History Main / TheAntiNihilist

The sort of character that goes by zen-like doctrines along the lines of "Don't cling to pain. Don't expect happiness. Don't fear loss. Accept reality as it is. Enjoy the good. Endure the bad. Don't make a big deal out of anything. Be selfless, and unconditionally kind and just, without ever expecting a reward. We're all going to end up as piles of dust, so why not be nice to each other and get those pleasant fuzzies?"

* Buddha's teachings, possibly the UrExample.
* Possibly beating Buddha by about 500 years was King Solomon, traditionally held to be the author of Ecclesiastes a.k.a. the most depressing book in ''Literature/TheBible''. "Meaningless! Everything is meaningless" he (maybe) wrote, coming to the conclusion that, "A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil." It's worth remembering this was before belief in the afterlife was really a thing.

* There is a ''{{xkcd}}'' [[http://xkcd.com/167/ strip]] in which the white beret guy used this trope when confronted with a more typical nihilist. .

* Possibly beating Buddha by about 500 years was King Solomon, traditionally held to be the author of Ecclesiastes aka. the most depressing book in the Bible. "Meaningless! Everything is meaningless" he (maybe) wrote, coming to the conclusion that, "A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil." It's worth remembering this was before belief in the afterlife was really a thing.

Basically, a Nihilist that decides to be ''nice'', ''altruistic'', ''virtuous'' and/or ''ethical'' for the same reasons the NietzscheWannabe decides to be an [[TheUnfettered unfettered]], [[SocialDarwinist darwinistic]], [[OmnicidalManiac omnicidal]] CompleteMonster. Instead of {{wangst}}ing all the time about "We're all gonna die and [[YouCantFightFate you can't fight it]] so we might as well start killing each other right now", this type thinks more like "We're all gonna die and you can't fight it so [[YouAreNotAlone why not make each others' lives worthwhile and enjoyable in the meantime?]]".

-->"If there is nothing but what we make in this world, brothers... let us make good"

Basically, a Nihilist that decides to be ''nice'', ''altruistic'', ''virtuous'' and/or ''ethical'' for the same reasons the NietzscheWannabe decides to be an [[TheUnfettered unfettered]], [[SocialDarwinist darwinistic]], [[OmnicidalManiac omnicidal]] CompleteMonster. Instead of "We're all gonna die and [[YouCantFightFate you can't fight it]] so we might as well start killing each other right now", this type thinks more like "We're all gonna die and you can't fight it so why not make each others' lives worthwile and enjoyable in the meantime?".

[[quoteright:219:[[FriedrichNietzsche http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Nietzsche.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:219:[[UnbuiltTrope The precursor]], despite what the MisaimedFandom and the HateDumb [[NietzscheWannabe may]] [[ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontWatch think.]]]]

The Anti-Nihilist is very likely to adhere to a {{Utilitarian|ism}} morality, although this isn't a universal rule; there are Anti-Nihilists whose morality might border on self-made BlueAndOrangeMorality (see Nietzsche's {{Ubermensch}}). Expect this declaration of defying nihilism to be uttered as a form of [[ShutUpHannibal shutting up nihilists']] [[HannibalLecture lectures]] [[DespairSpeech on Despair]]. Thus, very likely to take form as a WorldOfCardboardSpeech.

* ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'''s Shinji Ikari. With all the hell he's been put through, and with the [[MindRape horri]][[HighOctaneNightmareFuel fying]] EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, it makes sense that he would jump into DespairEventHorizon and become an [[OmnicidalManiac omni]][[SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum cidal]] NietzscheWannabe, especially now that [[spoiler:Rei has given him control over the fate of humanity.]] Nevertheless, he [[spoiler:lets the AssimilationPlot fail, and]] chooses to live life as an individual. Based on how you interpret it, ''Evangelion'' itself is loaded with Existentialist themes, like Jean-Paul Sartre's "HellIsOtherPeople" (in ''Eva'', the so-called Absolute Terror Field surrounding all souls).

* DependingOnTheWriter, Bruce Wayne can be seen as one. The victim of a random and meaningless crime, Bruce could have succumbed to nihilism and depression, but instead chose to create his own purpose, re-inventing himself as {{Batman}}.

Basically, a Nihilist that decides to be ''nice'', ''altruistic'', ''virtuous'' and/or ''ethical'' for the same reasons the NietzscheWannabe decides to be an [[TheUnfettered unfettered]], [[SocialDarwinist darwinistic]], [[OmnicidalManiac omnicidal]] CompleteMonster. Instead of "We're all gonna die so we might as well start killing each other right now", this type thinks more like "We're all gonna die so why not make each others' lives worthwile and enjoyable in the meantime?".

