There are times when we’ll just pick up a book and read a few pages. Then we realize how hopeless and depressing the book is. The character realizes how meaningless their actions are, how pointless the plot is, how insignificant they are as they’re swept away into a cold, unforgiving universe. Books such as In the Dust of This Planet by Eugene Thacker, Yes by Thomas Bernhard, and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde have explored this kind of thinking. And with the advent of TV shows like Rick and Morty and Bojack Horseman, this kind of thinking is quickly becoming mainstream. If you haven’t guessed already, this type of thinking is known as nihilism. But what is nihilism? Why are people interested in it, and how has it been used to craft compelling characters and stories?

Nihilism is a broad term that describes the belief that there is little to no meaning in life. Concepts such as morality are just societal constructs used to bring order to an unpredictable reality. There are different branches of nihilism, such as metaphysical nihilism and mereological nihilism. Despite its definition, nihilism continually plays an important role in encouraging people to find meaning in their lives.

An example of this can be found in Buddhism. Buddha was originally a teacher who taught that individuals must meditate in order to achieve a state of nirvana or nothingness. Many people feared this teaching because they thought their own individuality would be destroyed in the process. However, Buddha combated these assumptions by saying that nirvana is only to alleviate suffering from the human condition. The rephrasing helped, and soon Buddhism gained a rather large following.

It wasn’t until Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher, that nihilism took hold in the West. Nietzsche described nihilism as a sort of battle between our individual perceptions and our worldly perceptions. We have certain expectations as to how the world should be, and if those expectations are proven false, we are in crisis. It’s why Nietzsche also said that it’s up to us to give our own lives meaning. This can include interpreting the world through various lenses and reframing our line of thought, whether that be through religious, spiritual, or moral means.

Interestingly enough, this was during a time when Christianity was in decline. Nietzsche emphasized the importance of Christianity, claiming that it gave people some internal value, as well as a way to organize an otherwise chaotic world. However, Nietzsche also pointed out that because Christianity encourages people to seek out the truth, it, in and of itself, will realize that it is little more than a construct, and dissolve. This was actually one of the reasons why Nietzsche now said the infamous line, “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him.”

Many literary and art movements have been inspired by nihilism. The postmodern movement, for instance, questioned the existence of cultures, identities, and even histories. The works in this movement contained many unreliable narrators and described the hopelessness and despair that people were feeling during the time. The Dada movement also fed into this emptiness, especially after World War I. It rejected the current logic and aestheticism of current society back then, and helped facilitate artists to express their concerns regarding war, nationalism, and the dangers of radical political ideologies.

Nihilism is a philosophical school of thought that helps people make sense of the world. Writers and artists have used their own perceptions on nihilism in order to build relatable characters that readers can get behind. And while it might be a bleak form of thought at times, it’s an important one, nonetheless.