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Single Idea 7078

[filed under theme 23. Ethics / F. Existentialism / 3. Angst ]

Full Idea

In the 1880s Nietzsche diagnosed the concept of nihilism for a whole range of continental thinkers: the recognition of the subject's freedom goes hand in hand with the collapse of moral certainty in the world.

Gist of Idea

The freedom of the subject means the collapse of moral certainty

Source

report of Friedrich Nietzsche (Beyond Good and Evil [1886]) by Simon Critchley - Continental Philosophy - V. Short Intro Ch.5

Book Ref

Critchley,Simon: 'Continental Philosophy - Very Short Intro' [OUP 2001], p.78


A Reaction

Avoiding this dilemma is just one of the many bonuses offered to those who abandon the idea of free will. The fact that one can decide to be wicked doesn't bring an end to morality. Philosophers should think more concretely about human life.


The 18 ideas with the same theme [life permeated by insecurities and meaninglessness]:

If man considers himself as lost and imprisoned in the universe, he will be terrified [Pascal]
Irony is the response to conflicts of involvement and attachment [Schlegel,F, by Pinkard]
Anxiety is not a passing mood, but a response to human freedom [Kierkegaard, by Carlisle]
The ultimate in life is learning to be anxious in the right way [Kierkegaard]
Ultimate knowledge is being anxious in the right way [Kierkegaard]
Anxiety is staring into the yawning abyss of freedom [Kierkegaard]
The freedom of the subject means the collapse of moral certainty [Nietzsche, by Critchley]
The thought of suicide is a great reassurance on bad nights [Nietzsche]
Anxiety about death frees me to live my own life [Heidegger, by Wrathall]
Anxiety is the uncanniness felt when constantly fleeing from asserting one's own freedom [Heidegger, by Caputo]
Anxiety reveals the possibility and individuality of Dasein [Heidegger]
Fear concerns the world, but 'anguish' comes from confronting my self [Sartre]
Unlike other creatures, mankind seems lost in nature [Cioran]
We can only live because our imagination and memory are poor [Cioran]
Life is now more dreaded than death [Cioran]
In anxiety people cling to what reinforces it, because it is a deep need [Cioran]
If existence is absurd it can never have a meaning [Beauvoir]
Anxiety, nausea, guilt and absurdity shake us up, revealing our freedom and limits [Aho]