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The GOOD & BAD THREAD (VI)

Started by koko_99_2001, June 26, 2010, 02:22:51 PM

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Fierce Deity

Quote from: Deloria on September 14, 2010, 05:49:05 PM
Quote from: Fierce Deity on September 14, 2010, 02:11:14 PM
Quote from: Deloria on September 14, 2010, 01:45:15 PM
The CONFUSING: I may be incredibly thick, but just what is the difference between nihilism and absurdism?

That's an interesting question. I never thought about it before, but the difference is mild. Absurdism is the philosophy that all humans are alone in a world that is irrational. Nihilism rather suggests one to become skeptic of their surroundings. Nihilism suggests that their is no "truth" in the world and their is no "existence". If you saw Inception, then:
[spoiler]Mal was suffering from nihilism before she killed herself, thinking she would wake up one more time.[/spoiler]

Nihilism attacks the concept of reality, and Absurdism focuses more on isolation in an irrational world, but not necessarily a world that does not exist. I hoped my nonsensical babbling helped.  :P

I'm not sure the word "suffering" should be applied to schools of thought. :P And I was talking more about Nietzschean nihilism, in which there is a lack of objective purpose vs the kind of absurdism that Camus identified with. :) As with all philosophies, they are open to interpretations and have lots of different definitions. :P I'd love to continue this though. :)



I said "suffering" to illustrate the darker points of nihilism, but clearly, through nihilism, one can question what they thought was "real" all along. For instance, Nietzsche used Christianity as an example for his definition of nihilism. I don't want to sound apathetic to those who share the beliefs in Christianity, but Nietzsche had established that religion provides people with a "purpose", once humanity reaches a point where they don't need religion, they lose that "purpose". Thus, everyone is struck with nihilism, but not necessarily in a negative way. I'm a big fan of Nietzsche, he was truly a genius.

Absurdism (which I wasn't aware of until you mentioned Camus), is similar to nihilism, as well as existentialism. Absurdism suggests that people will never find their "meaning" in life, cause no inherent meaning exists. In a sense, both philosophies are one and the same, but I'd like to think of "The Absurd" being a conclusive statement that was formed through nihilism. Nihilism is questioning truth, purpose, and meaning through our own perspectives. Nietzsche was bound by perspectivism. Camus states that there is no purpose, and Nietzsche states that we as a people must realize that there is no purpose (but also that it's a slippery slope). Once again, just the way I see it. I also see how both can be construed as the same philosophy, and for all I know, they probably are.  
Freudian Slip - "When you say one thing, but mean your mother."

Haids1987

Quote from: snabbott on September 14, 2010, 08:15:10 PM
Quote from: Haids1987 on September 14, 2010, 05:30:02 PM
Ooooooh, an interesting idea, Stephen Abbott.
Thanks, Hailey Dundas. ::)
Hey!  You remembered! :D  I'm really impressed! :pleased:
STATUS:
-Drinking water
-Checking the forum. 

Perpetually. ;D
Erica Reed is Katie Hallahan.
Leader of the "I <3 Doon" Fanclub

snabbott

Quote from: tessspoon on September 14, 2010, 08:44:03 PM
Grading comp sci labs, so I have to make sure that they documented everything correctly, look at indentation and spacing and comment on that, and look at their code for any bad or inefficient logic. Could be faster probably but I like to make a lot of comments so they understand what they're doing right/wrong. And /agree with the consistency issue. :P
Yeah - I was usually grading chemistry problems - I would usually start from where they went wrong and show them how to do it from there. It was especially frustrating whenI had to look at it for a few minutes just to figure out what they were doing.

(Posted on: September 15, 2010, 09:29:23 AM)


Quote from: Haids1987 on September 14, 2010, 08:58:38 PM
Quote from: snabbott on September 14, 2010, 08:15:10 PM
Quote from: Haids1987 on September 14, 2010, 05:30:02 PM
Ooooooh, an interesting idea, Stephen Abbott.
Thanks, Hailey Dundas. ::)
Hey!  You remembered! :D  I'm really impressed! :pleased:
Of course! "Hailey" was easy, as you often use it on the forum. I had to think for a minute to come up with"Dundas" - I remembered it because of "I already." :P

