Nothing & Everything: How to stop fearing nihilism and embrace the void

by Val N. Tine

Hello We've been told many things. That there is an objective morality to make our actions right and wrong. That there is an objective reason to make our statements true and false. That there is an objective reality to make our experiences real and unreal. And we've been told to submit to this morality, conform to this reason, and yield to this reality. But if you are reading this then I think that you have already begun to doubt. I suspect you are already asking yourself difficult questions as you try to go to sleep at night. Are there such things as right and wrong? How can we know what is true and false? What is the nature of this reality? This book explores those questions, and gives these doubts substance. We start by exploring how and why there is no objective morality knowable to us, why our imposed standards of good and bad and evil can never be justified. We then explore the consequences of this absence, rejecting passive despair and outlining a path of creative nihilism, actively creating and determining the values that define us. Next, we examine the limitations of reason, explaining why it cannot give us knowledge of an objective reality beyond ourselves. We then re-learn to speak and argue within this space, coming to a constructive nihilism that abandons objective reality and rescues us from self-contradiction. And, after all this, we will see how much use we have for reality. We are told to struggle and fight against nihilism. That, although the explanations and justifications we are given are not perfect, they must be accepted lest we begin down that darker path. That if we dare to once look down we will fall forever through empty space. But what if there was nothing to fear? What if the reason we have searched so long for answers is that the answers do not exist? What if the only things it took from you were never really there? So, if you like, let's begin.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

177 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 13, 2017

Reviews

[Andrew Kitzmiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a mind trip. It highlighted the tyranny of ”The Truth” and “Objective Reality” and poked holes in my faith in reason. It forced me to question everything I believe.

[Gursimran · Rating 3 out of 5]

In short this suffices that we can never have access to the so called objective reality. Touches upon Nihilism but I believe it outlines the concept more rather than be it. I don't know if I liked it or not but it's okay to read it while whole world is locked down and you got it on your shelf.

[Wordsheep · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half is excellent. Clear, thought-provoking, and genuinely useful. It captures a powerful idea: everything we believe is a human-made construct. Meaning, morality, value, purpose, none of it exists outside of us. This section is sharp, accessible, and easily a 5/5 on its own.

The second half, however, is extremely dense, repetitive, and difficult to follow. It feels like reading the same abstract idea in twenty different variations without gaining much clarity. Even Derek Sivers, who recommended the book, openly disliked this part, and I agree. It slowed the entire experience down and added more confusion than insight.

Still, the last chapters recover some of the clarity, and the core message stays valuable: we create the frameworks we live in, and that realization can be grounding.

Overall: worth reading for the first half, and skimming (or skipping) the rest.

For my full reflection, including what I kept, what I questioned, and why the second half nearly sheared me, the complete review is on my Substack: https://wordsheep.substack.com/p/from...

[Chris Boutté · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been really curious about nihilism lately and grabbed a few books on the topic. I’m more interested in specific instances of nihilism in various areas of life, but this book and most others discuss the existential aspect. With that said, this is a great book that I think most people will enjoy. One of the best parts about this book is that it’s accessible to just about anyone, and that’s great because most of these books get way too profound to keep up with. Aside from that, I think this book can also help people who struggle with depression because the author explains how you can be a nihilist but find joy, meaning and purpose in life.

[Kurt Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything is Fine Beyond Eden

Does a great job of reducing Nihilism down to its core, eliminating the scarier parts people have had issues with. I walked away with two points: that of your experience within your own subjective reality being what's most important and that of using reason as a tool not a god. Simply because we were kicked out of Eden doesn't ruin everything. After all, we had the whole world to explore.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a nutshell this book talks about how reality/morality is subjective rather than objective. It makes some good points, but does so in a pretty convoluted way. The book could have been shortened in length and conveyed the same message. Not a book I’d recommend for everybody, but if you’re interested in the subject it’s worth checking out.

[Sam Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am speechless after having finished this book. It is a work primarily of logical argument that attacks reason and so-called objective reality. At the end of it all, I'm happy to have read it. I won't spoil the ending; it may surprise you.

[Arianne X · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dr. Strangelove

The author questions existence and attempts to grapple with the philosophical considerations that existence in the kingdom of nihilism entails. At the outset, any author attempting to write about nihilism has my attention, admiration and appreciation but not necessarily my acceptance of their argument. This author has also gained my elevated admiration for self-publishing under a pseudonym. Books about nihilism, presented with arrogance of authorship, claim of copyright and realization of remuneration are the strangest and most incongruous books of all. But still, I have found problems. I will not impose upon the reader with a prolix litany of textual citations and will suffice it to say that I believe the author tries too hard to ‘existentialize’ nihilism and arrive at many corrupted versions of nihilism given away by the dreaded hyphen as in existential-nihilism, creative-nihilism, constructive-nihilism. The book ends in what I can only label as ‘Hopeful-Nihilism’ with all the irony that implies. Nihilism in nothing of the sort when it is diluted with hyphenation to concoct fun but bizarre new fuzzy feel-good kiddy prizes of the hyphenated sort found in this book. Nihilism is not good or bad, happy or sad, meaningful or meaningless. Nihilism is neutral. Human existence is pointless and meaningless, these are neutral facts about existence only recognizable from a nihilistic perspective. Nihilism has the power to transform everything and alter nothing. In short, the author slips from nihilism into existentialism.

The problem most likely encountered by the author in writing about nihilism is its utter incommunicability; it is something that must be experienced not described. The nihilistic experience challenges ordinary language. Nihilism does not make sense in ordinary language. It challenges both the ontological and epistemological assumptions built into ordinary language. There is no way of putting the experience of nihilism into ordinary language that is understandable and sensible because it challenges understanding and sensibility. A small part of the challenge is to explain the nothing by saying something. Perhaps this overextends human thinking. I could not help but think that the author simply settled for: [how I learned to stop worrying and love the void]. But still, I will go no lower than three stars for an author with the courage to write on this issue, the commitment to self-publish and the cunning to do so pseudonymously, thus cutting through the egotistical nonsense. I also enjoyed the clever paragraph numbering system of 1 – 85 and 85 – 1 with the asymmetry of ending in 0. Additionally, I enjoyed the pattern illustrations at the beginning of each section which I assume are the author’s own work in a self-published text.

[Crow Darlington · Rating 4 out of 5]

If it wasn't for the writer's way of writing, I think anyone can digest what it's saying. It can make a lot of people angry, and as someone who likes existentialism, it was, for the most part, a pleasant read. This book isn't for those who are sensitive that's for sure

[Kostis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sorry Mr writer, but I didnt like it. I agree on some parts, but it's a bit too much. possibly a bit badly written as well. at least o have a better idea of nihilism.