Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


Afriyie FINAL 7-31-2024 with cert.pdf (816.98 KB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

A History of Nihilism as a Reflection on Western Values since the 19th Century

Afriyie, Anobel Kwabena
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ysu1722445491346713

Abstract Details

2024, Master of Arts in History, Youngstown State University, Department of Humanities.
The object of this text is to discuss aspects of the intellectual history of the Western civilization that reflects the doctrine of nihilism and how the precept is manifest in the culture of postmodern twenty-first century society. The pith of the essay is to conclude that, nihilism, as an intellectual supposition, hinges on the philosophies of Nietzsche and Dostoevsky. Nihilism is a worthy discussion because the concept has permeated Western thought at least since the time of the Enlightenment of the eighteenth century and has become essential to Western culture in the twenty-first century. Nietzsche’s pronouncement that “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him…” in tandem with Dostoevsky’s rejoinder “But what will become of men then? ... without God… All things are permitted then, they can do what they like” is a notable definition for nihilism. Nihilism is a philosophical position that reflects a belief in nothingness and/or everything. Nihilism is “the belief that life is meaningless.” “Nietzsche defines nihilism as the situation which obtains when ‘everything is permitted’ or when nothing is permitted.” Nihilism occurs as a result of the distrust of the highest value (killing God, which results in a belief in nothing) hence the reception to all eventuality (everything is permissible). In short, nihilism is a collection of ideas that denies generally believed interpretations of the human existence like morality, knowledge and meaning. This text is a discussion of the concept of nihilism and its repercussions on society.
David Simonelli, PhD (Advisor)
Brian Bonhomme, PhD (Committee Member)
Daniel Ayana, PhD (Committee Member)
111 p.
History
Nihilism; Nietzsche; Dostoevsky; Existentialism; Renaissance and Enlightenment philosophies; Modernism; Postmodernism

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Afriyie, A. K. (2024). A History of Nihilism as a Reflection on Western Values since the 19th Century [Master's thesis, Youngstown State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ysu1722445491346713

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Afriyie, Anobel. A History of Nihilism as a Reflection on Western Values since the 19th Century. 2024. Youngstown State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ysu1722445491346713.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Afriyie, Anobel. "A History of Nihilism as a Reflection on Western Values since the 19th Century." Master's thesis, Youngstown State University, 2024. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ysu1722445491346713

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ysu1722445491346713
282
© 2024, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Youngstown State University and OhioLINK.