How does Nihilism affect Hedonism?

Farid Guzman BKvt.3

Hedonism and Nihilism are two incredibly interesting philosophies, especially when studied in contrast to each other. Although by the simplest definitions they are opposites, they actually have a lot in common. In fact, it s entirely possible for one to occur as a result of the other. Both are very common in modern Western society, although for the most part extreme hedonists or nihilists are almost unheard of. Even thought we don’t normally pay attention to it, we all have Nihilistic and Hedonistic tendencies at various times throughout our lives.
Nihilism is the belief that nothing we do, own or believe is of any value. It is the belief that we are worthless and that life has no purpose. It comes across as a very dark, empty way of life, yet we all embrace it in small ways. For example, someone may deem voting worthless, arguing that their political choices won’t affect anything. This, on a small scale, is Nihilism. It's a common assumption that without religious moral codes people will behave in a dishonest, violent and otherwise anti-social manner. Yet, the most pious and devout believers still lie, cheat, steal and kill; an open non-believer could do no worse. And the dishonest and anti-social behavior of believers exploiting religious morality are all the more malevolent because they do it under the cover of “righteousness”. The fact is that religion, and the morality it attempts to conclude, is actually parasitical upon natural human social behavior and the rules that automatically emerge from the process of healthy socialization learned during life. Places with the lowest levels of faith and religious morality are some of the most affluent and successful, northern Europe for instance, and indeed the most religious societies are typically the most repressed, impoverished, and suffocating.
One very common question goes like this: If there’s no ‘meaning’ to life then doesn’t it make sense to do whatever makes you happy and not think about things that don’t make you happy? In other words since ignorance is bliss why learn anything? Another version essentially replaces the word ‘ignorance’ with ‘religion’ – if there’s no ‘meaning’ to life and religion makes people happy, why rain on their party trying to disabuse them of their beliefs? This question seems more rhetorical than serious to me, but nonetheless as often as it’s asked it would seem to need an answer. The explanation could go on for pages but to be brief it boils down to two points. First of all stupidity is not healthy for anybody. Seeing through superstition and illusion is a critical task because it prevents the individual from being exploited in life. Second, the religious, believing they hold a monopoly on truth, are compelled to force everyone else to believe the same things they do which means conflict is inevitable. Nihilism and religion cannot co-exist because the believers cannot allow it.
Like Nihilism, Hedonism also rejects the values of our society. Hedonism, however, is the believe that only pleasure is valuable. Hedonism can also be found in everyday society. Doing things “just for the heck of it” and splurging are classic examples of Hedonism in our society. And neither is particularly uncommon. Hedonism may seem selfish, but it is actually just the result of a system based more on fact and less on beliefs. There is no proof of God, or life after death, but pleasure is a “hands-on” reality, not just a belief, so hedonists embrace it. Perhaps in practice they'd be the same, but I'd argue that all philosophies and religions are essentially the same in practice. I don't think that anybody lives by their religion as much as I think. I think most people regardless of their religion try to be good people and be successful. While morals are subjective and relative to culture they are built into our brains on a low level, and i bet even the most hardcore nihilist who had smacked his mother would feel bad about it later. On the other hand I'd bet even the apostle Luke did a few things that had nothing to do with Jesus' message or preparing for the afterlife.
One could say that a society is a form of hedonism where the net pleasure produced outweighs the pains of living by a consensus of norms and produces better net pleasure than being a lone animal which doesnt live in co-operative antmosphere. This also produces a set of rules and norms which are real and have objective consequences .Sociological consequences. That is, if we are to have society, we have to treat people in such a way that the net pleasure tenet is not taken away by society. Otherwise each individual hedonist is at risk. Or that there is a net pleasure for the greatest many. Thus we have a utilitarian moral argument. I believe some things are intrinsically wrong, such as inflicting pain on others, as a really basic example. However, I don't think this is a purely a question of social morality - hurting others is wrong, even if you live in a cruel society where this is regarded as normal behaviour. So there really are things which are right and wrong in that sense. Although the dark, empty image of Nihilism can actually lead to Hedonism. Some nihilists may be able to accept the fact that life has no purpose whatsoever, but many aren’t satisfied with the concept. Because they find no value in their environment, they become valuable to themselves, and this belief manifests itself in pleasure. It could be said that a Hedonist is just an optimistic Nihilist. A zen monk once said: ”Life is meaningless, and it is meaningless that life is meaningless. This means that life can mean whatever you want it to.” The first part of this quote is quite Nihilistic, and the second progresses one step further to Hedonism. Often if our actions can be blamed on ne, they can be blamed on the other as well. A good example of this is skipping school to go to shoot pool; a major value in our society, is rejected. Instead, the pool hall, also known as pleasure, becomes priority. "If nihilists recognize that death is the end all of life, then what is left to focus on but the material world of living?" Does one live life solely in observance of a belief in an afterlife? What about other good things like a kiss, or maybe a good song taken with a glass of wine, or maybe base-jumping, or an appreciation for art. How could we not focus on the very thing that is invariably and audaciously in our face: the world in which we live? Liking pleasure isn't against a nihilistic philosophy. A nihilist that enjoys pleasure may say pleasure, and the seeking of it, is not the meaning of existence - just a happy byproduct of this “meaningless” existence.
It's difficult to answer this topic's question because there are so many views within nihilism, even just the existential branch, and also because of the many similarities between the two philosophies.
Nihilism doesn’t necessarily have any end-state except perhaps when it finally leads to something greater, like a stepping stone to be superseded. So it’s not really an issue of winning in the traditional sense of things, there’s no final victor because life isn’t like that. Dwelling on the hypothetical end-state of Nihilism may cause people to miss the significance of the process for by expanding and bringing forth the ‘extreme’ position into the mainstream it makes reaching a functional and factual conclusion on the part of the public far more likely to occur. It’s about influencing the center of mass by expanding the poles of debate. For example I think of the long-shot candidates that enter an election not with the realistic intent of getting the most votes but rather to influence the debate and convince the public to address their issues of concern when they would otherwise be ignored and swept under by the dominant political parties.
On the other hand it is important to realize that Nihilism and Hedonism are not bad beliefs. Although not guaranteed to be constructive they wont necessarily lead people to misbehave either. As an Atheist I can identify with both beliefs. In becoming Atheist I began to reject many of the major values I had grown up with, including a indoctrinated “meaning of life”. I began to accepting beliefs that felt right to me, and many of the things I do are simply “because I want to”. This does not mean I do whatever I want, it simply means for the most part I do what I enjoy. I think that although Nihilism may cause a lack of motivation, as long as they are not abused or misinterpreted, both Hedonism and Nihilism are good, reasonable beliefs I also think both are firmly embedded in our society and will be for a long time. Nihilism and Hedonism are abundant in Western society. They are found in small amounts in the reasons for things we do, or don’t do, everyday. Even though they appear to be opposites, they are also commonly found together. I personally agree with both beliefs to some extent, and believe that they are an integral part of the values of modern society. Although we don’t generally pay attention to them, they play a critical role in the motivations of our daily life.