Nihilism ( or ; from the
Latin , nothing) is a
philosophical doctrine that suggests the lack of belief in one or more reputedly
meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of
existential nihilism, which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or
intrinsic value.
Moral nihilists assert that
morality does not inherently exist, and that any established moral values are abstractly contrived. Nihilism can also take
epistemological or
ontological/
metaphysical forms, meaning respectively that, in some aspect, knowledge is not possible, or that reality does not actually exist.