On the surface, atheism and nihilism seem very similar. Religious people in particular often do not know the difference. Therefore I wanted to write this blog post to make the distinction clear. After all, I've been an atheist for longer than I can remember, but the decision to become a nihilist changed everything for me. In fact, not only did I never regret it, it probably was one of the best decisions of my life.
Let's start with what being an atheist means. It's a stance that couldn't exist without people that believe in at least one "deity" or "god" (theism). Simply put, if you don't believe in the existence of an entity like that, you're an atheist (or an agnostic if you don't really care). Crucially, atheism does not define what you believe instead of that. I've encountered many people who'd say that they don't believe in god as described by their culture's dominant religion but believe that there are things in the world that are beyond what scientists can explain. They latch on to random concepts like "soul", "karma", "spirits", "angels" or "energies" and construct their own belief system from these building blocks. This is often referred to esotericism.
There's also other people who don't care too much about religion at all. Some of them even pretend to be religious to blend in with their social group, participating in religious practices and rituals without truly believing in their meaning. Although you can't assess their numbers because they wouldn't admit it, I suspect that many of them exist in western society, especially in Germany where church attendance is very low. Scientific progress has answered many of the questions people formerly turned to religion for, almost turning science into an alternative to religion. If you've been following my blog you'll hopefully understand that science will never be able to fully fill that role, but as long as people are comfortable they don't need much else.
And then there is nihilism, the belief that there is nothing. Nothing that made us, nothing that judges us, nothing that saves us. Nihilism has a bad reputation because people usually find it in times of weakness. When their previous beliefs have failed them and they have lost faith, the thought of the great nothingness is so terrifying that it becomes impossible to ignore. The most common reaction is to turn and to run into the harms of the next hierophant who will gladly except you as one of their children. And I have to stress again that there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Yet, I have chosen a different path, for my inability to belief anything without verifiable evidence prevents me from doing so. Instead I have turned and embraced the great nothingness and what I found was peace. A peace that I never knew before and that I never ever want to miss again.
To really illustrate what nihilism gives you, take a look at a common tactic employed by religious leaders of almost any belief system: trying to convince you that something unimaginably terrifying will happen to you if you don't follow their simple rules. Anyone who considers the possibility that they're right even remotely would have to follow along as the consequences are so bad that even if you multiply them with a low probability you still end up with a very bad expected value. The more susceptible you are to this spiritual blackmail, the less free you are in this world. Only through nihilism do you get to set the probability to zero, freeing your mind from any attempt to constrain it. Hence, nihilism is the religion for those who want to be truly free.
I do realize that it seams like I have become a preacher for nihilism, so I need to reiterate that I do not want to recommend nihilism. In a sense, nihilism is the worst of all religions as it is the least powerful one. I only recommend nihilism to you if you are like me. If you are simply incapable of having any other religion. If you are unable to believe. If you are lost in a world where it seems like everyone has gone insane. Nihilism is not going to give you the hope you are looking for, but it is the realization that you might not need any hope after all. Nihilism is not going to give your life value, but it is the realization that you are as worthless as everyone else. Nihilism is not going to protect you from the darkness, but it is the realization that the darkness is no different from the light.
Doesn't sound appealing, does it? Too bad, because that's the pitch. If you are one of the poor souls this does sound appealing to, please reach out. I've met very few people who embrace nihilism like I do and I'd love to talk. I'll be happy to provide guidance, listen to your thoughts or have a friendly chat.
