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In his book, Does God Exist?, Hans Küng proposes an alternative to nihilism, namely fundamental trust or "Yes to Reality". Through a detailed study of Küng's interpretation of nihilism and his alternative to nihilism, I discuss whether Küng can help people to find a way out in face of the challenge of nihilism, as predicted by Friedrich Nietzsche. I conclude that fundamental trust still cannot be a more convincing choice than nihilism for those people who do not believe that there is a fundamental identity, meaningfulness and value of reality, and for those who cannot experience the being of this uncertain reality, even if they venture out in trust. In my opinion, Küng is not very successful in convincing people that fundamental trust rather than nihilism is the right option for them. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

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The phenomenon of alienation is closely related to the current morality crisis as it affects the very core of man's being. It appears that this phenomenon is not only a contemporary problem. It is as old as civilization itself, although its manifestation had taken on different forms in different eras. In this study alienation is analysed in time perspective. The following exponents pertaining to this phenomenon are examined closely: Plotinus, Hegel, Feuerbach, Marx, Durkheim, Fromm and the contemporary society. In the contemporary situation alienation manifests in various ways within the family and society. The disintegration of the family is escalating. More children are abused in a childhostile society. The generation gap is widening and suicide amongst teenagers is increasing. Man becomes more lonely and experiences an identity crisis from which he tries to escape by means of narcissism. Possible contributing factors to the above-mentioned are secularisation, nihilism, urbanisation and the negative influence of science and technology. The need of contemporary society cannot be realized without knowledge pertaining to the nature and essential characteristics of alienation. An accountable mode of thought grounded in time and space can be utilised towards bringing man to his senses. In attempting to establish authentic thought and accompaniment the reflective mode of thought can be implemented by the agogoque to take a stand against the degraded view o( man and world. This could result in man regaining a sense of security and could possibly lead to establishing an authentic world-view, mode of thought and accompaniment. / Die aktualiteit van die ontheemdingsverskynsel hang ten nouste met die moraliteitskrisis saam waarin die eietydse beskawing horn bevind, want dit raak die mens in sy diepste wese. Die ontheemdingsverskynsel is egter nie net 'n eietydse probleem nie, maar manifesteer verskillend in verskillende tydperke en dateer sover as die ontstaan van die beskawing self terug. Hierdie studie word vanuit 'n tydsperspektief belig. Die volgende eksponente met betrekking tot hierdie verskynsel sal noukeurig ondersoek word: Plotinus, Hegel, Feuerbach, Marx, Durkheim, Fromm en die eietydse bestel. In die eietyd manifesteer ontheemding op verskeie maniere in die gesin en samelewing. Gesinsverbrokkeling neem toe en kinders word al meer in 'n kind-vyandige samelewing verwerp. Die generasiegaping word groter en tienerselfmoord kom toenemend voor. Die vereensaamde mens beleef 'n identiteitskrisis en soek in narcisme ontvlugting. Moontlike oorsaaklike faktore vir bogenoemde is sekularisasie, nihilisme, verstedeliking en die negatiewe invloed van die wetenskap en tegnologie. Die nood waarin die eietydse samelewing horn bevind, kan nie sonder kennis van die aard en die wese wat kenmerkend van die ontheemdingsverskynsel is, besef word me. 'n Verantwoordbare denkweg wat in die tydlikheid en ruimtelikheid begrond is, hied die moontlikheid om die mens tot besinning te bring. Hierdie besinnende denkweg waarin die agogieker teen die gedegradeerde mens- en wereldbeskouing standpunt inneem, kan as korrektief dien en tot outentieke denke en begeleiding aanleiding gee. Dan sal die ontheemde mens weer die nodige geborgenheid ervaar en sal dit moontlik wees om weer outentiek wereld te konstitueer, te leef, te <link en te begelei. / D.Litt. et Phil. (History of Education)

<p>Through the notions of <em>the</em> <em>untimely</em> (l'intempestif) and <em>untimeliness</em> (intempestif) this paper seeks to gain a better understanding of the problematic surrounding and determining the concept of time in Deleuze. By tracing Deleuze's development of the concept of the untimely through Nietzsche and Kant, we are allowed to concretize the concept of time as pertaining to an experience of modernity (modern life), thus enabling us to better determine the place it holds within the philosophy of Deleuze itself - as a constitutive and productive problematic relating directly to the activity of thinking and being philosophically.</p>

Through the notions of the untimely (l'intempestif) and untimeliness (intempestif) this paper seeks to gain a better understanding of the problematic surrounding and determining the concept of time in Deleuze. By tracing Deleuze's development of the concept of the untimely through Nietzsche and Kant, we are allowed to concretize the concept of time as pertaining to an experience of modernity (modern life), thus enabling us to better determine the place it holds within the philosophy of Deleuze itself - as a constitutive and productive problematic relating directly to the activity of thinking and being philosophically.

This thesis explores the role of Nihilism in Oscar Wilde's thought and writing, beginning with the depiction of Russian Political Nihilism in Wilde's first play; Vera, or the Nihilists and tracing the engagement with philosophical Nihilism in his fiction, drama and essays, up to and including De Profundis. It is argued that Russian Political Nihilism derives from the same sources and expresses the same concerns as the philosophical Nihilism discussed by Nietzsche in The Will to Power, and that Nietzsche and Wilde, working independently, came to a strikingly similar understanding of Nihilism. Philosophical Nihilism is defined in two ways; as the complete absence of values (Absolute Nihilism) and as a sense that, while absolute values may exist, they are unattainable, unknowable or inexpressible (Relative Nihilism). Wilde uses his writing to express Nihilism while simultaneously seeking aesthetic and ethical counterforces to it, eventually coming to see Art and the life of the Artist as the ultimate forms of resistance to Nihilism. Wilde's philosophical views are examined in the context of his time, and in the light of his exceptionally wide reading. He is compared and contrasted with Nietzsche, the philosopher who has done most to shape our view of what Nihilism means, in his ethical and aesthetic response to Nihilism. The conclusion also considers the reception of Wilde's expression of Nihilism and his employment of Art as the only superior counterforce in the first half of the twentieth century, with particular reference to the works of Gide and Proust. Their engagement with Nihilism is explored both in historical context and as a way of addressing a problem which has become uniquely pervasive and pressing in the modern era.

