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Nihilism: An In-Depth Discussion – @unsolicitedadvice9198

Alex O'Connor | March 15, 2026



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– VIDEO NOTES

Joe Folley is the creator of the YouTube channel “Unsolicited Advice” (@unsolicitedadvice9198) which creates short, digestible philosophical videos on a wide range of topics.

He joins me today to discuss nihilism: its history, its meaning, and its significance in philosophy.

– LINKS

Find Joe’s Channel here: @unsolicitedadvice9198

– TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Introduction
04:32 Why Focus on Nihilism?
11:40 Nihilism’s Ancient Origins?
21:47 Was Diogenes a Nihilist?
31:37 Dostoyevsky and Nihilism
41:15 Was Nietzche a Nihilist?
49:32 The Myth of Sisyphus
1:02:41 Is Existentialism Just a Cope?
1:08:02 Is There Such a Thing as a Nihilist?
1:19:07 Where to Find Joe

– SPECIAL THANKS

A special thanks to my top-tier supporters on Patreon:

Tom Rindell
James Younger, DDS

– CONNECT

My Website: https://www.alexoconnor.com

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The Within Reason Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/within-reason/id1458675168

– CONTACT

Business email: contact@alexoconnor.com

——————————————

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Written by Alex O'Connor

Comments

This post currently has 46 comments.

  3. @sgnMark

    March 15, 2026 at 10:11 am

    I'm looking at the comments and I see a similar theme. People are confusing nihilism with not caring. Nihilist usually very much care when they find out nothing has meaning.

  4. @lenakaczorek3325

    March 15, 2026 at 10:11 am

    what is also quite interesting about The Book of Ecclesiastes, in Poland, during our literature lessons, we also learn that the famous "Hevel" from the text can be also translated as a "para, dym, mgła" so it's steam, smoke, fog. That concept also repats itself later in polish literature in baroque with this sort of metaphysical and nihilistic approach to life found in those texts. Polish writer Naborowski in a famous text "Krótkość żywota" descibes life as "dzwięk, cień, dym, wiatr, błysk, głos…" (sound, shadow, smoke, wind, flash, voice) and its a concept of comparing life to the most insignificant and fleeting things in this world which originates from The Book of Ecclesiastes, so thats pretty interesting!

  5. @carlpeterson8182

    March 15, 2026 at 10:11 am

    I have never met a true nihilist. Everyone I have met have reasons and purposes in life. All I have known live by some moral code that they think is how they should live. Just like everyone makes judgements about themselves and others. I think I was nihilist once but then I felt to tell someone about it. BTW Ecclesiastes is not nihilistic. Because in the end of the book it gives a reason for living that is grounded in God.

  6. @JamesCarter-e7d

    March 15, 2026 at 10:11 am

    @1:16:05 annoys me so much because this is literally, almost word by word, Jordan Petersons argument. And Alex is responding like its the first time he's ever heard of it but had done a video a few years back when deconstructing JP's argument for God.

  9. @gravewalkers

    March 15, 2026 at 10:11 am

    #1 mistake in philosophy is people reverse everything; like which character you are. Dunning-Kruger. Guess who the fool is that thinks he is such a genius that he calls smart people stupid. As a Nihilist – the reverse person says, "I believe in nothing." Wrong. I believed in nothing YOU CAN EVER OFFER. Totally lack of belief in you is called lack of belief in everything; because you see your opinions as everything. Your voting is stupid. Your hope is stupid. Your God is stupid. Your arguing is stupid. Your contempt, outrage, and admiration are useless and stupid. The answers/solutions/reason for existing is NOT IN YOU. They pick up their pack and march off into the unknown finding no salvation in you. Impossible to understand nihilism without understanding they are talking about you; not everything. You could be nihilist about a down syndrome cave man. Same thing, but you are that caveman.

  13. @Michael-e1h6e

    March 15, 2026 at 10:11 am

    Absurdism provides peace with the ability to be indifferent to ethical/moral obligations imposed by society, which can be a very practical and respectful way to handle the problem of Nihilism.

