The Constructive \'negativism\' That May Help In Our Absurd Lives (ians Column: Bookends)

A constructive “negativism” that could be helpful in our lives of absurdity (IANS column: Bookends)

By Vikas Datta Living in an environment that is governed by the law of cause and effect as well as universal natural laws, the majority of humans tend to anticipate the same pattern in their lives.However, if they wish to understand the connection between the natural and human world then they must delve into the subatomic and atomic quantum world, where the randomness can challenge the notions of causality, certainty, as well as what “reality” is.

 The Constructive 'negativism' That May Help In Our Absurd Lives (ians Column: Bo-TeluguStop.com

When we realize that the life we live is merely a mix of particles with no unique characteristics that can be described as “extraordinary” things according to the laws of Physics dictate, it reveals that the many ways we have developed to describe it – religion, magic as well as philosophy and science are all human-made theories.That brings us to a the crucial junctions of thinking about ourselves and the world that we live in.

However, there are those who do not, or would not, plunge to such depths, but encounter the same issues due to specific actions or reactions and situations they confront in their normal lives might find themselves at the same point.

This state of a general despair over the futility or inconsistency of human nature is the foundation of the notion of the concept of nihilism.

It is a way of challenging any or all of the commonly considered to be the normative features of the human condition, such as “objective” truth morality, values or even meaning across the spectrum there is a common thread that life is not intrinsically significance, value or meaning.But, this isn’t simply a skewed view of the current situation as we’ll soon discover.

While we can seek the trace the origin of this system of thought, finding it has a mythological (Norse) and religious (Buddhist/Jewish/early Christian) pedigree too, it would be more relevant to see what implications this may have for us.In addition what we can and should do in this particular situation.

Answers to these questions can be found in the epitomize and unending repository of humanity’s wisdom, our literary culture.

However, it must be noted that the acceptance and endorsement of Nihilism is also different on an amount.

On both ends, there are variations with unique characteristics in that one offers a diagnosis, while the other one offers diagnosis and prescription or a prophylaxis at the very minimum.

On the other hand there are those who are extremist people who are nihilists.

The most misunderstood 19th-century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche may be a excellent example, having observed: “In some remote corner of the universe, spilling out and shining in numerous solar systems, there was a star where intelligent animals created knowledge.This was the most awe-inspiring and most outrageous moment of “world history” – but it was only a minute.After nature had taken few breaths, the character became cold and the animals that were clever had to go to the grave.”

While modern nihilism can be generally and incorrectly attributed to the Russian revolution in the late 19th and mid-19th centuries this strand was much more of an attack on radicals and disillusioned on the stultifying aspects of traditional morality religion, society, and morality but not a denial in itself, of the entire concept.

Russian authors of the time such as Ivan Turgenev, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Alexander Herzen, and Nikolai Chernyshevsky are, however unsurpassed in depicting the nihilism in actions and thought.Turgenev in “Fathers and Sons” also provides the following definition (in Chapter 5) as follows: “.A nihilist is one who doesn’t surrender to authority, and doesn’t take any rule in faith, no matter what reverence it may be placed in.”

A few instances of extreme nihilism are seen in characters, most of them villainous, who emphasize the fact that life, the universe and everything are useless to argue about and that existence is irrelevant and morality is a figment of their imagination.Achilles from Homer’s Iliad is an illustration in one of his rants.Others are available in the writings of H.P.Lovecraft, Ayn Rand, Joseph Conrad (The Professor from “The Secret Agent), George Orwell (the party itself in “1984”, Gordon Comstock in “Keep The Aspidistra Flying”).

However, it’s the other side that ought to be of more interest and benefit to us.It could be referred to as “anti-nihilism” however is not opposed to nihilism.They are the nihilists however, they are of an more sensible and constructive kind.

They are not, by any way, astonished of the goodwill of their society, or the world around them or their fellow citizens and are aware of how terribly and unfair they could be, yet as a conscious decision they choose to be kind, caring and compassionate.

Because they don’t want to bask in despair or dispel their cynicism, which remains within them, but they do arrogate to themselves the ability to create the meaning, values and meaning in their lives.

Hollywood director Stanley Kubrick summed it up in a way that is clear: “The most terrifying fact about the universe isn’t the fact that it’s hostile, but rather that it’s uninterested.If we are able to accept with this lack of understanding and accept our existence as humans will be a real source of meaning.No matter how dark is, we must provide the light of our own.”

Similar to their polar counterparts the anti-nihilists know that compassion, love, and empathy are all fiction However, their perspective is different.they are still fictions worthy of belief in and acting upon.

Most conscientious doctors.Private detectives (Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe in the same vein with his “Down these streets, one must leave if he is not himself a mean .” attitude) police officers (say Martin Beck and his colleagues in Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall’s groundbreaking Nordic crime series Steve Carella, Mayer Mayer and the rest of the 87th Precinct of Ed McBain) and superheroes too, are the most exemplary examples of these genres in fiction.

Take Batman.

Whatever version you choose Bruce Wayne was a young Bruce Wayne, having undergone an unintentional and unimportant incident that caused him to become an orphan, could have concluded that life was meaningless and resorted to depression.Instead, he chose to focus on the importance of his parents to him as well as his hometown city Gotham and reinvented himself as a hero of justice and order against the chaos and chaos created by the Joker and the Penguin and the like.

Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books have many characters with a strong belief system particularly Death who is portrayed as an anthropomorphic figure, and is also wise (“You have to trust in things that aren’t real otherwise, what else could they get? “) as well as City Watch commander Sam Vimes.

The most exemplary illustration is of Lord Vetinari who is the city’s dependable and gracious ruler, who constantly mocks the inherent stupidity and evil of people, but carries with them regardless.

He is also known to provide a graphic representation of the indifferent brutality of nature he observed, and concludes that the experience taught him If there was an ultimate creator it was the responsibility of all sentient beings to be an moral superior.

Another an example from recent times is Richard Powers’ 2018-Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Overstory” about trees and humankind’s relationship to and the destruction of the environment.

The novel features among the nine main characters Nietzsche follower who rants on about the futility of human endeavours, but is the most optimistic and determined to do good.

The story of Albert Camus’ “The Stranger” includes its protagonist Mersault for an illustration, albeit the character is not very imposing the exposition of the four-part work “The Myth of Sisyphus” (1942, English translation 1955) is more atypical.

In this essay, the engaging philosopher presents his theories of absurdism which is the connection between our desire to find the meaning in life, and the stifled silence of the universe in the resemblance, and excludes suicide (including philosophical reasons in the use of religious belief), in favour of accepting the absurdity of our lives as the freedom.

Camus employs his mythological villainous Greek King, who was sentenced to keep rolling uphill a massive boulder that slid back to its original location as soon as he reached the top to illustrate why we should continue doing what we are required to do, without thinking that it is worth it.

“.The fight itself to reach the top can fill a man’s soul.

One should imagine Sisyphus content,” he ends.

(Vikas Datta may be reached via [email protected])

vd/sks

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