Nolen Gertz

I found this book largely incoherent, but it did raise the question, What is nihilism?

What is nihilism then? Is it not giving a damn about anything? I don't think so. Take Nietzsche, our culture's touchstone nihilist. There's too much passion in his writing to take his project for indifference. Zarathustra bristles with energy. The Will To Power, too, admires such purposefulness as motivates a Napolean or a hard-charging hussar. Nietzsche's nihilism is dynamic.

What about values? Is nihilism not having any? A cynical nihilist might boast of having none, but is that true in practice, even for him?

Do you disclaim being a nihilist? Doubtless you're sure you have values, but have you given serious thought to what they are? Are they just little medals you can pull from your mind and pin on a virtual chest you claim as yours? Are they made out of a malleable plastic that you can reshape to fit the phantom alter-ego that is how you like to see yourself? How do the vague ideas you have about your values affect your real actions? Don't what values you have serve mainly to help you blend safely in with peers you don't like to think of as mediocre?

Tough, rude questions. Weighing whether or not one is a nihilist is an invitation to serious self-reflection. Have I performed this exercise myself? I confess, mon semblable, mon frère, I simply haven't had the time.… (more)