Why a Short, Sad Life is Not Worth Living

I discovered a Facebook page this quarantine named “Ako si Freud” (I am Freud), a Filipino,
psychology-centered content creator who has been censured due to its unique approach regarding
sensitive topics. It has this mantra of “Mamamatay ka rin naman” (Nonetheless, you’ll still end
up dying) which gathered mixed reviews from the psychology majors' community here in the
Philippines. They were also very political and would sometimes use the funny-yet-stupid actions
of our government as metaphors for their concepts. Satire and sharp—a very ideal approach for
the youth to young adult demographics.
The idea being presented by the said page is called existential nihilism. Existential nihilism, as
defined by Professor Christopher Muscato of University of Northern Colorado, has “no grand
meaning, no moral resolution, and no philosophical fulfillment.” It simply states that life is
meaningless and existing is useless.
As ironic as it may seem, existential nihilism can actually be… quite positive. In 2017, a group
of philosophers sensationalized the idea of “optimistic nihilism” through their YouTube
animation channel Kurzgesagt (In a Nutshell). In this video, they highlighted that “If the universe
ends in heat death, every humiliation you’ve suffered in your life will be forgotten. Every
mistake you made will not matter in the end. Every bad thing you made will be voided. If our life
is all we get to experience, then it’s the only thing that matters.” Contradicting the surface
concept of existential nihilism, optimistic nihilism still points to the same direction: life is
meaningless, might as well live it to your own fulfillment.
In addition to this, some psychotherapists believe that optimistic nihilism can help battle
depression. In an article written by Louis-Laves Webb, he stated that while you can’t choose to
be or not to be depressed, you can always find a way to efficiently live with it while being
treated. “Surrendering to depression doesn’t mean giving it control. It means you embrace the
fact that it will always be a part of your life. Paradoxically, the less you try to control your
depression, the more control you have over your life.” He also discussed about “The Absurd”, or
the dilemma in which humans thrive to look for meaning in their lives, and yet the world we live
in has no absolute meaning at all. To resolve it, optimistic nihilism advises us to accept things
the way they are: surrender to the thought that not everything is under our control because it will
lessen our worry and burden.
However, a group of political-theologists strongly defined optimistic nihilism as “inhuman”. Not
long after Kurzgesagt's video became a hit, CrossPolitic.com’s Gabriel Rench published an
article with the title “The Problems with Optimistic Nihilism”. It condemned the philosophers'
implications and were disgusted by how the said video romanticized the idea of free will—or the
overuse thereof. “If ‘the only principles relevant are the ones we decide on,’ then who
are we? What if we think genocide or rape are in line with our principles? What if killing anyone
who disagrees with our “optimistic nihilism” is the purpose we dictate for our existence and for
the universe?”. The author also argued that Christians were supposed to see the universe as a
manifestation of God's glory, and their lives must not revolve around egotism and lust.
On the other hand, another idea circulated the internet which suggested that Christians are
actually nihilistic—and that is why they needed Christ to give meaning to their lives. This
statement might be plausible, since it is undeniable that Christians doesn’t see worldly pleasures
as necessities. They cease to disregard riches for they believe in afterlife or heaven and hell,
where much more things were being prepared for them. Maybe they doesn’t see life as purely
meaningless, but their proposed rejection of secular things and success due to their belief of its
insignificance can be considered as one exercise of nihilism. However, it can also be categorized
as existentialism since they have declared that without Christ, they are nothing. With this idea,
they have accepted that the world is meaningless on its own, therefore, it is up to oneself to find
its purpose of existence. This is exactly how existentialism looks like.
Great ideologies, but why do we need to talk about this?
While we are in the middle or quarantine, I am well aware of the fact that a lot of people are
currently being tormented due to isolation. Prof David Leiser from Israel’s Ben-Gurion
University of the Negev backed this idea up, “This attempt to shield oneself to mitigate the
spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome is making young children feel the need to adjust to
the change in their routine, which is so significant to them. They also need to cope with isolation
from their peer group, and parents, who may become edgy. School children suffer from
boredom, but also anxiety. Adults have to balance family life and responsibilities, but also
balance their professional lives and cope with financial worries. Older people dread the infection
and worry about the continuation of services on which they depend.”
The horror of getting infected and questioning your purpose usually comes around when we are
alone, when we are vulnerable. Medical consultations are okay, but we need to find a way to
cope up, somehow. Like what Louis-Laves Webb suggested, optimistic nihilism can free you
from worrying to much, and if you think that it will go against your religious beliefs, I doubt that
it will. I think that everyone can agree that there were things that happen just because it did. That
not everything is under a person’s control and there were many factors that affect our lives.
Surely, a huge chunk of it were consequences to our own actions but not all of it were. Things
happen. We fail. We commit mistakes. But those things does not make us less of a human—it
makes us exactly what we are.
At the end of this pandemic, may we all realize how short life is, and how a virus can actually
stop the whole world from behaving normally. With these things in mind, I hope that we look
forward to the end of COVID-19 horrors and enjoy life responsibly as how we should.
A short, sad life is not worth living. Therefore, live it to the fullest. If your existence happens
once and will be forgotten at the end of time, why not make the best out of it? We’re all gonna
die, anyway.