Active Nihilism vs. Passive Nihilism

The distinction between active and passive nihilism comes from Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche explores this concept in several of his works, including Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Beyond Good and Evil, Twilight of the Idols, and The Will to Power.

Nietzsche saw that science and reason were destroying the traditional and religious forms of meaning and morality that sustained individuals and Western civilization in general. He saw this “death of God” as a necessary step in the moral evolution of humanity, but also as a great crisis that must be overcome. This crisis manifested as passive nihilism — a state of existential despair and anomie. Nietzsche was gravely concerned that if left unchecked, this crisis could destroy European civilization.

Passive nihilism, according to Nietzsche, is characterized by a sense of resignation, hopelessness, and the negation of life’s meaning. It arises when individuals confront the collapse of traditional meaning, values, beliefs, and morality, without offering alternative perspectives. Passive nihilism is marked by a disengagement from life, a sense of despair, and a loss of purpose — essentially, the denial of the will to live and the will to power.

For Nietzsche, the archetypal passive nihilist was his old respected professor, Arthur Schopenhauer, who adopted the Buddhistic view that denying the will to live was the path to liberation from suffering.

In contrast, Nietzsche describes active nihilism as a transformative response to the crisis…