nihilism

Nihilism for Dummies

Chapter One: A Scientific Look at Nihilism
Some of you may ask: What is the eschaton and why does it need immanentizing? The eschaton is a Catholic term denoting the end of existence. In such a use it is synonomous with talk of the apocalypse and armageddon. In some more recent circles it is now used to denote the entropic decay of the universe at large. The action of immanentizing the eschaton thus means to bring the universe a bit closer to its inevitable end, usually by introducing a large influx of chaotic energy into an otherwise (relatively) stable system. For example, shooting large numbers of nuclear missiles into the sun so that it affected its normal fusion reaction process would immanentize the eschaton.
Now for those of you who have no grasp of basic physics: The universe at large consists of a few atoms and a hell of a lot of empty space. I read somewhere once that if all the empty space in the human body were compressed it would easily fit inside a thimble, if not on the head of a pin. The various states of matter are what occurrs when molecules move further apart or closer together so that they have room to vibrate according to the amount of energy present. The introduction of heat into liquid water, for example, would cause the molecules to go into an excitatory state and move further apart, giving room for more violent vibration and causing evaporation, the transformation of a liquid into a gas. Solids are the most stable, having the least amount of energy and the closest molecules. However, the fact that solids are in fact solid is an illusion. There is still a great deal of space in between the molecules.
Thinking about these principles lead irrevocably toward nihilism. The fact that the universe is completely empty except for a few freak molecules that bounce around pretending to be somthing is devastating to the ego. Humanity has put so much effort into pretending that the universe is not only relevant, but has it as a centerpiece. The fact is, however, that the universe is merely a huge joke played on the few and infrequent electrical impulses playing through intangible minds that we, in our arrogance, term the "Self."
Now for an experiment. Go outside, to a picturesque natural setting. Sit down and look around. Look at the trees, the grass; see the vibrant colors. Now attempt to look between the individual molecules of the surroundings. If you're doing it right you will be immediately sucked into a void, nothing will exist any longer. You will be a stray consciousness drifting on the Astral Winds. Congratulations, you have just destroyed the multiverse.
Now start breathing normally again and allow the illusion to seep back into your sight. It's an abomination, isn't it? And you are one of the few who now realize it. It is a horrendous misappropriation of funds by the Creator Gods, a self perpetuating, Matrix-like hallucination forced upon the psyches of insignificant mortals by a being either twisted so far beyond our comprehension as to make Great Cthulhu seem a vision of light and goodness and cookies and rainbows or one that is using us to further some scheme that we will never begin to understand. The point is, though, that we exist in a total void, the universe being the product of energy waking up one morning and deciding to vibrate differently, just for kicks.
Now, I'm not suggesting that there is nothing anywhere. I'm just saying that what we believe to be something is not, in fact, anything worth mentioning. There may be reality somewhere, we just are not living in it. This newfangled matter is only a passing fad, and one day it will return to the energy which spawned it. In a perfect state the universe consists of a single, infinitescimally small point of pure energy. In theory it once existed in such a state, but then there was some sort of big BANG! and shit started going downhill from there. Just for allegorical fun we'll call this BANG! Bethlehem, because at that moment a messiah was born: Entropy. Entropy is currently growing up (probably in Egypt), and one day Entropy will presumably save us from our sins. When that glorious time comes... something might happen. I don't presume to know what. I do suspect, though, that it will have something to do with the bindings on all mater unravelling and the sum total of creation reverting back into its natural energy state.
I know that this sounds like the ravings of a madman. And on that point you're probably right. However, one is never a prophet in one's hometown, and in this global information economy that means on this planet. Maybe the talking poodles on Sirius Minor would appreciate this? My point is, though, that the Bible is also the ravings of a madman (we'll just take the Christians' word on the whole "Inspired Word of God" and assume that the madman's name is Jehovah) and look at how popular that has become. Just because I'm apparently stark-raving insane doesn't mean that this doesn't have some grain of truth in it. So keep with me as I make my next fantastically audacious leap of logic.
By spreading chaos we push the bounds of the ever-expanding universe a bit further. Theoretically, there is only so much room for chaos in the universe before it spins out of control and collapses inward on itself in a fantastic display that will probably invent several new, beautiful colors. As moral human beings our duty is to help the universe unravel itself. We will free ourselves of this illusion called reality, we will set the stage for a new reality of pure energy that has no possibility of such material problems as starvation and death, and we will advance art by creating those new colors I mentioned earlier. Too bad the only artists capable of using them will be standing outside the bounds of reality. By immanentizing the eschaton we will advance the cause of those suffering everywhere. There will be no more pain, no more sadness. In a catastrophic moment of unrivalled glory all of creation will be wiped clean of the stain this false matter has placed upon it. The destruction of the universe seems to be the true universal panacea.
Perhaps I just have a hard-on for destruction. I can't believe, though, that the destruction of the universe could possibly be wrong, though, given the evidence. In fact, it may be the only way to save our miserable race from the doom of anonymymity on the universal stage. At last those damn aliens would sit up and take notice of us! Of course, if I'm completely wrong, it would totally suck. But I feel so strongly about all this that I would willingly bring it to pass were I given any opportunity to do so. Existence is the chain of the Slave Gods and I would joyously free all conscious beings from those chains. Such is my love for all living things that I would destroy them (and their families and their homes and thier planets, where they keep all thier stuff, and their little dogs too) without a second thought.

