Nihilism

 Citation: Edwards, Paul, ed. "Nihilism." __The Encyclopedia of Philosophy__. 6 vols. Macmillan, 1996. 514-17. "Nihilism." __Encyclopedia Americana__. 30 vols. Danbury: Grolier, 2003. 345-45. Safra, Jacob, ed. "Nihilism." __The New Encyclopedia Britannica__. 15th ed. Chicago: Enyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2002. 706-07.    
 * Nihilism **
 * The term nihilism first appeared in the second quarter of the 19th century in Russia; began to fade by the end of the 1860’s.
 * Its popularity was based on the appearance of Ivan Turgenev’s highly successful novel //Fathers and Sons//.
 * Arthur Schopenhauer was among first of 19th century philosophers known for his pessimistic view and expressed the idea that the universe was not a rational place through his most influential work //Will//. 
 * Nihilism is a philosophy that expresses the triviality and emptiness of the human existence as well as the fact that moral values cannot be justified by rational thought.
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Nihilism advocated utilitarianism and scientific rationalism all social sciences and classical philosophical systems are disregarded.
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">By the end of the 1860’s nihilism as an intellectual movement had begun to fade.