Historically, race has been an extremely important & commonly used word in the last like 500 years. But, like all words, the history of the word race is complicated. You see, the contemporary definition of the word race just didn’t pop up out of nowhere. It’s changed quite a bit. In this video we explore the etymology and history of this word from Plato & Aristotle all the way to David Hume & Voltaire.
Nihilism comes from the Latin word nihil, meaning, nothing. Nihilism is typically defined as a belief in nothing. Depending on a person’s flavor of nihilism, nihilists don’t believe in objective morality, no good or evil. There is no objective knowledge, no truths and no falsehoods. There is no reason to even exist, because we are all going to be dead in the end. The universe is, and beyond that nothing: no order, no structure, no design, no purpose.
Arguably the best thinker on nihilism was 19th century German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche, a miserably cantankorous individual, whose life was burdened by excruciating stomach and migraine pain, and who died in a madhouse unable to feed himself, said there were many different stages to nihilism, but all of them relied on a willing towards nothing.
Heidegger, Martin. “‘The Word of Nietzsche: God Is Dead.’” The Question Concerning Technology, and Other Essays, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, 2013. Buy here!
