The Problem

Abstract

Abstract This chapter provides an articulation of the problem of nihilism and canvasses a number of solutions to it, none of which are found satisfying. The problem of nihilism is understood as premised on the assumption that it is irrational to desire something you believe is not good. If this is so, then it is irrational for someone who believes that nothing is good or bad—a “nihilist about value”—to desire anything. Nihilism about value, in this way, seems to mandate total indifference. The solutions to the problem of nihilism considered here include the Humean solution (on which desire does not admit of irrationality), the realist solution (on which nihilism about value is obviously false), and the naturalist solution (on which it is not possible for a human being to sustain total indifference for very long).