaning... just blissful meaningless.
Life has no meaning. We are born, we die and we should find a way to enjoy the time in-between.
Our lives can weigh so heavy on us because we are so caught up in it. What helps is stop taking everything so serious, every feeling is temporary. Why do we think our lives are so significant, so remarkable? You are literally just one person living his life out of 8 Billion people on earth.
Thanks for giving a name to what I’ve been feeling for a while now! Actually, ever since I read the book Existential Kink. After years of Law of Attraction and other spiritual stuff, it’s been freeing and a huge relief to realize that I don’t actually NEED ANYTHING, because in the end it doesn’t really matter anyway…AND, through realizing this and letting my grip loosen, my life has changed for the better (and I got more of the things I wanted and am much happier).
We will always support this channel. They've got what it takes to break down boundaries.
Ignorance is bliss..only idiots are happy.
My personal understanding of this is, Embrace the Void.
If nothing matters, that is a reflect of everything mattering allowing more possiilities to assign matter too. Aspects that hold significance.
It’s always a good day when aperture uploads some mind bending shit
Fascinating video. I have been struggling for years with the meaninglessness of life, perhaps I could call myself a "negative nihilist". But being a "positive nihilist" seems to be a wonderful way to look into my life. I think you may have inspired me to explore this view with my therapist.
To believe in optimistic nihilism is easy, but to truly embrace it is exceedingly difficult.
Thank you for explaining it the right way. Everyone thinks denialism means you are excused from your wrongdoings but has nothing to do with it.
I became a true nihilist after my retirement. I was an atheist since childhood, but I still searched. I continually looked for the "end game". One day I woke up and realized I didn't really give a shit about much. I realized I'm just living day to day. It's freeing, win or lose, doesn't matter. I can still stress over day to day stuff and I still have a very inquisitive mind, it's just my process during life.
One thing nihilism destroys is greed, you know damn well you aren't taking anything with you after you're dead, and no need to die "on top".
I believe most people need religion though, they need to be governed and kept in check or it would be total anarchy.
*"I believe most people need religion though, they need to be governed and kept in check or it would be total anarchy."*
... As a nihilist, why would anarchy matter?
@@0-by-1_Publishing_LLC I understand your point. I've thought it over. Perhaps I would be fine with the rest of humanity in anarchy, but I sure do like my peace and quiet.
@@charlesdeal771 *"Perhaps I would be fine with the rest of humanity in anarchy, but I sure do like my peace and quiet."*
... That is a "value assessment" which contradicts nihilism. You "value" peace and quiet over anarchy. But for the nihilist, "peace and quiet" and "anarchy" should be equally irrelevant and meaningless, correct?
The instant you value one over the other you are no longer a nihilist.
@@0-by-1_Publishing_LLC Guess that means I'm not a nihilist by the rule book. No biggie, Maybe my "belief" system can't be defined.
Although I'm still inquisitive enough to find another explanation.
I'm really thankful to hear those words :) Really thankful I subscribed to Aperture on the first hand :)) Thankyou
Living your life the way you want to shouldn’t be a revolutionary concept but it is. Do what makes happy unless you want to be unhappy then you can do that too ig.
Nihilism sounds so freeing... Definitely need to look into this more.
The thought of nothing mattering in the long run feels so relieving. Thank you for this video. ❤️
Aperture,
Can you do a video on the fact that adults always tell teenagers "I know it feels like the end of the world"? Speaking as a teenager, I understand that my problems and emotions seem petty and insignificant compared to those of full grown adults, but if we are meant to learn responsibility and maturity, shouldn't our elders spend less time telling us that our problems are small and more time helping us get through them?
Whether or not someone should help really all depends on the severity of the situation. These smaller problems, should be left to you, it will help you gain confidence in yourself and give you a sense of control. It also depends on what we mean by "small" problem.
@@_Dolichenus :)
This served me really well in life into my early-mid thirties... then I tried to write a novel and MAN it's hard to make a fictional story whose lesson is "Nothing matters" that isn't just Hitchhiker's Guide but crappier.
Isn't optimistic nihilism another term for apsurdism. I was staring in nihilism about a year ago and then i discovered apsurdism by Albert Camus. It really changed my perspective on a lot of things. In the meantime i have forgotten about apsurdism and I started to be depressed. This video reminded me of filozofy of optimistic nihilism or apsurdism. This was really strong video to me. Thank you.
Coming across this made me chuckle. As I’ve jokingly referred to myself as being an optimistic nihilist.
Primarily because I felt in the grand scheme of things humans are insignificant and exist in an uncaring random universe. To think otherwise felt egotistical.
