Nihilism: An In-Depth Discussion 

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A podcast about nihilism - who cares?

I was depressed by my nihilism, but my depression was utterly pointless

Thanks for having me on! I had a great time recording this!

"Yes! Yeah, yeah." ~ Unsolicited Advice Please do more with him, I've never heard of him before and this conversation was just fantastic!

My two philosopher crushes in one room talking about my favorite subject. You have my FULL attention.

“Don’t try to box me or something” in regards to Jake Paul was the funniest thing you’ve said on the channel

I want to learn more about nihilism but don’t really see the point.

24:38 "You can say whatever you like... Hey, Within Reason" Gold

Joe has the biggest grin on his face the entire time. Such an exciting conversation :) Thank you both

This is not only two philosophers having a great discussion,, This is also two philosophy geeks geeking out about philosophy I’m so happy to see Alex displaying His youthful spirit here. Something that, given the weight of His contents, rarely shown

“You can say whatever ya like… (nods to camera)… Within Reason” 😂

this dude literally just popped up on my radar and here he is with Alex already. I can see you guys collaborating for years to come.

Born to care about everything very much, forced to care about nothing.

This dude just talked so fast that I was compelled to check my playback speed. It's set to 1.0... I'm literally stunned.

This opening about the weird kind of shame and hesitancy to admit to being a "RU-vidr" come across as very accurate to my own experience!

Two of my favorite philosophy youtubers togather 🔥🔥🔥

You can tell they're both having a great time together. This was so enjoyable to watch and listen to.

You two should start a podcast together. This was the best chemistry I’ve seen with Alex compared to anyone else on the show.

Unsolicited Advised became among my favourite channels. So good to see you two having a conversation.

Lmao Oxford vs Cambridge and they gel so well

Thumbnail is misleading, I was expecting an interview with Nietzsche 😒

Holy shit for some reason I never thought I'd see both of my favourite RU-vid philosophers together

"I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world" has always been so deeply comforting to me 😌

im so excited to watch you guys converse, been waiting since Joe posted 🙌🙌

WHAAAATTT, THIS IS AN AWESOME COLLAB!!!! Holy crap how did i not see that coming at all i could cry, this makes me so happy❤😂

This is really cool too watch as they're almost getting giddy about the topic which doesn't happen when there's an older person involved! They're getting as excited as I do so it's just nice to watch!

Nice video! I started watching unsolicited advice quite recently and I wasn't expecting him on your channel. Looking forwards to your next guests.

Joe is such a passionate and eloquent character. Great conversation!

Forrest Valkai declares himself as Nihilist - the most positive, life-affirming person I can imagine. What he means with that is that there is no outer, prescribed meaning of life. And that allows you to be free to choose your own, personal meaning for your life. One that YOU consider worthwile, that you like to pursue, where you can set yourself REACHABLE milestones so that you have a feeling of success. That idea I find magnificent. It would help so many people when they learn how much the small things of life can give you, and not despair at the "great" questions. Is it not already good when you are making a remark towards a random person you are walking by on the road and make him/her smile? In principle demonstrate to people that life is NOT this senseless, eternally repeating existence, but each event is/can be different. Just learn to see.

Love this collab! You guys have both given so much to think about!

What a great conversation. It was a pleasure to listen to.

I think this will be my favorite episode Very excited to listen to this

Ecclesiastes has to be one of my favorite Old Testament book.

This is a very pleasant surprise. I've been listening to Joe's monologues a lot lately and enjoyed them a lot.

This has been the most intimate interview that I've ever watched on Alex's channel really. Can literally see from the way they talk with each other they fit each other well, possibly because age diff is minute

I watch every one of his videos. I'm so happy he's been invited as a guest

This channel is getting better and better.

I was hoping you'd have Unsolicited Advice on, so excited to listen!

Yess!! I absoutely love Joe!!! Thank you alex for having him on!

