Preview

Russian Journal of Philosophical Sciences

Advanced search

Nihilistic Thinking as the Self-Will of the Mind and the Projects of Its Overcoming

https://doi.org/10.30727/0235-1188-2020-63-10-74-87

Abstract

 

The author analyzes the conceptions of ontological nihilism in the works of S. Kierkegaard, F. Nietzsche, M. Heidegger, E. Jünger. On the basis of this analysis, violence is defined as a manifestation of nihilism, of the “will to nothingness” and hypertrophy of the self-will of man. The article demonstrates the importance of the problem of nihilism. The nihilistic thinking of modern man is expressed in the attitude toward a radical transformation of the world from the position of his “absolute” righteousness. The paradox of the current situation is that there is the reverse side of this transformative activity, when there is only the appearance of action and the dilution of responsibility. Confidence in the rightness of own views and beliefs increases the risk of the violent imposition of own vision of reality. Historical and philosophical reconstruction of the conceptions of nihilism allowed to reveal the following projects of its comprehension and resolution: (1) the project of “positing of values,” which consists in the transformation of the evaluation, which is understood as another perspective of positing values, leading to the affirmation of being; (2) the project of overcoming nihilism from the space of temporality, carried out through the resoluteness to accept the historicity of own existence; (3) the project of overcoming nihilism as the oblivion of being from the spatial perspective of the “line,” allowing to realize the “glimpse” of being. The author concludes that it is impossible to solve the problem of violence and its various forms of its manifestation without overcoming “ontological nihilism.” Significant role in solving the problem of ontological violence is assigned to philosophy as a critical and responsible form of thinking, which is capable to help a person to bear the burden of the world, to provide meanings and affirm being, as well as to unite people and resist the fundamentalist claims of exclusivity and rightness.

About the Author

Irina N. Sidorenko
Belarusian State University
Belarus

Irina N. Sidorenko – D.Sc. in Philosophy, Professor, Department of Philosophy and Methodology of Science, Belarusian State University.

Minsk




References

1. Benjamin W. (1977) Zur Kritik der Gewalt. In: Benjamin W. Gesammelte Schriften. Frankfurt am Main. pp. (179–204). Bd. 2.1: Aufsätze, Essays, Vorträge (in German).

2. Bousquet A. (2015) Ernst Jünger and the Problem of Nihilism in the Age of Total War. Thesis Eleven. Vol. 132, no. 1, pp. 17–38.

3. Camus A. (1998) The Myth of Sisyphus. The Rebel. Minsk: Popurri (Russian translation).

4. Heidegger M. (1993) Works and Thoughts of Different Years. Moscow: Gnozis (Russian translation).

5. Heidegger M. (1998) Introduction to Metaphysics. Saint Petersburg: Higher Religious and Philosophical School (Russian translation).

6. Heidegger M. (2006a) Nietzsche and the Void. Moscow: Algoritm; Eksmo (Russian translation).

7. Heidegger M. (2006b) On the Line. In: Peskova T.N. (Ed.) The Destiny of Nihilism (pp. 65–121). Saint Petersburg: Saint Petersburg State University Press (Russian translation).

8. Jünger E. (2006) Across the Line. In: Peskova T.N. (Ed.) The Destiny of Nihilism (pp. 12–64). Saint Petersburg: Saint Petersburg State University Press (Russian translation).

9. Kierkegaard S. (1998) Fear and Trembling. Moscow: Terra-knizniy klub; Respublika (Russian translation).

10. Mamardashvili M.K. (2012) Essays on Contemporary European Philosophy. Saint Petersburg: Azbuka-Attikus (in Russian).

11. Mikhaylov A.V. (2000) Reverse translation. Russian and Western European Cultures: Interconnection Problems. Moscow: Yazyki russkoy kul’tury (in Russian).

12. Nietzsche F. (1997) Thus Spoke Zarathustra. In: Nietzsche F. Works in 2 Vols. (Vol. 2, pp. 5–240). Moscow: Mysl’ (Russian translation).

13. Savchuk V.V. (2006) The Time of Nihilism. In: Peskova T.N. (Ed.) The Destiny of Nihilism (pp. 163–220). Saint Petersburg: Saint Petersburg State University Press (in Russian).

14. Sidorenko I.N. (2007) The Idea of Historicity in the Philosophy of German Existentialism. Minsk: National Institute for Higher Education (in Russian).

15. Sidorenko I.N. (2018) The Essence of Otological Nihilism and the Problem of Overcoming It. Journal of the Belarusian State University. Philosophy and Psychology. No. 3, pp. 36–42 (in Russian).

16. Dialogue with Jünger. Filosofija. Sociologija. Vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 45–54.


Review

For citations:


Sidorenko I.N. Nihilistic Thinking as the Self-Will of the Mind and the Projects of Its Overcoming. Russian Journal of Philosophical Sciences. 2020;63(10):74-87. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.30727/0235-1188-2020-63-10-74-87



Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.


ISSN 0235-1188 (Print)
ISSN 2618-8961 (Online)