Nihilistic Murderer

[Thumpalumpacus]

I don't really know how Nihilism is ill-defined. It seems to have a pretty clear definition to me. I think that problem is that people often times equate Nihilism with poor morals or with depression or hopelessness or something. In reality none of that has anything to do with nihilism. Nihilism is just that things don't really matter.

Here is its definition:

Definition of nihilism in English:
noun

1 The rejection of all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless.

1.1 Philosophy Extreme skepticism maintaining that nothing in the world has a real existence.

1.2 historical The doctrine of an extreme Russian revolutionary party circa 1900, which found nothing to approve of in the established social order.

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/def...h/nihilism

[Formatting added for clarity -- PT]

I think it's as FNM states -- that common usage, which does not comport with the static definition in most cases, makes the word inapt in many cases.

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So you think atheists cannot hold or make moral valuations?

I think this is a poor understanding of Nihilism. I have a moral code because I happen to have one, either because of my environment, choices I've made or perhaps there is a kind of natural morality that is in our DNA so to speak (and that sociopaths happen to lack.) I just accept that my moral code doesn't matter. I don't hurt people because I don't want to.

Look at the provided definition, above. This only underlines FNM's point about the word being so vague in usage as to be useless.

Most people use the word as shorthand for life is meaningless. But that appears to flow from belief in nihilism, rather than being the crux of it.

Forgive the on-the-fly edits, too, please. It's hard for me to say what I mean when discussing abstruse topics like philosophy.