I am an older viewer (55). When I first started hopping onto RU-vid to watch philosophy videos and, as a result of the road traveled, debunking videos, I hiccupped my way to accepting that the younger generation has interesting and valuable things to share. Seeing you, Modified Skeptic, Rationality Rules, and now Joe, I am feeling more and more confident that there _is_ a generation to keep things rolling. [ *Reference:* I am dealing with the nonsense that is Trump and his cult here in the US and I have been losing my hope for the future of our country, at least.]

This is awesome. Please more of these

This is lovely. Thank you, more please.

This was great fun to watch! Solicited advice is an awesome channel.

loved this episode. please have him back!!

I absolutely love the chemistry between you two!

The crossover that I've been waiting for!

Excellent conversation. Really enjoyed listening to this.

Finally Alex has tackled the complex topic of public masturbation. About time.

Joe's channel is my favorite on RU-vid.

This was a fantastic conversation, you guys are the next public thinkers and I couldn't be happier.

Two of my favorite philosophy RU-vidrs! Today is a great day

Philosophy Avengers Assemble!

Two of the most handsome modern philosophers in one frame.

Great convo lads!

I've been waiting for this

1:15:10 Gotta love when 2 philosophy oriented minds come across a new and succint idea/conclusion that neither of them have though about before but makes so much sense and start gushing about it with each other 😂 Looking foward to that paper, fellas Loved this episode so much! My two fav philosophy channels on an uninterrupted and enthusiastic back and forth about my favorite topic in philosophy (Camus was right with his opening line wasn't he), it seems like an early Christmas, really!

This interview is so english, it makes me feel colonized

ahhh been waiting for this collab

Great discussion. Thanks.

Here goes the 2 minds in our public sphere who makes philosophy tasty and super interesting kudos to you lads well done 👊🏿👊🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿

Alex. One of my goals in life is to be on your podcast. I'll work hard and make content and one day when the time is right, I be talking face to face with you. Absoutley LOVE your content! Keep up the great work!

I am very glad Alex said "we will have to have you back" because I would listen to every podcast these two did! If these two met at uni and said lets start a philosophy podcast and did nothing but "cosmic advise" or "unsolicited skeptic" or "Alex O Advise" maybe not that last one not sure how long they could talk about O's I feel like they'd have such a big following. There's a certain dynamic between exploration chaos but still keeping it very linear and followable you two have. more pls

Wow awesome. I've been binging his videos, my two favourite philosophy youtubers.

Interesting talk, I struggle to watch when the guest is making grunting noises when Alex is talking. I get he is trying to show he is pasionate and engaged in the conversation but man, when people do that to me it makes it extremely difficult to talk, and when I'm listening to a conversation when it's happening its like passing kidney stones trying to not get distracted.

Mr Folley appears to be powered by fusion. Endless energy.

The vibe in this podcast is TOP

This was a delightful conversation! You should definitely do a follow up

Nihilism is not a response, but a truth proposition. It either *is* or *is not* . It cannot be good or bad, or right or wrong... it cannot be anything outside of its definition in its truest sense. If it is the case that nihilism is true, meaning that no meaning exists in the universe, then we can focus on how that makes us feel. If nihilism is depressing or liberating, it does not make the truth any more wrong. If nihilism makes someone feel sad, that feeling does not mean nihilism is false. Our reactions can allow us to explore responses like existentialism and absurdism and all of the other philosophical "subsets" (as I like to refer to them as), but we need to clarify between the response, the emotion, and the definition. Now, I will admit that as a more postmodernist-leaning person (especially when it comes to epistemology), I will recognize that it may be difficult to define nihilism. For example, the meta-narrative I lean towards when I hear nihilism not only entails no objective meaning- but also no subjective meaning (as I postulate that if no meaning exists objectively than how can subjective meaning be constructed; how would that process be defined?). This makes me find many existentialists extremely self-deprecating and entirely ignorant. However, I can recognize that their meta-narratives regarding nihilism might be defined differently, so I still hold to recognition of such definitions even if I find them inherently absurd.

why do people so often think nihilism means you cant have hypothetical meaning its so weird and deters so many people from the view for no reason

Ohhh, Joe Folley! Brilliant to see him doing so well. ❤

Unique enthusiasm Joe. I like how you just laugh appreciatively as a reponse of affirmation, it's like an animated nodding

This Folley character seems interesting. Very quick thinker, likely a bit of ADHD as well.