Steve Abbott | Beta Tester | The Silver Lining

darthkiwi

QuoteAbsurdism (which I wasn't aware of until you mentioned Camus), is similar to nihilism, as well as existentialism. Absurdism suggests that people will never find their "meaning" in life, cause no inherent meaning exists. In a sense, both philosophies are one and the same, but I'd like to think of "The Absurd" being a conclusive statement that was formed through nihilism. Nihilism is questioning truth, purpose, and meaning through our own perspectives. Nietzsche was bound by perspectivism. Camus states that there is no purpose, and Nietzsche states that we as a people must realize that there is no purpose (but also that it's a slippery slope). Once again, just the way I see it. I also see how both can be construed as the same philosophy, and for all I know, they probably are. 
It also seems like Nietzsche was aiming for a new purpose in the form of the Superman. He also mocked openly nihilist philosophers like (I think) Schopenhauer in "Thus Spoke Zarathustra". Bearing that in mind, I think he saw religion as a fallacy, nihilism as the escape from that fallacy and the Superman as the goal we should all aim for once we understand nihilism and want to live for something again (rather than submitting to an absurdist view of the universe).
Prince of the Aquitaine. Duke of York.

Knight errant and consort to Her Grace the Empress Deloria of the Holy Roman Empire, Queene of all Albion and Princess Palatine.

Haids1987

Quote from: snabbott on September 15, 2010, 08:30:52 AM
Of course! "Hailey" was easy, as you often use it on the forum. I had to think for a minute to come up with"Dundas" - I remembered it because of "I already." :P
I've actually heard that before when people are trying to remember my last name. ;)  Strangely enough, I'm known simply as "Dundas" at work.
STATUS:
-Drinking water
-Checking the forum. 

Perpetually. ;D
Erica Reed is Katie Hallahan.
Leader of the "I <3 Doon" Fanclub

tessspoon

#225
The GOOD: Just found out Jamie and Adam from Mythbusters will be at a science festival an 1 1/2 from me on Sunday !!! Now I just need to find someone to go with me...
The BAD: It'd mean getting my work done before the weekend/putting off some other work even more. :P
The BAD: Would also cut into my TSL time... :-\
The GOOD: Finally wrote out the :-\ smiley correctly so it actually displays right XD
The GOOD: Hyper :P

Fierce Deity

Quote from: darthkiwi on September 15, 2010, 09:42:12 AM
QuoteAbsurdism (which I wasn't aware of until you mentioned Camus), is similar to nihilism, as well as existentialism. Absurdism suggests that people will never find their "meaning" in life, cause no inherent meaning exists. In a sense, both philosophies are one and the same, but I'd like to think of "The Absurd" being a conclusive statement that was formed through nihilism. Nihilism is questioning truth, purpose, and meaning through our own perspectives. Nietzsche was bound by perspectivism. Camus states that there is no purpose, and Nietzsche states that we as a people must realize that there is no purpose (but also that it's a slippery slope). Once again, just the way I see it. I also see how both can be construed as the same philosophy, and for all I know, they probably are. 
It also seems like Nietzsche was aiming for a new purpose in the form of the Superman. He also mocked openly nihilist philosophers like (I think) Schopenhauer in "Thus Spoke Zarathustra". Bearing that in mind, I think he saw religion as a fallacy, nihilism as the escape from that fallacy and the Superman as the goal we should all aim for once we understand nihilism and want to live for something again (rather than submitting to an absurdist view of the universe).

I think that's why I liked Nietzsche so much as a philosopher. Although his views were against common schools of thought, he was always lenient on the peoples' behavioral aspects. While he was aware that religion was absurd, he realized that nihilism is also "Absurd". I always found his arguments to be smack dab in the middle, where he was able to find a reasonable school of thought. The Ubermensch (or Superman) was truly an enlightening piece of work. Although, it's one of the more popular pieces to be misconstrued by the masses, I still find a shred of knowledge every time I read about it. I think for humanity, there may be such a thing as the Superman, but if we become too dependent on either nihilism or religion, we're definitely going to be at a standstill for a long time.
Freudian Slip - "When you say one thing, but mean your mother."

