Nihilism as a Luxury Belief

"The Nihilist" - from OpenArt

The "Whatever Works" Guide to Nihilism as a Luxury Belief

Have you ever wondered why some super-smart people believe in stuff that just seems...well, pointless? Like the whole "life has no meaning" thing? That's nihilism, and it turns out, it’s a luxury belief.

Here's the deal: Imagine a giant button that blows up the sun. A true nihilist wouldn't care if they pressed it or not. Why? Because according to science (Schrödinger and his equation), everything is predetermined anyway, free will is an illusion, and life itself is meaningless. Sounds depressing, right?

So why aren't all scientists nihilists? Because life is messy! We all have these "core beliefs" that act like life lessons – like not touching a hot stove (ouch!). But then there are the bigger picture beliefs, the vaguer ones that seem cool, make you part of your crowd... until they hit you where it hurts.

Take healthcare, for example. Maybe you and all your friends believe everyone deserves equal access (socialism!), but then you get stuck on a super-long waiting list for an operation you desperately need. Suddenly, that fancy belief in everyone being treated the same gets tossed out the window in favour of getting you healthy ASAP!

Here's the key takeaway: these "luxury beliefs" are often formed when things are chill. But the moment life throws a curveball and emotion kicks in, logic steps up and says, "Hey, that belief might not be working for you anymore, ditch it!" It's like you have a personal belief upgrade system.

So, back to the scientists – they might understand that science backs nihilism, but they're still human. They have desires, wants, and a need to belong (like bonding with their fellow scientists!). That's why the science they teach is often contradicted by the values they champion.

Here's the bottom line: There can be no one-size-fits-all answer to life's big questions. What matters is finding what works for you in the situation you're in. Don't be afraid to ditch those trendy "luxury beliefs'' if they stop serving you. Life is messy, and your beliefs should be flexible enough to keep up!

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So the above essay of 350 words is what Gemini Pro v.1.0 thinks a sixteen year old girl would like to read about the topic. Useful because I have no idea how to write for that demographic. 

Here's the essay I actually wrote and which I asked Gemini to translate for me. 

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Nihilism as a luxury belief

Nihilism can be taken to be saying that the laws of physics apply without qualification to human beings themselves, who are no more than complex structures of molecules. Life is inherently meaningless; human conceptions of purpose and significance are illusions.

If a nihilist was given a contraption with a button and was told: “If you press this button the Sun will go nova and the Earth will be reduced to molten slag,” the nihilistic should be indifferent. Press or not press, it doesn't matter. There's no free-will anyway: in principle Schrödinger's equation predicts what will happen (or at least the probabilities of possible outcomes).

The premises of nihilism are undoubtedly correct: Schrödinger's equation does in principle determine the fate of the multiverse - and that includes what we call living creatures and all living things. So why is every enlightened and educated person not a nihilist?

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Human beings live their whole lives immersed within dense ideologies. There are core beliefs which are reinforced by painful encounters with reality: don't touch hot stoves; don't insult enormous guys with tats. But most beliefs are much more abstract - less anchored in immediate personal interests - held to signal adherence to the values of your tribe.

In the late 1980s I was a soft-socialist. I believed in egalitarianism and the British NHS. Insofar as I thought about it at all, I was opposed to the queue-jumping involved in private medical care.

Then I developed a painful medical condition for which the NHS had a year-plus waiting list. My company health plan would allow me to have the operation immediately and I could resume work, in comfort, in less than a couple of months. Naturally I went with the company scheme… and updated my luxury belief in health-egalitarianism. David Hume wrote in 1740, "Reason is, and ought only to be, the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.” How true.

Luxury beliefs are ideas and concepts, true or false, that we absorbed when our directly self-interested passions were subdued or otherwise engaged. As soon as we hit a situation where our interests are actively involved, and therefore where our drives and emotions come into fierce play, then rationality fires up to fill out the fix-plan. If that involves jettisoning luxury beliefs - so be it.

To be consistent, physicists should be nihilists but their social position (intellectual elite, academic) mostly makes them committed liberals, the ideology of their tribe.

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If nihilism is completely inconsistent with the drives and passions which define our humanity, what should we believe?

In every situation in which each of us finds our own self: we should believe whatever works for the best. Figuring that out is, of course, the hard part. It might take a lifetime.

(450 words).