Existential Nihilism & Atheism…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existential_nihilism

"He rages most of all at the thought that eternity might get it into its head to take his misery from him!" Kierkegaard

The TL;DR is that meaning and purpose are ascribed to things by intelligent and conscious beings, and that we as human beings find meaning and purpose in all sorts of things - in relationships, in marriages, in friendships, in children, in our jobs, etc. Those meanings and purposes have all the value that we give to them quite aside from whether there is any God or not. Adding God only means there is one more sentient being who can have meanings and purposes and in that sense is no more relevant or important than adding one additional human.

Doesn't existential nihilism follow naturally from atheism? That mankind, ultimately, is insignificant with no intrinsic meaning or purpose? If not, why not?

I, personally, might be considered an existential nihilist, insofar as I don't believe "meaning" is something which CAN be objective-- it seems like an inherently subjective concept, to me.

--Thomas Bradwardine, De Continuo (c. 1325)

Post Thanks / Like - 1 Amen

I explained it The TL;DR is that meaning and purpose are ascribed to things by intelligent and conscious beings, and that we as human beings find meaning and purpose in all sorts of things - in relationships, in marriages, in friendships, in children, in our jobs, etc. Those meanings and purposes have all the value that we give to them quite aside from whether there is any God or not. Adding God only means there is one more sentient being who can have meanings and purposes and in that sense is no more relevant or important than adding one additional human.

If our species went extinct tomorrow how would effect anything for the worse?

"He rages most of all at the thought that eternity might get it into its head to take his misery from him!" Kierkegaard

Post Thanks / Like - 1 Amen

Not necessarily. There are atheists who believe that mankind has intrinsic purpose even among philosophical naturalists, let alone supernaturalist atheists.

"He rages most of all at the thought that eternity might get it into its head to take his misery from him!" Kierkegaard

And what would that intrinsic purpose be? Exactly.

--Thomas Bradwardine, De Continuo (c. 1325)

The answers to that question vary, just as they do among theists. A humanist might answer that the intrinsic purpose of mankind is to help as much and to harm as little as possible. A Zen Buddhist might say that the intrinsic purpose of mankind is to discover the enlightenment latent in one's soul. A particularly morbid atheist might say that mankind's purpose is to die. Et cetera, et cetera.

"He rages most of all at the thought that eternity might get it into its head to take his misery from him!" Kierkegaard

Well I don't know about the Buddhist thing, but I think your atheist point lines up with nihilism. As far as the humanist - where would he ever get the idea of intrinsic purpose? Not from nature. Do they just assert intrinsic purpose without a rational?

--Thomas Bradwardine, De Continuo (c. 1325)

Doesn't existential nihilism follow naturally from atheism? That mankind, ultimately, is insignificant with no intrinsic meaning or purpose? If not, why not?

Post Thanks / Like - 2 Amen

Read this article:

Existential Nihilism & Atheism...