Its funny that alex seems to be this calm, peacefull figure and joe looks like hes about to have a heart attack because of how enthusiastic he is. They re opposite personalities but it works well

Got excited when I saw the thumbnail because I thought he was talking to the host of The Nietzsche Podcast. But looking forward to getting to know more about this pod and host!

you two are so different yet work so beautifully in a conversation

I am so curious to this one. I have to admit that I am under the shadow of nihilism the last couple of years and I hope that the smartest thinkers in the world can help me.

I won't stop asking for Bernardo Kastrup until you get him on the podcadt 😇

Thank you both for your compelling, constructive and thoughtful contributions to humanity. ✌🏽

Love both channels

the two titans meet...

I know it may be depressing but I’d like to hear the discussion of whether or not it to take your own life taken more seriously or at least dive deeper into that question.

Your analysis of your boxing matchups are spot on lol

Joe folley was someone that was a breath of fresh air into the scene.

Coolest mustache man with coolest ideas =nietzche

1vs1 with Destiny. The college dropout vs the college graduate

You guys are so energetic, it’s exciting

My unsolicited advice for joe? 🙄 .....slow down and gather your thoughts 😂 the fast presentation style works great for the rehearsed material but in conversation it causes too much stuttering. Calm down a bit 😂

This guy gives too many “mmm” for my liking, very distracting

OMG I'm so excited!! You two are my current obsessions and I love it when my current obsessions come together!

Great fun. Thank you

We identify individual aspects to everything. So a table and a chair as two separate things in relation to everything. But when we are not doing that, there is already everything. Free from the need for individual aspects to be identified. The identification of individual aspects is knowing, we are searching to know everything. Everything is already free from the need to be known. There is just absolute freedom, covered over by that search for knowing.

Very informative about philosophical approaches generally as well as about nihilism

Surely you’ll have to box a theist. The ultimate debate format.

I've just come across your channels and I'm excited to listen to the content. Philosophy is my main passion and your enthusiasm and freshness is really enjoyable to watch. I'm not well read in Nihilism but I do feel that there's a reason why the brain/mind finds itself in the position of self-awareness from an existential perspective. To understand it fully I believe you have to at least live through it, be humbled by it and recognise the journey that it takes you. Intellectually understanding it and reading other people's accounts will only get you so far. My belief is that nihilism is like a computers operating system that can separate itself from the software in moments where its either necessary or something has occurred in the environment and caused the system to crash. It's important to me to acknowledge nihilism as a basis of understanding, to fall back on and to be humbled by. To go back to the basic and fundamental understanding that nothing really matters to the universe, to creation and that it's all just an illusion. From that point and depth which is almost like coming to terms with mortality, you can emerge and create a reality that is best fitting for your circumstances. I like the quote 'you have to die to live' and I can relate to the idea that to define oneself in the material world, to cling to it and feel that your reality is circumstantial, is where pain and suffering comes from. Viktor Frankl summed it up for me and his accounts of people giving up and dying in the concentration camps and his development of Logotherapy. He always knew when somebody was about to give up and die because they would smoke their cigarette, the only thing that was of value that could be used for bargaining for food and medical care etc.

On the topic at the end on hierarchy, just my input, but my friend and I often discuss prioritizing. I believe this best fits, because priorities can shift mid interaction and the suddenly the ceiling may take more of my focus than the person I'm conversing with, neither of which may have changed much in meaning, just my priority on which holds more of my interest changes. So I'm not fully sure if that is what the conversation was driving towards, but that's where my mind wondered while you guys were having that discussion.

I'm happy you're finally getting some attraction unsolicited advice ❤

Thanks Alex

14:50 this is surreal. I spoke to my theology friend James about this exact sentiment last year, wherein we cross-examined Nietzsche and Solomon’s reconciliations with Nihilism. Our conversation on this tracks very similar to yours!

Great discussion about Nihilism. Glas you put in also Ecclesiastes, ots very interesting.