Did that mean I should fall into depressed nihilism. Nope. Humans are special and unique and should celebrate it. Look with wonder and not ego at the universe.
If anything, this means we should treasure each other and be as compassionate as possible. Because we’re so rare and we are all we have.
I do not understand how anyone thinks this way. How could you possibly see purposlessness as a positive thing?
Do you give yourself purpose? How is that not just finding religion with extra steps? How do you know your chosen purpose is correct? How do you know you’re not just deceiving yourself to try and feel better about the sheer magnitude of the hopelessness of your situation? It’s like being stranded in the middle of the ocean and saying, “well I can still swim so I’m okay.”
It sounds like dissociation in an attempt to defend against terror.
It's going good to have purpose nothing wrong
No, it's actually the opposite. Nihilism postulates that nothing matters in the end, and that there is no "purpose" nothing is special and you are just a coincidence. Might as well just make it better if I don't matter. Might as well just live life to the fullest if it doesn't matter. In the end, we will all ultimately cease to exist. Different people might have different views about Nihilism, but personally, it's alleviates my problems and reassures me that it's okay...
@@truthloversseekers That doesn’t make sense to me. If nothing matters then, “living life to the fullest,” is not only futile, but impossible.
@@TheNightWatcher1385 I think you couldn't fathom me quite well. I am talking about optimistic or active Nihilism (Happiness oriented Nihilism), not pessimistic or the generally conceived Nihilism. The former's very essence is encapsulated in the motto "Life doesn't matter, so give it your best"
@@truthloversseekers If you’ve found some way to make it work, more power to you I guess. To me it sounds like if you were falling to the ground from a great height, you know you can’t fly, but you decide to flap your arms anyway, even though that has no bearing on the outcome.
The idea that optimism makes nihilism any better is actually funny.
I'm sure that optimism will provide great comfort and reason to persist adversity when life lays you low and nothing matters and nobody cares.
This has been my view point for a while now. I find it makes me happier to accept it, and live the best version I can, of this strange thing we call existence.
This video literally summarizes my brain in the past three months months
Life is passing , exams are coming and going yet nothing keeps getting better. Depression is growing.
It's got in my head that every story i think of the protagonist will be center so I keep trying to push him aside untill he is no longer has a role, i have thousands of thoughts why then he would be the protagonist then i realised that in the protagonist I want myself but I am meaningless in my thoughts. Why am I so, then i searched till I found this is optimistic 😁 nihilism knowing all this meaningless no matter what I do still keep doing is the best self. Thanks for you i have a name for my feelings inside heart.
being part of a world void of meaning, isn't meaningless - it empowers you to fill it with meaning, if you dare
Just want to say, THANK YOU APERTURE, your all videos are well written and explained. Never stop making them. ❤❤
I'm a Nihilist. It doesn't affect me negatively because I am also a Stoic and a Taoist.
You choose life's meaning. So you better choose wisely.
You say "Nihilism is meant to be temporary" but that is not true. You grow into an "active nihilist" after conquering "passive nihilism."
The passive nihilist says "life has no inherent meaning, we are lost" and the active (optimistic) nihilist says "life has no inherent meaning, we are free."
How can someone claim to be a nihilist then say something like "you better...". Really? You better? It's doesn't matter, so that statement makes zero sense in the context of Nihilism. There is no such thing as "you better" because it does not matter. We will all be gone and dust anyway so who cares.
Thanks for the great content. I really appreciate the way you make the visuals fit into the things you are saying. 😊
NO WAY you made this video! Your first video was great and it covered nihilism but not so much of the optimistic side. That first video came to my mind a few days ago and I wondered how many people know about optimistic nihilism which is the way I also think. Thank you.
As a gamer I understand. Once i beat the final boss there is nothing left i have won. I feel an emptiness in that my goal is completed. As a Christian I realize the difference here. There is literally more for me to strive for. Its about the difference that I made and hopefully the souls I saved along the way. All else is distractions. Distractions that I admittedly spend way to much time on.
@@escapefrombabylon1182 what do you think on it? I recently turned 31. Been baptized for 25ish years. Been to church every day. I try to read my Bible often but I always fall off. I hold onto every verse I remember but I've never really dived. I have been married for 1 year and actively trying for a child but I dont feel like I'm really leading. I feel like I've always lived life on autoplay. After a small bout of depression I've taken to only living life for the current day.
@@escapefrombabylon1182 i value my friends and family above all and would do anything for them but I dont feel like I do enough to better myself for them
I'd say that while devotion to your faith is admirable, it should not go so far as to try to convert, or rather, "save" others. Developing your personal relationship with your own God should be front and center, while you let God handle and sort out those that don't believe.
