why does the person on the left look like john wilkes booth?
jokes on you i swing between the 2 like a metronome regardless of how well things are going
Maybe surrealists can answer this?
Potato
I’d actually not heard of absurdism until now. I’ve considered myself an optimistic nihilist for some time so this sent me down a nice research rabbit hole regarding absurdism and its overlap and differences with optimistic nihilism. I’d give you two upvotes if I could for the stimulating morning!
One must imagine sisyphis happy
have the same question but I’m too lazy to search, cound you help a fellow lemming by tldr the concept?
You know that meme of the two guys looking out the bus window, one at a grey cliff, the other at a mountain Vista? It’s that. Cliff guy is thinking “Nothing matters 😫” and Vista guy is thinking “Nothing matters 😂”
The way I understand it is absurdism maintains it’s necessary to embrace the absurdity of existence and laugh in its face. Optimistic Nihilism says nothing matters, so might as well be happy.
I’m likely really oversimplifying and am misspeaking, but that’s what I learned this am.
Thank you!!!
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what about those of us who embrace absurdism while things are going poorly and active nihilism when they’re going well?
Absurdism is a kind of nihilism. And Nietzsche was not a nihilist.
Nihilism is one of those words that used to have a precise academic meaning, but that meaning has been hopelessly confused by common usage. Academics should make a new word for nihilism.
It’s also a stereotype that nihilists are depressed. Because nihilists know that it doesn’t matter that it doesn’t matter.
Nietzsche was not a nihilist. Nor was he a proponent of retreating when things get bad. Quite the opposite: his whole thing was about affirming your situation and living with high vitality - regardless of what life throws your way.
Why not both all the time?
That’s what I was thinking looking at this meme. Being both is the only logical thing.
I think that’s pretty similar to Optimistic Nihilism except some subtle differences.
For a long time I didn’t like Nihilism because of the implied negativity. There’s no god, no reason no ultimate judge. So it says behave as you like, and I somehow read it as “don’t care about anyone else”.
Just I feel better when I treat people nicely, when I’m not an asshole. Not out of fear, but because I like to.
It was so eye opening when I found out this is known as optimistic nihilism.
This is the world. Shit happens, good things happen. There is no deeper reason behind it. Things are not important. I can make the world my hell or my playground.
Ehhhh maybe for some but I definitely hit both of the poles and I’m definitely not optimistic about anything.
yeah i was kind of the opposite: became an absurdist because things were going wrong, was a nihilist when they were going right.
Just up here watching from solipsism as you weird automated entities go about your business.
You shouldn’t be nihilistic when things are going wrong, things going wrong are often a product of nihilistic actions.
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It’s like looking in a mirror.