The Anti-Nihilist is very likely to adhere to a {{Utilitarian|ism}} morality, although this isn't a universal rule; there are Anti-Nihilists whose morality might border on self-made BlueAndOrangeMorality (see Nietzsche's {{Ubermensch}}). Expect this declaration of defying nihilism to be uttered as a form of [[ShutUpHannibal shutting up nihilists']] {{Hannibal Lecture}}s. Thus, very likely to take form as a WorldOfCardboardSpeech.

-->"If there is nothing but what we make in this world, brothers...let us make good"

* Despite hanging out with various Norse gods and calling TheMightyThor "oathbrother", Beta Ray Bill does not believe in God in the theological sense. This doesn't stop him from being a true hero.

* Despite hanging out with various Norse gods and calling ComicBook/{{Thor}} "oathbrother", Beta Ray Bill does not believe in God in the theological sense. This doesn't stop him from being a true hero.

* Despite hanging out with various Norse gods and calling Comicbook/{{Thor}} "oathbrother", Beta Ray Bill does not believe in God in the theological sense. This doesn't stop him from being a true hero.

* Dean Winchester of {{Supernatural}} to some extent, at least up until episode 2 of season 4.

See {{Existentialism}} for the philosophy that encouraged living in Real Life as this character.

Basically, a Nihilist that decides to be ''nice'', ''altruistic'', ''virtuous'' and/or ethical for the same reasons the NietzscheWannabe decides to be an [[TheUnfettered unfettered]], [[SocialDarwinist darwinistic]], [[OmnicidalManiac omnicidal]] CompleteMonster. Instead of "We're all gonna die so we might as well start killing each other right now", this type thinks more like "We're all gonna die so why not make each others' lives worthwile and enjoyable in the meantime?".

Basically, a Nihilist that decides to be ''nice'', ''altruistic'' and/or ''virtuous'' for the same reasons the NietzscheWannabe decides to be an [[TheUnfettered unfettered]], [[SocialDarwinist darwinistic]], [[OmnicidalManiac omnicidal]] CompleteMonster. Instead of "We're all gonna die so we might as well start killing each other right now", this type thinks more like "We're all gonna die so why not make each others' lives worthwile and enjoyable in the meantime?".

Expect this to be uttered as a form of [[ShutUpHannibal shutting up nihilists']] {{Hannibal Lecture}}s. Thus, very likely to take form as a WorldOfCardboardSpeech.

* The eponymous character of ''PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' is an example of one. The universe is winding down and a race of nightmarishly rational alien throws girls' cracked souls into limbo to keep it going. The ultimate truth about the universe is bleak, depressing, and sanity-shattering. So what did Madoka do? Undergo an AbstractApotheosis of Hope to save those girls' souls, at the cost of having to fight EldritchAbomination beyond space and time. All because she wanted to give meaning to those girls' struggle.

* FriedrichNietzsche fits the point of "we're all gonna die so why don't we value life for the meantime" part, although he was less of a "Let's be [[NiceGuy Nice" Guy]] and more of a "Let's [[TheUbermensch live by our own rules]] while being [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arete awesome]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtus_%28virtue%29 manly/virtuous]] and [[Main/MagnificentBastard magnificent]] at it". It should also be noted that he pointed out that a way to make life suck a little less could be through charity acts (note that he didn't say that it would make you happy, just feel less angsty/guilty/whatever)
* There was an entire philosophical current that was entirely about this that Søren Kierkegaard and FriedrichNietzsche foreshadowed: {{Existentialism}}.

This philosophical stance is related to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absurdism Absurdism]], which agreed that everything was pointless.

TheUbermensch himself was formerly defined as a more MagnificentBastard[=/=]DarkMessiah-esque version of this trope, but is eventually generalized into "someone who {{lives by his own moral code}}."

* There was an entire philosophical current that was entirely about this that Nietzsche and Søren Kierkegaard foreshadowed: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism Existentialism]]. Basically, life really is meaningless, but since how the individual lived is what constitutes what could be called his or her "essence" instead of there being a predetermined [[OurSoulsAreDifferent essence]] that defines what it is to be human (existence precedes essence), we – through our own consciousness – create our own values and determine a meaning to our life. They even coined the term [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existential_angst#Angst Existential]] {{Angst}} to describe the sudden feeling of QuickSandbox it gave them, especially if they had just abandoned the FreedomFromChoice provided by both religion and social peer pressure. Also, the works of both Kierkegaard and Nietzsche are also influential to other intellectual movements, including {{absurdism}}, {{postmodernism}}, nihilism, and various strands of psychology (such as {{psychoanalysis}}).