The phenomenon of alienation is closely related to the current morality crisis as it affects the very core of man's being. It appears that this phenomenon is not only a contemporary problem. It is as old as civilization itself, although its manifestation had taken on different forms in different eras. In this study alienation is analysed in time perspective. The following exponents pertaining to this phenomenon are examined closely: Plotinus, Hegel, Feuerbach, Marx, Durkheim, Fromm and the contemporary society. In the contemporary situation alienation manifests in various ways within the family and society. The disintegration of the family is escalating. More children are abused in a childhostile society. The generation gap is widening and suicide amongst teenagers is increasing. Man becomes more lonely and experiences an identity crisis from which he tries to escape by means of narcissism. Possible contributing factors to the above-mentioned are secularisation, nihilism, urbanisation and the negative influence of science and technology. The need of contemporary society cannot be realized without knowledge pertaining to the nature and essential characteristics of alienation. An accountable mode of thought grounded in time and space can be utilised towards bringing man to his senses. In attempting to establish authentic thought and accompaniment the reflective mode of thought can be implemented by the agogoque to take a stand against the degraded view o( man and world. This could result in man regaining a sense of security and could possibly lead to establishing an authentic world-view, mode of thought and accompaniment. / Die aktualiteit van die ontheemdingsverskynsel hang ten nouste met die moraliteitskrisis saam waarin die eietydse beskawing horn bevind, want dit raak die mens in sy diepste wese. Die ontheemdingsverskynsel is egter nie net 'n eietydse probleem nie, maar manifesteer verskillend in verskillende tydperke en dateer sover as die ontstaan van die beskawing self terug. Hierdie studie word vanuit 'n tydsperspektief belig. Die volgende eksponente met betrekking tot hierdie verskynsel sal noukeurig ondersoek word: Plotinus, Hegel, Feuerbach, Marx, Durkheim, Fromm en die eietydse bestel. In die eietyd manifesteer ontheemding op verskeie maniere in die gesin en samelewing. Gesinsverbrokkeling neem toe en kinders word al meer in 'n kind-vyandige samelewing verwerp. Die generasiegaping word groter en tienerselfmoord kom toenemend voor. Die vereensaamde mens beleef 'n identiteitskrisis en soek in narcisme ontvlugting. Moontlike oorsaaklike faktore vir bogenoemde is sekularisasie, nihilisme, verstedeliking en die negatiewe invloed van die wetenskap en tegnologie. Die nood waarin die eietydse samelewing horn bevind, kan nie sonder kennis van die aard en die wese wat kenmerkend van die ontheemdingsverskynsel is, besef word me. 'n Verantwoordbare denkweg wat in die tydlikheid en ruimtelikheid begrond is, hied die moontlikheid om die mens tot besinning te bring. Hierdie besinnende denkweg waarin die agogieker teen die gedegradeerde mens- en wereldbeskouing standpunt inneem, kan as korrektief dien en tot outentieke denke en begeleiding aanleiding gee. Dan sal die ontheemde mens weer die nodige geborgenheid ervaar en sal dit moontlik wees om weer outentiek wereld te konstitueer, te leef, te <link en te begelei. / D.Litt. et Phil. (History of Education)

Stephen Goss composed Cinema Paradiso, a six-movement suite for solo guitar, as an homage to films and film directors. Goss cites nihilism as a theme in Dogville, the film that inspires the fourth movement, "Mandalay," but I assert that all the films and many musical devices throughout the piece can be read through the lens of nihilism. The first movement, "Paris, Texas," depicts the stark landscape of the opening scene of the 1984 Wim Wenders film of the same name. "Modern Times" chronicles Charlie Chaplin's slapstick-laden descent from the factory to the insane asylum in the opening sequence of his 1936 Modern Times. "Noir" is a tribute to the procedures of film noir: violent storylines that depict the harshness of life, dim lighting, and anti-hero characters, all accompanied by jazz. Lars von Trier's Dogville provides the movement "Mandalay" with its nihilistic meaning, but Goss writes that he invokes the musical style of Kurt Weill's opera The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. Just as the book people of François Truffaut's Fahrenheit 451 had to pass on books orally, Goss has burned the score for his "451," forcing guitarists to learn it by watching a video and listening to a recording. Finally, the chaotic tarantella, "Tarantino" depicts Uma Thurman's heroin overdose scene in Quinten Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. By analyzing Fredrich Nietzsche's writings to form a broader definition of nihilism and applying that definition first to each film and then to corresponding musical elements in each movement, this paper argues that nihilism acts as a connecting theme throughout Cinema Paradiso.

<p>The aim of this study is to examine if Kenneth, a character in the novel Nyår by Stig Larsson, takes his ethical responsibility for one of the characters that appears in one section of the book, Ann. Nyår has often been related to morality. This study shows that Levinas philosophy of ethics is a supplement to the discussion of morality. According to Levinas, a person that acts in a non-moral way still can act in a righteous ethical way. With this starting point, it is possible to be close to the text and to bring out new perspectives on the novel. Kenneth is a nihilist, but has got the possibility to take his ethical responsibility for Ann. The ethical responsibility for another person, according to Levinas, always comes first. Kenneth, like everybody else, is obligated to this responsibility.</p>