Nihilistic Murderer

[Faith No More]

I guess the perception and importance of time important to nihilism. Would it be fair to say that you are a long term nihilist but believe that in the short term things have value?

I think although I'm very good at living in the moment I just take a long term view of things. Often times when I make a mistake in my life that seems very important at the time my nihilism is extremely helpful to me. This is part of why I think it's an enabling and empowering philosophy rather than a depressing one. If I make a bad mistake, I recognize that eventually I'll be dead anyway, no matter how bad I screw up. At the same time I savor the good moments because I have the freedom to do as I wish. Where as some people say 'might as well go kill people' I say 'might as well behave well and enjoy my time here on earth.' Even though ultimately it don't really matter either.

I think that's fair. I look at it like this. If I am hungry and am trying to decide to eat a sandwich, that decision isn't going to make a measurable difference in my life in twenty years, but that doesn't mean that the decision I make at that point in time isn't going to make any difference to me at all. Numerous different outcomes could come from that decision that will affect me, and how that affects me matters to me at that time. Do I simply choose not to eat because it will not matter in twenty years or do I embrace the short term impact that sandwich will bring and enjoy it?

Ultimately, yes, everything I do will have no impact on the state of the universe, but that does not preclude me from valuing the effect my life and actions have on the present and near future.