Nihilism and Violence from Plato to Arendt

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    Abstract

    In this chapter, I will attempt to answer the question of whether nihilism is inherently violent insofar as it is destructive, or inherently nonviolent insofar as it is indifferent. I do this by, first, turning to Nietzsche to determine if there is a parallel between violent and nonviolent nihilism to be found in his distinction between active and passive nihilism. I then turn to Plato, as we can find an illustration of the violent potential of nihilism in his famous allegory of the cave. Next, I examine Heidegger’s lecture on Plato’s allegory of the cave, as Heidegger there provides an investigation into the various forms of violence that can be found in Plato’s allegory, and an analysis of what those forms of violence can tell us about what it means to be human. Subsequently, I turn to Simone de Beauvoir, for we find an evolutionary account of how someone becomes a nihilist in her analysis of nihilism, an account that brings together various threads found in Nietzsche, Plato, and Heidegger on the relationship between violence and nihilism. Finally, this will lead us to Hannah Arendt, for through her work we can expand our understanding of the relationship between nihilism and violence to include violence that is not merely personal, but that is also political.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationViolence and Nihilism
    EditorsLuis Aguilar de Sousa, Paolo Stellino
    PublisherWalter de Gruyter
    Pages7-23
    Number of pages17
    ISBN (Electronic)9783110699210
    ISBN (Print)9783110698954
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 5 Jul 2022

    Keywords

    • Violence
    • Nihilism
    • Plato
    • Heidegger
    • Simone de Beauvoir
    • Hannah Arendt
    • Simone Weil
    • Existentialism
    • Phenomenology
    • Cultural Studies
    • NLA

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