  15. @godsaidno

    March 15, 2026 at 10:11 am

    Nihilism is pretty straight forward. I don’t think you need nearly 90 mins explaining the philosophical fracturing of nihilism. I remember my 2nd year of college. lol.

  20. @jschans1

    March 15, 2026 at 10:11 am

    Nihilism assumes that there is no essential foundation for good and evil…that the origin of everything is indifference and that the fruit of indifference can ultimately be nothing more than indifference. Nihilism is consistently carried through atheism. Essential difference can only exist within a context that allows for essentiality. This essentiality of difference can only lie in a will. Therefore, nihilism can only be escaped if the origin of everything is connected to a will.

  22. @Biomirth

    March 15, 2026 at 10:11 am

    I can't imagine how many people you guys are getting into philosophy proper. I'm so glad for everyone that you've both been finding success. Not for you (though I am happy for you), but for giving people a chance to find what actual argument is made of. Sometimes a thorn in the foot isn't enough and you need someone to really ram that it and say "It either is, or is not a thorn, would you like me to continue?". For me, that is the purpose of practiced social philosophy (like Socrates). It is unironically and ironically the most overlooked human endeavor in modern life.

  24. @calebplumleeoutdoors

    March 15, 2026 at 10:11 am

    55:55 this screams at so so many of us in the modern workplace. My job involves supplying customers with internet connectivity solutions for aircraft… so that people can have internet access for the purpose of entertainment while on a flight. Christ… what a pointless and meaningless endeavor.

  25. @TheCrazyCartModChannel

    March 15, 2026 at 10:11 am

    Meaning is what you make it. Nothing matters, unless of course it does. Then it does. It's literally that simple.

    One man's trash is another man's treasure. Therefore it's not about the thing… It's about the perspective of the thing.

  31. @twinnedcloud857

    March 15, 2026 at 10:11 am

    “So remember your creator while you are young, before the evil days come, and the years approach when you will say, “They no longer give me pleasure”; before the sun and the light grow dim, also the moon and the stars; before the clouds return after the rain; on the day when the guards of the house are trembling, and men of courage are bent over double; when the women stop grinding grain, because there are so few; when the women at the windows can no longer see out; when the doors to the streets are kept shut; when the noise from the grain-mill fades; when a person is startled by the chirp of a bird, yet their singing is hard to hear; when they will be afraid to go up a hill, and terrors will stalk the way, even though the almond tree is in bloom; when the locust can only drag itself along, and the caper berry has no [aphrodisiac] effect — because the person is headed for his eternal home, and the mourners are already gathering in the marketplace — before the silver cord is snapped the bowl of gold is cracked, the pitcher is shattered at the spring, the pulley is broken at the cistern, the dust returns to earth, as it was, and the spirit returns to God, who gave it! Pointless! Meaningless! — says Kohelet, Nothing matters at all! Not only was Kohelet wise, he also taught the people what he knew; also he weighed, researched and corrected many ethical sayings. Kohelet worked to develop an attractive writing style, in which he expressed the truth straightforwardly. The sayings of the wise are as sharp as goads, and those given by leaders of assemblies are like well-fixed nails; [in this case,] they are presented by a single shepherd. In addition, my son, take heed: one can write many books — there’s no end to it; and one can study so much that it wearies the flesh. Here is the final conclusion, now that you have heard everything: fear God, and keep his mitzvot; this is what being human is all about. For God will bring to judgment everything we do, including every secret, whether good or bad. [Here is the final conclusion, now that you have heard everything: fear God, and keep his mitzvot; this is what being human is all about.]”
    ‭‭Kohelet (Ecc)‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭14‬ ‭CJB‬‬

  45. @ThermaL-ty7bw

    March 15, 2026 at 10:11 am

    nihilism happens when you CARE TO MUCH ABOUT ALL THINGS IN THE UNIVERSE ,
    it gets So overwhelming , that you need to Cut It All Off ,
    which appears to other people , as you Not Caring About Anything At All .
    a nihilist wants All problems in the world to be solved in 1 go ,
    which is impossible , so you "find yourself" in to this worldview of ''nihilism''

Comments are closed.

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