Nihilism and the Postmodern in Vattimo’s Nietzsche

A connection is often made between postmodernism and nihilism, but the full meaning of such a connection is rarely explored. The contemporary Italian philosopher Gianni Vattimo is one of the few philosophers to have devoted much work to explaining this connection. Vattimo extrapolates the relevance of Nietzsche’s theory of nihilism for the postmodern condition, arguing that the concept of the postmodern can only be thought rigorously in relation to the nihilistic destiny of the West. This article explores Vattimo’s postmodern reading of Nietzsche and argues that this reading helps to illuminate (1) the connection between nihilism and the postmodern; (2) the postmodern transformation of nihilism, which was originally a theory of the ails of modernity rather than of postmodernity; and (3) why postmodernists may wish to affirm nihilism rather than take the accusation that postmodernism is nihilistic as a charge that must be refuted. ===== Postmodernism as a mode of thought is often accused of being nihilistic, and postmodernity is often seen as a nihilistic state of society. 1 An in-depth analysis of the connection between nihilism and the postmodern, however, is rarely given, and postmodernists themselves rarely respond to the charge. A rare exception to this state of affairs is found in the work of Gianni Vattimo, one of Italy’s foremost contemporary philosophers, who has treated the connection between nihilism and the postmodern extensively. My purpose here is to examine Vattimo’s work for the light it sheds on such a connection. Vattimo’s thought is intensively informed by his readings of both Nietzsche and Heidegger, but I propose to focus exclusively here on his reading of Nietzsche. Nihilism as a philosophical concept was given its most definitive form by Nietzsche, for whom it is ‘the radical repudiation of value, meaning and desirability’ (Nietzsche, 1968, p.7). Nihilistic thought has many related manifestations: ontological, epistemological, existential, moral, ISSN 1393-614X Minerva An Internet Journal of Philosophy 6 (2002): 51–67 ____________________________________________________ Ashley Woodward 52 political. Extreme nihilism is often thought of as vulgar relativism where no criteria exist for choosing one value, knowledge claim, or course of action over another. This nihilistic debilitation is usually associated with moods of despair, random destructiveness, and longing for nothingness. In its most extreme existential form, it is a denial of life itself because of its apparent meaninglessness. Suicide, for Nietzsche, is the ‘deed of nihilism’ (Nietzsche 1968, p.143). Nihilism is an existential and psychological state an individual can experience, but it is also a symptom of society, and is generally thought historically as a diagnosis of an ailment in a society at a particular time in history. Nihilism is the sickness, destruction and decay symptomatic of the decline of the West. Likewise, while postmodernism may be seen ahistorically as a general type of theory bearing particular features, it is often thought “historically,” as a theoretical description of and response to the present state of the most technologically advanced societies, called “postmodernity.” The discourse of nihilism began in modernity, and, generally speaking, in its “classical” formulations it is a diagnosis of and response to particular ailments of modernity. How, then, does nihilism relate to postmodernity? What is the status of nihilism in postmodernity? Presumably, the theory of nihilism that was developed as a diagnosis of modernity and modernism must undergo a transformation if it is to be applied to postmodernity and postmodernism. That is, if nihilism applies to specific social and historical conditions, and if those conditions have changed significantly (between modernity and postmodernity), then we should expect the diagnosis of nihilism itself to change. Postmodernity should be nihilistic in different ways than modernity was nihilistic. ISSN 1393-614X Minerva An Internet Journal of Philosophy 6 (2002): 51–67 ____________________________________________________ Ashley Woodward 53 This seems straightforward enough. Matters are significantly complicated, however, by the fact that the prime theorist of nihilism in modernity—Friedrich Nietzsche—is also one of the prime precursors of postmodern theory in the philosophical tradition. This means, then, that Nietzsche’s thought contains large elements of what—in retrospect—may be called “postmodern.” It also suggests that to a certain extent his theory of modernity may in fact be prophetic of postmodernity. The task of delineating a postmodern nihilism from a modern nihilism, then, is not simply a matter of contrasting nihilisms with wholly different theories of society and categories of thought. However, we should not infer that such a delineation is neither possible nor worthwhile on the grounds that Nietzsche’s theory of nihilism is wholly adequate for describing and responding to nihilism in the postmodern condition. The question of interpretation is pertinent here—Nietzsche is an ambiguous thinker, and his theory of nihilism (like all his theories) is open to multiple interpretations and extrapolations. It is possible to read Nietzsche in a modernist way. Likewise, it is only because of postmodern interpretations and extrapolations of his ideas that they may seem adequate to dealing with nihilism in postmodernity. The task of delineating modern and postmodern nihilisms, then, is to a certain extent the task of delineating modern and postmodern interpretations of Nietzschean nihilism. Such an interpretation is undertaken by Italian philosopher Gianni Vattimo, who is one of the few theorists to develop a detailed account of the connection between nihilism and the postmodern. Vattimo’s Nietzsche therefore stands as a useful figure of thought for determining the connection between nihilism and the postmodern. While Vattimo’s writings on Nietzsche are quite clear and in little need of elucidation, what I want to do here is make a comparison between his ISSN 1393-614X Minerva An Internet Journal of Philosophy 6 (2002): 51–67 ____________________________________________________ Ashley Woodward 54 interpretation and what I shall broadly call “modernist” interpretations of Nietzschean nihilism. This comparison will show the general features of the postmodern transformation of nihilism, show why postmodernism and postmodernity might legitimately be called nihilistic, and why this nihilism might be affirmed, rather than denied, by postmodernists.