snabbott

Quote from: Haids1987 on September 15, 2010, 12:05:04 PM
Quote from: snabbott on September 15, 2010, 08:30:52 AM
Of course! "Hailey" was easy, as you often use it on the forum. I had to think for a minute to come up with"Dundas" - I remembered it because of "I already." :P
I've actually heard that before when people are trying to remember my last name. ;)  Strangely enough, I'm known simply as "Dundas" at work.
Actually, I was thinking of this: http://www.postudios.com/blog/forum/index.php?topic=8551.msg279003#msg279003

I don't know if I would have thought of it on my own. :P

Steve Abbott | Beta Tester | The Silver Lining

kindofdoon

Quote from: tessspoon on September 15, 2010, 12:37:59 PM
The GOOD: Just found out Jamie and Adam from Mythbusters will be at a science festival an 1 1/2 from me on Sunday !!! Now I just need to find someone to go with me...

Oh, you are lucky!

Daniel Dichter, Production/PR
daniel.dichter@postudios.com

koko_99_2001

The GREAT: Our tickets to go see Les Miserables in May came in today!
The BAD: SO overwhelmed at work between seeing kids and doing paperwork...no time to test or screen kiddos :(
<3 Happily married to FataliOmega since July 11, 2009 <3

The Unofficial The Silver Lining Official Sarcasm Cleaner Upper :cat:

Catherine DaCosta

Haids1987

Quote from: snabbott on September 15, 2010, 02:01:24 PM
Actually, I was thinking of this: http://www.postudios.com/blog/forum/index.php?topic=8551.msg279003#msg279003

I don't know if I would have thought of it on my own. :P
Oh, haha.  Forgot about that one. ;)  But anywaaaay...Dundas I am. :yes:

THE BAD: I don't feel good
THE BAD: I have to go to the doctor tomorrow  :thumbsdown:
THE GOOD: I'm seeing one of my friends in 'bout an hour for some chai tea
THE GOOD: Pumpkin spice is back!
STATUS:
-Drinking water
-Checking the forum. 

Perpetually. ;D
Erica Reed is Katie Hallahan.
Leader of the "I <3 Doon" Fanclub

tessspoon

The GOOD: Got tickets for Sunday. !!!
The GOOD: FINALLY got a working algorithm after working on it for a week, with lots of hints from Jacob
The BAD: Now need to write up the 8-10 page paper for it.
The GOOD: Think I'll be able to go to the ACM lan party at Elon next week and see my old friends who haven't graduated yet :D

wilco64256

Good: My employer hired a massage therapist to come in and give everyone massages during work today, heading over for that in a few minutes.
Weldon Hathaway

snabbott


Steve Abbott | Beta Tester | The Silver Lining

Haids1987

THE GOOD: I stayed home from work today, but
THE BAD: I have bronchitis. Grrrr!
STATUS:
-Drinking water
-Checking the forum. 

Perpetually. ;D
Erica Reed is Katie Hallahan.
Leader of the "I <3 Doon" Fanclub

kindofdoon

Sorry to hear that, Haids. Get well soon! :)

Daniel Dichter, Production/PR
daniel.dichter@postudios.com

Haids1987

Thanks, Doon.  I'm working on it. :)
STATUS:
-Drinking water
-Checking the forum. 

Perpetually. ;D
Erica Reed is Katie Hallahan.
Leader of the "I <3 Doon" Fanclub

Fierce Deity

THE GOOD: Recuperating from my workout yesterday. Means I'm making progress.
THE BAD: Dealing with some hardcore insomnia.
THE VERY BAD: Found out my Dad was diagnosed with COPD.
THE WRONG: Ate some hot dogs, but found out later that the hot dog buns were past their expiration date.  :X
Freudian Slip - "When you say one thing, but mean your mother."

Haids1987

Better the buns than the actual dogs.  At least you weren't eating rancid meat!
STATUS:
-Drinking water
-Checking the forum. 

Perpetually. ;D
Erica Reed is Katie Hallahan.
Leader of the "I <3 Doon" Fanclub

Fierce Deity

Quote from: Haids1987 on September 16, 2010, 07:08:59 PM
Better the buns than the actual dogs.  At least you weren't eating rancid meat!

THE GOOD: At least I didn't eat rancid meat.  :P

Always good to look on the brighter side of things.  ::)
Freudian Slip - "When you say one thing, but mean your mother."