Sunday, March 4, 2012

In the novel The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea, a nihilistic point of view is presented to us through   the chief. Existential Nihilism is the belief that there is no meaning to life. This can lead to different ways of thinking. One of which the chief presents to the boys, "To begin with, he maintained that their genitals were for copulating with stars in the Milky Way."(Mishima 55) The reference made to the Milky Way suggests that the boys should be above humanistic ways, and sentiments.

Nihilism can also lead to compromising lifestyles. For example, when the movie 2012 came out a lot of people sold their houses. They thought that if the world was going to end they may as well enjoy life now, and forget about everything that is "important" like paying bills.

I believe that nihilism plays a strong role in the creation of religions. The question why are we here, can never be answered, and due to this I believe religions were created, to give humans purpose. It establishes why we are here and gives us something to work towards.