Nihilism
The Emptiness of the Machine
Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Existentialism, Kids, Religion, Teen
| Author: | André Cancian | ISBN: | 9780463322314 |
| Publisher: | André Cancian | Publication: | January 1, 2018 |
| Imprint: | André Cancian | Language: | English |
| Author: | André Cancian |
| ISBN: | 9780463322314 |
| Publisher: | André Cancian |
| Publication: | January 1, 2018 |
| Imprint: | André Cancian |
| Language: | English |
A bold philosophical defense of existential nihilism based on modern science.
* * *
When we imagine a machine, the result is always something close to a mechanical system that works by itself. It doesn’t bother us to think that it’s nothing beyond that. But how do we feel when we imagine ourselves as a machine? Empty. We have the feeling that something is missing. And what is missing? What’s there in a human that is missing in a machine? Illusion. The emptiness of the machine is the consciousness that our subjective world is a fiction; the consciousness that our humanity is a delirium, and that there’s nothing behind what we are living. We are machines, and our consciousness is a dream of this machine. Nothing else. Absolutely nothing.
* * *
“Great. I cannot remember the last time I read something so interesting.”
— John
“Divine essay, in a borrowed sense. It took me 40 years to understand this. A text like when I was 18 would have
solved my search for the real nihilism. Worth more than the Zarathustra.”
— Jurandir Vieira da Silva
“Great essay. Special highlight for the phrase: ‘It is preferable to live in a meaningless world to believing in a false meaning to the world, one that points nowhere.’ When we are seeking a grandiose (and fanciful) sense of life, we end up giving little value to life itself. The act of living is the meaning of life.”
— André Felix
“In one word: great! More adjectives would be disposable.”
— Tom Carano
“I have it printed at the head of the bed to reread it a few more times. Great!”
— Julio Neves
A bold philosophical defense of existential nihilism based on modern science.
* * *
When we imagine a machine, the result is always something close to a mechanical system that works by itself. It doesn’t bother us to think that it’s nothing beyond that. But how do we feel when we imagine ourselves as a machine? Empty. We have the feeling that something is missing. And what is missing? What’s there in a human that is missing in a machine? Illusion. The emptiness of the machine is the consciousness that our subjective world is a fiction; the consciousness that our humanity is a delirium, and that there’s nothing behind what we are living. We are machines, and our consciousness is a dream of this machine. Nothing else. Absolutely nothing.
* * *
“Great. I cannot remember the last time I read something so interesting.”
— John
“Divine essay, in a borrowed sense. It took me 40 years to understand this. A text like when I was 18 would have
solved my search for the real nihilism. Worth more than the Zarathustra.”
— Jurandir Vieira da Silva
“Great essay. Special highlight for the phrase: ‘It is preferable to live in a meaningless world to believing in a false meaning to the world, one that points nowhere.’ When we are seeking a grandiose (and fanciful) sense of life, we end up giving little value to life itself. The act of living is the meaning of life.”
— André Felix
“In one word: great! More adjectives would be disposable.”
— Tom Carano
“I have it printed at the head of the bed to reread it a few more times. Great!”
— Julio Neves