I'm agnostic but I fundamentally believe in consequences, so, if God DOES exist and we are all forfeit, it's not your fault.
Don't be concerned with saving people's souls religiously. Be concerned with saving their souls on an earthly plane by being kind and fostering generosity and empathy, and hopefully passing that bug along.
@@joshreyes3624 isn't saving souls the end all be all of our life. After all why would God not just take us to live with him, and spare us the trouble of life, immediately upon salvation but to save others.
@@escapefrombabylon1182 thank you
THIS VIDEO IS ACTUALLY LIFE CHANGING. THANKS MAN. LOVE YOU
This is a certified absurdist moment of all time
My personal way of thinking is not that life itself doesn't matter. But that life doesn't have a general meaning.
A lot of people think that life needs to have some ultimate meaning in the grand scheme of things. But I don't believe that life has any general meaning. But that is a good thing. Because it means you get to choose what life means to you. That there isn't some ultimate goal you should be working towards but that you get to choose your own goals.
So not exactly nihilism, but nihilism inspired.
Optimistic and Nihilism are two excluding terms that cancel each other out. Either you face life with the foreseen conviction that whatever shitty situation will be soon to pass, or just bundle yourself into fetal position and lay wheresoever you may be, which is the nihilistic depressed cousin that follows, named pessimism.
The one will eventually lead to the other. There are no gray areas, there is no middle point. Crawl towards nothingness or face life with the realism that life's cycles do changes from one spectrum towards the other.
"Do or do not; there is no try"
nihilism is not inherently pessimistic. It literally means “belief in nothin,” and is most often used in an existential context to describe the belief that there is no meaning to life or the universe. The term in definition has nothing to do with pessimism or optimism, but it has been associated with nihilism because it rejects our desire for meaning and intuition that meaning exists. However, one can still be optimistic as a nihilist.
"That nothing will be clear and bright; a guiding light into a better, yet fleeting life" Sounds like a Ghost lyric and I love it
Nihilism: Nothing matters
Optimistic Nihilism: Since nothing matters, you're free to assign value to whatever you want. So you don't have to feel like you've wasted your life playing video games and reading comic books. It made you happy. So it mattered. And if it mattered to you, you mattered too.
Wow beautiful video very well edited one of ur best omg. Such a treat to look at and listen to music with voice over. Luv aperture🎉
I think this resembles stoicism at some point. Just live with yourself, the outside doesn't matter, it means nothing in the end anyway ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
The way you keep sowing your ads in is great!
So basically make up a purpose with no backing to it. A made up purpose. A makeshift salvation with nothing but deception. To delude yourself with a temporary peace of mind. I find that pretty pathetic.
Edit: let me rephrase my statement. I just don't understand when people say life is nothing but then try to make up something. I don't buy that they actually believe in something. In my eyes they are just trying to cope and deep down are sad. So I don't believe anyone actually believes in something while believing in nothing. Deep down they know they are coping. The reason why I say pathetic, I mean the hypocrisy itself is pathetic. I hate hypocrisy. It's in the realm of lies, and delusion. But it's whatever since almost everyone is a hypocrite. I don't really care that much though I just wanted to unload my thoughts.
What other option is there?
You find it pathetic? You do it everyday.
The "backing" doesn't need to exist objectively. The backing to it would be one's own free will/autonomy.
@AzureWolf168 that's exactly what I mean. It's like a ball is coming to hit your head, so you close your eyes and pretend it's not their even though you know it's there
@AzureWolf168 That's the same thing as what I was replying to, unless you believe in a higher power or reincarnation, purpose is made up by human imagination
the fact that anyone can say that nothing matters and it's ok is funny asf to me because it is contradicting statement. If we are here to simply give our selves a made up purpose, wouldn't that in itself be the purpose why we are here?
thats not the point of optimistic nihilism. Its says not that you should just create your own sense, it says finding joy in the absence of sense.
@@nayjer2576 What I was pointing out was the fact that there is a point to our existence and believing that there isn't a point is just plan wrong
@@MrKDon-rz1ef Ah ok, yes then you are still lulled into illusions.
@@nayjer2576 even Illusions have a purpose think about it
@@MrKDon-rz1ef Nah, it won't last long and can push you into a depressive whore if you are not carefull. Or it makes you stupid, for example if you believe in a random god and must think anyone else must be stupid to not do like yourself.
