Nihilism and Its Forms
Nihilism is a peculiar historical movement of Western culture. It is the essence of a destination: the peoples of the West. Meditation on nihilism has as its object what happened to the truth of nihilism. It has two faces:
- A refusal, as the essence of the Platonic-Christian tradition.
- Another positive because nihilism—that is, thinking about it—is the recognition of conditions that have led the West to be nihilist.
The famous phrase “God is dead” means that what has died is the God of metaphysics, the God of monotheism. For Nietzsche, the monotheism of reason must be ruled out. Other reasons, other “gods,” entail nihilism as one option because it is believed that there is a higher sense leading man. The other gods are the polytheistic gods. For Nietzsche, plurality is the condition of freedom.
The phrase “God is dead” reveals the essence of this thought. Nietzsche’s thinking reflects the three great moments of this current:
- Nihilism as a result of the destruction of the values applied to date is the moment of doubt, disorientation, and loss of consciousness.
- Nihilism as an affirmation of the nihilistic process itself is the time for reflection, distancing oneself from this tradition.
- Nihilism as a turning point towards a new perspective of being and of man is the time for the new assessment of life expectancy.
This third aspect is run by the “will to power” and opens the doors to a new ontology and a new anthropology.