cheerful nihilism

occupation / innovator as

artist

nationality

American

is an (alarmingly) easy-going acceptance of meaninglessness which an lead to an environment of intellectual or moral arrogance or raw power alone.

In The Banalization of Nihilism (1992) Karen Carr discusses the antifoundationalist response to nihilism. Although it still inflames a paralyzing relativism and subverts critical tools, 'cheerful nihilism' carries the day, she notes, distinguished by an easy-going acceptance of meaninglessness. Such a development, Carr concludes, is alarming. If we accept that all perspectives are equally non-binding, then intellectual or moral arrogance will determine which perspective has precedence. Worse still, the banalization of nihilism creates an environment where ideas can be imposed forcibly with little resistance, raw power alone determining intellectual and moral hierarchies. It's a conclusion that dovetails nicely with Nietzsche's, who pointed out that all interpretations of the world are simply manifestations of will-to-power.' (http://www.iep.utm.edu/nihilism/)

Karen CarrThinkers

Karen Carr