Need this, perfect timing, thanks
I prefer to be a Christian rather than being a nihilist because it's better putting my faith on someone who promises me internal life if I believe rather than not believing in anything at all but simply dieing and hope to feel nothing after death
I believe that Christianity is superior to optimistic nihilism in the sense that optimistic nihilism crumbles when confronted with the overwhelming force of tragedy. Sure, their rational minds can say "it does not matter," but matter of fact is that the inner world has been severely wounded. I would find it hard to believe that such people are incapable of feeling negative emotion. In the end, it really did matter.
@@_Dolichenus yes it does the ability to simply not believe in anything and just go with wat the world presents isn't really satisfying as humans we want to live to have a fulfilling life and an entertaining one at that and if GOD is able to promise us that and all we need to do is believe in his son Jesus Christ I'd take that offer and gift instead dieing in a life that couldn't be entertaining or exiting for me to enjoy
Everyone has something to care about and nothing escapes it. To not change is to care about remaining the same, if you dont then you shifted your care to change. Not caring has to be a form of care for those willing to stick with it because if you dont care about not caring then you care about caring.
My brain is not braining while reading this. 😕
If you are not in the financial market space right now, you are making a huge mistake. I understand that it could be due to ignorance,but if you want to make your money work for you...prevent inflation
I'm really confused, especially in market analysis,how are people using trading with them?
Jane Roy is the woman I’ve been trading my coins with for the past few months I started with her last year
Wow, i'm shocked you mentioned Mrs Jane Roy , she is also my current broker and she earns 10,500$ for me weekly
Yes I am a living testimony of Jane Roy. Jane has changed my financial status for the best. All thanks to my aunty who introduced me to her last year
To obtain a financial freedom, One needs to be a business owner, an investor, or both,generating passive income, particularly on a monthly basis
As my favorite singer once wrote in a song, "life is meaningless, thus you alone are free to make up your own meaning" (roughly translated)
Nihilism is a fallacy. When following your train of thought you can maneuver a bit, saying "but still", however this attitude doesnt work when faced with the reality of life. if im sitting at home doing nothing its easy to follow any philosophy because it never comes into question. When you try to live though, you ll get challenged and it will boggle your mind, it happens to me almost every day. When trying to think about things in a wider scope, nihilism fails. Why should you be good or benevolent if nothing matters? Does being kind make you happy? Why should you strive to be happy, it doesnt matter anyway. Humanity crumbles when we stop considering our soul. When we deny that we are meant to be something more than what we are at any given moment. They say its a matter of perspective but perspective will only last you so long in face of fact. You can cope momentarily thinking you had fun in your life but if you deny that eternity follows death, you realise this joy is fleeting and it fades with this realisation. If you assume there is no purpose to any of this, why is it "ok"? Its not ok, thats a cope and nothing more. If you accept nihilism you can doubt everything, and reach evil this way. Digging deep enough you will see the evil of nihilism surfacing in different scenarios. In a totally self centered approach i could say "oh, being kind makes me happy" but does that matter? no nothing matters. So i can murder people on a whim. did the fact that i was upset matter? no, nothing matters, not even my own emotions because the soul doesnt exist. The fact that an ideology has the potential for this makes it evil. If you try to bargain by saying "oh but i dont interpret it like this" then you accept only the surface level traits of it, the "nothing matters so i can move on from past mistakes" right? So the ideology is flawed and requires a partial look for very few apothegms to have the slightest application in real life. "Nothing matters" is not a relief, its an excuse for our ego to survive unharmed as we go live the worst life possible. To make something out of nothing is impossible and its not whats happening in our lives. There is something there, as there was something when the universe was born. The problem is we dont focus on that something. We stick to the material things, and now, when people realise its unnatural they go ahead and say nothing matters. Thats not true. The material things dont matter. What matters is our soul. The love for each other, making sure our co humans can live in a utopia in the afterlife. So when you say nothing matters, in your soulless perception of existence, you meant the material world. to that i agree. this world doesnt matter. But the next one does, and so our life, and our souls matter, because thats when we will meet our true purpose and be with each other and God and experience existence in full and true bliss, instead of this phony fleeting substitute for joy delegacy we experience now
Nonsense.
It is your ego that has created the idea of an afterlife because it is afraid to not exist.
A soul, what is a soul? Do animals have souls? Again human egos created idea of souls.
Being kind and so forth, is a behaviour rewarded by society, we are a tribal species, hence we feel good when we are kind, our brains reward us with dopamine.
Being selfish for or ancestors would have meant kicked out of the tribe and then death.
Striving to find happiness is a no brainer, why wouldn't one want to be happy..
Doesn't matter if everything is meaningless, you can still have fun.
in the long run nothing matters but we don't live in the long run. We live in here and now
@@simon4life764 i know we live after this. if you dont believe we live after this life i cant change that, i can only tell you what i believe. but i know