Laughing at Nothing: Humor as a Response to Nihilism

Postscript

Before closing, I would like to offer a few scattered and brief observations about the relationship of a humorous nihilism to philosophy, education, and to recent terrorist activities in the United States. These remarks are not intended to be exhaustive, or even very extensive. Rather, they are areas of inquiry that I think may warrant further meditation and investigation in the future. I contend that a humorous attitude toward nihilism is eminently “philosophical .” Philosophy, or the “love of wisdom,” involves a kind of thinking that requires an attitude of curiosity and care for what is True, Good, and lasting. When Pythagoras, who first coined the term, was asked if he thought himself wise, he reportedly responded that he was not wise, but that he loved wisdom. Rather than consisting in a closed body of knowledge, or a collection of logical tools and methods, philosophy, in this sense, involves an attitude of enthusiasm for questioning and investigation into the world. It is a pursuit and a process that never ends and is never satisfied. Unlike certain other fields or disciplines, philosophy is especially friendly to constant questioning, speculation , and reflection. It doesn’t claim to offer final answers, and it delights in the constant and unceasing probing of the world. For philosophy, there are always more questions to ask and more things to explore. If philosophy is considered in this sense, as an attitude of openness and enthusiasm for ceaseless inquiry, then we might begin to suspect that it bears an uncanny resemblance to humorous nihilism. The humorous nihilist would be an individual who, like Socrates, constantly aspired toward the ideal without ever resting in the arrogantly complacent belief that it had been reached. As a nihilist, such an individual would love and care about Truth, Being, Goodness, etc., yet would find them constantly out of reach. As a humorist, this individual would understand this circumstance as amusing and worthy of continued attention. Humor and nihilism, when combined with one another, would produce a sort of balance in which a serious devotion to the ideal is tempered by a lightheartedness and 167 Postscript amusement that encourages continued striving and creative activity. The humorous nihilist is an individual who, though committed to the pursuit of wisdom, is able to conceive of, and be amused by, the ultimate absurdity of such a pursuit. Educators, as well as philosophers, must concern themselves with the pursuit of ideals such as wisdom, and so the problem of nihilism is of potential concern to them as well. Some of our insights into nihilism’s useful functions have ramifications for teachers who, as is quite common today, encounter students caught in the grip of nihilism. Working with a traditional, negative understanding of nihilism, an educator has little leverage with which to persuade and motivate a nihilistic student toward the completion of a program of study. At their worst, such encounters might quickly deteriorate into a battle of world views, with the educator attempting to convince nihilistic students that their way of looking at the world is all wrong, and vice versa. What our present inquiry suggests, however, is that such a tactic is unnecessary. A teacher with the proper amount of patience may be able to help students to draw out the positive implications of their nihilism, and in so doing motivate them to engage in the ongoing, yet perhaps vain, pursuit of Knowledge,Truth, and Wisdom. Treating nihilistic students as individuals with an unusual amount of integrity, rather than treating them as individuals who have given up on life and learning, is the first step that a teacher can take in defusing the negativity in despair. By encouraging a humorous attitude toward nihilism, a teacher may be instrumental in fostering a creative capacity and a renewed dignity that might lead to great accomplishments. The complaints of contemporary American authors, such as Alan Bloom, who lament the nihilism of American college students miss this exciting opportunity by lingering on an overly negative interpretation of the phenomenon. Part and parcel of understanding nihilism in a humorous fashion involves becoming adept at interpreting the experiences of failure and frustration within a larger context in which they serve a functional and positive role. While the language of failure and success is undeniably entrenched in schools and their evaluation systems, unfortunately shame is all too often attached to failure, and it is common for failing students to be dismissed as unmotivated underachievers . A more humorous attitude toward failure and frustration in the...