Nihilistic Murderer

[Faith No More]

I don't mean too much to jump into your guy's conversation, but I'm going to anyway (because ultimately it doesn't really matter, does it?) I think what you are talking about is entirely separate from being a nihilist. You are talking about having a moral code. I think it's entirely possible to have a moral code and to treat people well as a nihilist. Nihilism is just the recognition of the absurd, that it doesn't really matter in the end. So I think that ethics are a seperate issue from whether or not something really matters. Also in address to this:

Right, but that's more about the definition of nihilism. I've discovered that through observing its usage it seems to be ill-defined enough that I don't use it myself.

I think you are absolutely right. If you watch the video and when the guy talks about his own execution you can tell that he places exactly the same amount of value on his own life as he does on that of his victims. The value that we place on ourselves is arbitrary and illusionary. Some people value themselves tremendously and don't value other people at all. Some people value themselves not at all and will place extreme value on someone else. Where does this stem from? From nowhere. If the value we assign to ourselves can be so arbitrary it has to just be illusionary.

The value we place is an illusion in the sense that it isn't tangible or objective, but that doesn't mean the value we place itself is meaningless.
Sure, if someone else doesn't find that value within themselves, it will lead them down a path like this guy, but I don't see how one person not valuing our lives precludes me from placing value on our lives.

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How so? I mean just because nothing matters doesn't mean that someone is doomed to inaction. I don't see the connection that you are making.

I just meant that it's difficult to conclude that nothing matters when we're trying to determine the truth because determining the truth matters to us.