Nihilism (pronounced /ˈnaɪ.əlɪzəm/ or /ˈniː.əlɪzəm/; from the Latin nihil, nothing) is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life[1] is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value. Moral nihilists assert that morality does not inherently exist, and that any established moral values are abstractly contrived. Nihilism can also take epistemological, metaphysical or ontological forms, meaning respectively that, in some aspect, knowledge is not possible or that contrary to our belief, some aspect of reality does not exist as such.
The term nihilism is sometimes used in association with anomie to explain the general mood of despair at a perceived pointlessness of existence that one may develop upon realizing there are no necessary norms, rules, or laws.[2] Movements such as Futurism and deconstruction,[3] among others, have been identified by commentators as "nihilistic" at various times in various contexts.
Nihilizam je, najuopštenije shvaćeno, negiranje nečega stavom da to ne postoji. Konkretnije je, međutim, nihilizam povezan s filozofskim gledištima iznad opisanim: kako život zapravo nema nikakvu "višu" svrhu, kako ne postoje nikakve ultimativne vrednosti za koje se treba boriti, kako zapravo ne postoji moral već je on iskonstruiran kroz društvo, kako ne postoji nikakva realna stvarnost ili neki njezini aspekti za koje verujemo da postoje, i sl. Odatle se uvrežila i popularna, svakodnevna upotreba te reči, gde pod nihilizmom uopšte podrazumevamo one, često ciničke, stavove o bespredmetnosti i besmislu života. U tom značenju je i nihilista u toj tvojoj izreci: umre sretan onaj koji veruje da život i nema nikakvoga smisla niti vrednosti; a oni koji veruju u smisao života i u vrednosti za koje se i bore, umiru nesretni jer znaju da ih nikada nisu uspeli dokraja ostvariti.