Chapter Two: A Poetic Look at Nihilism
"Every man and woman is a star." So it has been written, and so it is true However, it goes beyond that. There are no stars. There isn't even Man, but a collection of fragments, searching eternally for the divine Oneness that once combined the entirety of the Universe. Every consciousness, every firing synapse, longs to be reunited with the Eternal Singularity. Everything that we believe, everything we know to be a Universal Truth, is a lie. This statement is false. All the previous statements are false. All subsequent ones will be false as well. But if you listen to anyone else, study their words and their works, you will know the Truth. And that Truth will be false as well. There are no universal statements, because the universe is an illusion. Show me an axiom and I will show you a meme. And a fool who believes in irreducable statements. We have created and codified this system of logic that helps us to interact with each other. We use it to try to wrap our feeble minds around the facts, and in typical human fashion throw out what we don't like, or what disagrees with our biased pre-judgements. An anecdote: I was reading The Importance of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell. He was discussing the three logical conclusions that could be deduced from a certain sequence. The first one he gave was good, the second better, and the third "leads to nihilism, which is unacceptable." That statement baffled me, because he completely threw out the third possibility simply because he didn't like where it led! That is what led me to create this compendium, a primer for nihilism- the fact that nobody qualified would even touch the subject.
The most common axiom is that "existence exists." I maintain, however, that this is a meme perpetuated to give the intelligent a reason to get out of bed in the morning. After all, what are the mathematical chances of existence existing? None whatsoever! The possibility of this reality springing from absolutely nothing is so infinitescimally small that it's laughable. All that you percieve with your senses is just a colossal mindfuck. This meme infests each individual thought process, though, and is almost impossible to break. In fact, the entire concept of axioms are memes, as an irreducable statement is in direct contradiction of the primary universal law: Nothing is true. If Christians are allowed to overlook paradoxes in their everyday thinking, then so am I.

Preface and Introduction:
This is a work in progress. It all started one day when I was talking with Tiffany about how there are basic philosophical primers for every branch. Each school of philosophy has an author or set of authors whose works are considered the definitive works for the school. Nihilism, though, has no such works. It seems none of the good writers seem to want to tackle the subject that nothing exists, and in their absence I feel the need to do their jobs for them. So I sat down one evening and wrote out a brief outline of chapter one and thus this page was born. My science may or may not be accurate. If it is not, and you decide to correct me, I will put a cigarette out in your eye. And it's perfectly ok for me to do that, because you're not there. Neither am I. Neither is the cigarette. So basically I've just prepared for my eventual insanity plea for after I inflict some horrible violence upon someone for little or no reason whatsoever. That's ok by me. If you have anything constructive to add to this destructive project, let me hear it. I may or may not use it, but I definately won't give you credit. That's just the way scholarship works. This work is dedicated to Bobby, without whose manipulation and mindfucks I may not have decided this existence is only an illusion and certainly wouldn't have gone insane. Take that, fuckwad.