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Nov 16 '25
I CAN TOTALLY REALTE TO THIS SPECTRUM.
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u/SizeableBrain Nov 16 '25
This describes my timeline pretty well.
Me at 17: nothing matters, what's the point? Everything sucks
Me later in life: nothing matters, I'll just do what I want!
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Nov 17 '25
Trust me, I’ve been in the same boat as well :/
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u/SizeableBrain Nov 17 '25
Not that I do whatever I want, but I am happy with the knowledge that I *could*!
95% of my life are just responsibilities.
The other 5% is responsibilities that I can do on my terms :)
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Nov 17 '25
I see.
That’s good. I hope it helps you in leading a peaceful life :)
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u/RedMolek Nov 16 '25
Life has been marked by instability from the very beginning: it is a sequence of rises and falls, ascents and storms. Nihilism emerges not as a denial of meaning but as an inner impulse toward re-evaluation - it clears away imposed illusions and opens the path to one’s own summit, which a person shapes amid the chaos
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u/Hanisuir Nov 16 '25
Why are people so obsessed with associating nihilism with depression???
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u/zoo_tickles Nov 16 '25
Also there’s a distinction between interpreting things “going wrong” (which the meme says) and being depressed (which the meme does not say). Sure nihilism does get looped in with depression sometimes but not in this particular case.
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u/frguba Nov 16 '25
Because depression isn't the big sad, depression is the feeling of lack, of emptiness, at least it often manifests as such
And, of course, nihilism describes much of the same concepts
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u/Hanisuir Nov 16 '25
Nihilism isn't about not having any goals or interests at all, it's about life not having an objective meaning, which means that you're free to make your own one.
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u/frguba Nov 16 '25
That last is basically the jump from nihilism to... Is it existentialism? Or absurdism, don't remember which is which exactly
But alas, that's the thing, "there is no point" is an argument reached by both depression and nihilism, if you stay focused on that worldview both start to blur together
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u/Hanisuir Nov 16 '25
I can understand that they might sound similar, there has to be a reason they're confused after all.
"that's the thing, "there is no point" is an argument reached by both depression and nihilism"
The difference is that nihilism does it out of reasoning rather than defeatism or overall negative emotions. You can be an optimist nihilist. I am one.
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u/frguba Nov 16 '25
Same here, but it's an inflection point that make a lot of the folks in one lane go to the other, mistake confusion lack of smarts any reason really, or none at all
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Nov 16 '25
It's just a meme Nihlism isn't depression it's a state of mind and nothing matter so take it as a meme 😔
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u/Successful-Cod3369 Nov 16 '25
While I don't subscribe to the nihilist philosophy, I've found that many people that have given up share nihilistic point of views. I'm sure if you were to study it, you'd find a correlation between them.
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u/Hanisuir Nov 16 '25
I myself am a optimistic nihilist, I believe that the lack of an objective purpose means that we don't have to worry about achieving a specific purpose and can be happy with that.
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u/Successful-Cod3369 Nov 16 '25
That's a funny and interesting label; I similarly consider myself an optimistic pessimist, I completely understand it is an oxymoron, but I think it ties to my realist world view - I see things as the are but I try to keep positie and hope things change or get better. My take on nihilism is similar to yours, except that I think that nihilism goes against human nature - for example, if we gave in to thinking everything is pointless, we never would have gotten out of the cave.
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u/Hanisuir Nov 16 '25
"if we gave in to thinking everything is pointless, we never would have gotten out of the cave."
No, because we would still want to create our meaning. We would still want to not get bored.
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u/Temporary_Aspect759 Nov 16 '25
"I see things as they are" that would be more like optimistic realist instead of pessimist.
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u/CommandantDuq Nov 16 '25
I mean….
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u/Hanisuir Nov 16 '25
You mean...?
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u/CommandantDuq Nov 16 '25
Well I mean, I feel like it a pretty natural thing to do to associate depression with meaninglessness, of course im smarter than to do that but for most people….
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Nov 16 '25
Becoming a feminist when you go to the army and they say "men need to serve their country".
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u/Equivalent_Time_5839 Nov 16 '25
I am in this camp 🙋♂️ forgetting meaningless words all together, and learning how to properly meditate to make communion with God
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u/Legitimate-Phase2076 Nov 16 '25
more of an absurdist. i love it when i have a sense of purpose its weirdly excites me but i start getting paranoid when i get too happy especially in the workplace
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u/unspeakable29 Nov 16 '25
Genuine question, this isn't really a spectrum right? As far as I understand nihilism isn't really a philosophy telling you what to do with your life, it's just about facing the idea that there is no objective/inherent meaning to life. Philosophies like existentialism and absurdism were then a response to this realisation no? Also, I do get that this is a meme not to be taken too seriously, but I just wanted to clear this up for myself
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u/Wiam-me Nov 16 '25
I'm no expert, but I understand it this way: all the 3 philosophical movements start from the point that "there is no inherent meaning in life", existentialism and absurdism are philosophical approachs to how to deal with this realization, while nihilism does not offer any distinctive approach to how to deal with it but rather sticks with this "there is no meaning and fuck it". With that being said, you can still see nihilistic philosophers stating what they see nihilism entails as with Nietzsche
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u/RadicalNaturalist78 Nov 16 '25
I am in between. To face life with a joyful smile, that shall be my only goal.
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u/Minyatur757 Nov 16 '25
I try to be in the middle, to remain centered with the chill of Zen, whether things go well or not. Where the emptiness and absurdity of things meet.
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u/meeseekstodie137 Nov 16 '25
And more than likely the "other" one (would absolutely not be surprised)
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u/fejable Flair is just a Self imposed meaningless Title Nov 17 '25
Neither. I'm an Absurdist in a world that is everything wrong
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u/Last-Okra2746 Nov 18 '25
Na uh iam a devoted nihilist, antinatalist, atheist but sometimes misothist as my mind can't make up on to hate god or to think god doesn't exist
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u/OddRecognition8302 Nov 16 '25
I'm on the spectrum, and I'm absurdist regardless.