What is Existentialism (5): Nihilism vs. Existentialism and Absurdism (A)

What I Wish I Knew about Existential Philosophy from the Start (Part 5)

Perhaps the real point is not to draw hard boundaries but to question how we actually affirm existence in our own lives.

This is the fifth instalment in a short paid series on existentialism.

If you missed the beginning, you can read the entire first post for free here.

You can view the previous post here (paywalled after first main section).

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Is there really a difference between existentialism and absurdism?

When I teach existentialism in class, I sometimes encounter students who probe me about the differences between existentialism, nihilism, and absurdism.

I know where they’re coming from, because I’ve also seen this online—especially here on Substack and other forums like Reddit. If I encountered this as a student, it would have confused me too. Since I didn’t want to be a nihilist, it would have seemed like I had to choose between existentialism and absurdism. But this isn’t the case. Absurdism is really just one branch of the broader movement of existential philosophy.

The real choice isn’t between existentialism and absurdism, but whether we should affirm existence through meaning or passion.

The prevailing ‘wisdom’: Three different schools of philosophy

If you search online today, you’ll quickly find people contrasting existentialism with nihilism and absurdism.

The prevailing wisdom goes something like this:

• nihilism says there is no ultimate meaning or purpose in the world to guide our lives

• existentialism says that we create our own meaning and purpose by how we choose to live

• absurdism says that we shouldn’t seek to create meaning but instead rebel against the absurdity of life by affirming it for the meaningless struggle that it is

People like being gatekeepers. And that’s the case here too. If someone makes a comment that contravenes the popular view, then they’re quickly corrected and dismissed.

But as with much online discourse, this too is misguided.

Nihilism vs. existentialism and absurdism

It is the case that nihilism should be contrasted with existentialism and absurdism. Both of them reject nihilist despair in the face of the breakdown of traditional ways of making sense of the world. But problems emerge with this view’s characterization of existentialism and absurdism.