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What a great thread. Gotta share with my twitter philosophe buds. @Failed_Buddhist

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Oct 26, 2018

Chidi's descent in nihilism on The Good Place made me think of a set of tweets on here about positive nihilism or optimistic nihilism, to which someone replied "Isn't that just absurdism?" Which, no, it actually isn't.

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and

This an interesting thread - as suggested by Kenneth - what are you immediate thoughts

@chagmed

? It wasn’t very long ago that we discussed your personal brand of ‘cheerful nihilism’ informed by decades of dzogchen and alcohol use/abuse.

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and

First, for a dzogchenpa such as myself, all use of alcohol is a sacred duty. I don't enjoy it, but it' something I must do. I appreciate

@alexandraerin

's thread. I am unfamiliar with The Good Place. Unless it's a euphemism.

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I agree that the absence of absolute meaning does not prevent beings such as ourselves from enjoying, loving, and drinking

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Fictions are perfectly fine, provided we realize they are fictions, that we use them for practical purposes, and that we realize they don't represent ultimate reality, whatever that may be

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Nihilism can be cheerful. It is possible to understand that "meaning" is a human fiction, but despite that, we need not give in to anxiety and/or depression.

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Very good point. I can see an argument with regards to semantic here, but in practice I think this agrees with a reject of certain 'philosophical extremes'. Where nihilism becomes problematic is in the fixated/deluded denial of meaning/enjoyment/vividness.

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and where can we find this straw man of evil nihilism? often in Buddhist philosophy, the glass house which enjoys throwing stones.

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Yes, although I'm not sure it's a straw man. I've met people who were genuinely suffering as a result of fixated nihilism: if they require a skilful unpicking of nihilism to print further suffering, then so be it. I don't care what philosophical labels they use/abuse/offend.

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IMO, people who suffer the most from this sort of nihilism aren't generally nihilists in any formal sense. They have far too many ideas about the "meaning" and interpretation of nihilism itself.

9:24 PM · Oct 26, 2018Twitter Web Client

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This, but in the negative, essentially:

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zbracisz

@zacbracz

Apr 15, 2017

western buddhism is when you can't actually find waldo, but if you're positive he's in the picture somewhere, it's okay.

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When many Buddhists refer to nihilism, they are referring to lack of belief in the continuity of mind, i.e., that consciousness survives death of the brain/body.

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