The Banalization of Nihilism: Twentieth-Century Responses to Meaninglessness

Description

After a historical and conceptual overview of the changing face of nihilism in the last century, Carr examines Nietzsche’s diagnosis of nihilism as modernity’s major crisis. She then compares the responses to nihilism given by the early Karl Barth and by Richard Rorty. To some, nihilism is losing its crisis connotations and becoming simply an unobjectionable characteristic of human life. Carr argues that this transformation ultimately absolutizes community preference and reflects an increasing inability to criticize and change the existing structures of thought. The author contends that the uncritical acceptance of nihilism, which characterizes much of postmodernism, ironically culminates in its complete opposite―dogmatism. The Banalization of Nihilism CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS PART I: THE UNCANNIEST OF ALL GUESTS 1 The Problem of Nihilism 2 Understanding Nihilism PART II: NIHILISM AND CRISIS 3 Nietzsche and the Crisis of Nihilism The Nature of Nietzsche's Concern with Nihilism Human Interpretation and the Demand for Meaning The Advent of the "Uncanniest of All Guests" Nihilism: Disease or Cure? 4 Karl Barth and the Theology of Crisis The Theological Context of Der Roemerbrief A Soteriology of Ambiguity Religious Nihilism The Legitimation of Crisis 5 Richard Rorty and the Dissolution of Crisis The Postmodern Mood The Anti-Foundationalist Critique of Philosophy Deconstruction, Différance, and Play Postmodernist Bourgeois Liberalism32 Deconstructing Nihilism PART III: THE RESOLUTION OF NIHILISM 6 Discontented versus Unrepentant Nihilists Conclusion NOTES Chapter 1: The Problem of Nihilism Chapter 2: Understanding Nihilism Chapter 3: Nietzsche and the Crisis of Nihilism Chapter 4: Karl Barth and the Theology of Crisis Chapter 5: Richard Rorty and the Dissolution of Crisis Chapter 6: Discontented versus Unrepentant Nihilists SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U W Z