Book contents
- A History of Nihilism in the Nineteenth Century
- A History of Nihilism in the Nineteenth Century
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 Jean Paul’s Vision of Nihilism and Plea for the Doctrine of Immortality
- 2 Klingemann and the Absurdity of Nothingness in The Nightwatches
- 3 Nihilism in English Romanticism
- 4 Schopenhauer’s Theory of Human Suffering and Lack of Meaning
- 5 Büchner’s Account of the Reign of Terror as a Mirror of Human Existence
- 6 Poul Martin Møller’s Criticism of Hegelianism and the Danish Discussion of Nihilism
- 7 Kierkegaard and the Indefinability and Inexplicability of Death
- 8 Turgenev’s Portrait of a Nihilist
- 9 Nietzsche’s Vision of the Past and the Future of Nihilism
- 10 The Importance of Nihilism in the Nineteenth Century
- Selected Bibliography on Nihilism
- Name Index
- Subject Index
10 - The Importance of Nihilism in the Nineteenth Century
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 March 2023
- A History of Nihilism in the Nineteenth Century
- A History of Nihilism in the Nineteenth Century
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 Jean Paul’s Vision of Nihilism and Plea for the Doctrine of Immortality
- 2 Klingemann and the Absurdity of Nothingness in The Nightwatches
- 3 Nihilism in English Romanticism
- 4 Schopenhauer’s Theory of Human Suffering and Lack of Meaning
- 5 Büchner’s Account of the Reign of Terror as a Mirror of Human Existence
- 6 Poul Martin Møller’s Criticism of Hegelianism and the Danish Discussion of Nihilism
- 7 Kierkegaard and the Indefinability and Inexplicability of Death
- 8 Turgenev’s Portrait of a Nihilist
- 9 Nietzsche’s Vision of the Past and the Future of Nihilism
- 10 The Importance of Nihilism in the Nineteenth Century
- Selected Bibliography on Nihilism
- Name Index
- Subject Index
Summary
This concluding chapter offers some reflections on the nature of nihilism in the works explored. An overview is given of the different versions of the problem of nihilism that the thinkers and writers examined here have sketched. This is followed by another comparative overview of their different proposals for solutions to nihilism. A section is also dedicated to showing the many ways in which the thinkers of the nineteenth century anticipated key elements of twentieth-century existentialism. Among the elements discussed are the realization of the nothingness, authenticity, existential freedom, rebellion, the existentialist hero, and the absurd. The chapter concludes with some reflections on the relevance of nihilism in the twenty-first century.
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- A History of Nihilism in the Nineteenth CenturyConfrontations with Nothingness, pp. 280 - 307Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023