nihilism

nihilism
nihilism (n.) 1817, "the doctrine of negation" (in reference to religion or morals), from Ger. Nihilismus, from L. nihil "nothing at all" (see NIL (Cf. nil)), coined by German philosopher Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi (1743-1819). In philosophy, an extreme form of skepticism (1836). The political sense was first used by German journalist Joseph von Görres (1776-1848). Turgenev used the Russian form of the word (nigilizm) in "Fathers and Children" (1862) and claimed to have invented it. With a capital N-, it refers to the Russian revolutionary anarchism of the period 1860-1917, supposedly so called because "nothing" that then existed found favor in their eyes.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Nihilism — • One who bows to no authority and accepts no doctrine, however widespread, that is not supported by proof. Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Nihilism     Nihilism      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • nihilism — NIHILÍSM s.n. Atitudine, tendinţă, concepţie sau manifestare care neagă rânduielile, instituţiile, morala, tradiţiile culturale existente într o societate dată, fără să le opună, în schimb, altele superioare; atitudine de negare absolută. – Din… …   Dicționar Român

  • nihilism —    Nihilism is literally the belief in nothing, that is, the rejection of everything. Few Western philosophers believe that nothing exists at all, though this view is attributed to some Eastern philosophers; nihilism is usually used to denote the …   Christian Philosophy

  • nihilism — [nī′ə liz΄əm, nē′ə liz΄əm; nī′hi liz΄əm, nē′hiliz΄əm] n. [< L nihil (see NIHIL) + ISM] 1. Philos. a) the denial of the existence of any basis for knowledge or truth b) the general rejection of customary beliefs in morality, religion, etc.:… …   English World dictionary

  • Nihilism — Ni hil*ism, n. [L. nihil nothing: cf. F. nihilisme. See {Annihilate}.] 1. Nothingness; nihility. [1913 Webster] 2. The doctrine that nothing can be known; scepticism as to all knowledge and all reality. [1913 Webster] 3. (Politics) The theories… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • nihilism — index anarchy, lynch law Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • nihilism — [n] refusal to believe abnegation, agnosticism, anarchy, atheism, denial, disbelief, disorder, lawlessness, mob rule*, nonbelief, rejection, renunciation, repudiation, skepticism, terrorism; concept 689 Ant. belief, faith, obedience, optimism …   New thesaurus

  • nihilism — ► NOUN 1) the rejection of all religious and moral principles. 2) Philosophy extreme scepticism, maintaining that nothing has a real existence. DERIVATIVES nihilist noun nihilistic adjective. ORIGIN from Latin nihil nothing …   English terms dictionary

  • Nihilism — This article is about the philosophical doctrines. For other uses, see Nihilism (disambiguation). Certainty series Agnosticism Belief Certainty Doubt Determini …   Wikipedia

  • nihilism —    by Rex Butler   Nietzsche is one of Baudrillard s defining influences. He is one of the few thinkers whose presumptions are not turned against them as Baudrillard was to do with Marx in The Mirror of Production (1975 [1973]) and Saussure in… …   The Baudrillard dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”