Nihilism

Most significant problems of contemporary life have their origins in nihilism and its paradoxical logic, which is simultaneously destructive to and constitutive of society. Yet, in social theory, nihilism is a surprisingly under-researched topic.This book develops a systematic account of nihilism in its four main forms: escapism, radical nihilism, passive nihilism and active nihilism. It focuses especially on the disjunctive synthesis between passive nihilism (the negation of the will) and radical nihilism (the will to negation), between the hedonism/disorientation that characterizes the contemporary post-political culture and the emerging forms of despair and violence as a reaction to it.The book consists of three parts. Part one deals with the historical significance, social consequences, and the social topology of nihilism. Part two focuses on literary, cinematic and architectural spaces of nihilism in the form of empirical case studies and part three links the first two together by elaborating on the possibilities of overcoming nihilism.Diken, Bulent is the author of 'Nihilism' with ISBN 9780415452182 and ISBN 041545218X.