The Best Argument For Nihilism

Why it might be that nothing matters

0 Introduction

I’ve never been very impressed by the arguments for nihilism—the thesis that nothing matters. They’ve always struck me as extremely lame, or, for those who find describing arguments as lame ableist, braindead (Who will be offended by that? Braindead people?). Some nihilists, for instance, will point out that the world will end at some point in the future, and then confidently assert the obvious non-sequitur that this means that nothing matters. I have never understood such arguments or why the hell anyone finds them persuasive!

But there is one argument for nihilism that I find fairly persuasive. I’d give it maybe 30% odds of being right and I find that prospect terrifying. If it is right, that would have the tragic consequence that nothing we do matters. It would have an upside though; the universe wouldn’t be good, but nor would it be bad! Heck, it wouldn’t even be neutral! It would be something else, something much weirder!