[jackyinger]

Ok, great movie. But man, I hate that this is what everyone thinks about when they think of nihilism.

It is very challenging to truly believe in nothing. I think it is much more realistic to see nihilism as a label applied to others’ belief systems that we find entirely void of valid belief.

Organizations described as Nihilistic Violent Extremists do have beliefs that motivate them, they are just vacuous beliefs in the eyes of the vast majority of human beings.

However if you can show me someone who can convincingly claim to be that they really are a nihilist I would be curious to see it.

[iamnothere]

I suspect that this categorization is a result of confusion on the part of law enforcement and their inability to cope with the post-ideological landscape of the internet. Someone who believes all manner of contradictory things is not a “nihilist,” they just have an unsettled or dynamic belief structure. This may be because they haven’t fully worked out their beliefs, or it may be because they are willing to readily adopt new beliefs if they seem advantageous. In essence this seems more Discordian than nihilist.

There’s also a third option, the person doesn’t see a problem with superficially adopting other beliefs as a form of camouflage, but they do have a core set of beliefs.

In general I think the chaos of the internet and the exposure to multiple points of view encourages fragmentation and dynamic systems of belief. I don’t necessarily see it as a bad thing, either.