| abstract | - This is the sort of character that goes by doctrines along the lines of "Don't cling to pain. Don't expect happiness. Don't fear loss. Accept reality as it is. Enjoy the good. Endure the bad. Don't make a big deal out of anything. Be selfless, and unconditionally kind and just, without ever expecting a reward. We're all going to end up as piles of dust, so why not be nice to each other and get those pleasant fuzzies?" Basically, a Nihilist that decides to be nice, altruistic, virtuous and/or ethical for the same reasons the Nietzsche Wannabe decides to be an unfettered, Social Darwinist, omnicidal Complete Monster. Instead of angsting all the time about "Life is hell, we're all gonna die and you can't fight fate, thus we might as well start killing each other right now", this type thinks more like "Life is hell, we're all gonna die and you can't fight fate... but why not make each others' lives worthwhile and enjoyable in the meantime?" The Anti-Nihilist is usually a Knight in Sour Armor who knows how cynical the world is, but decides to stick to a particular value and make meaning out of it, despite knowing how utterly meaningless doing so is. The Anti-Nihilist is very likely to adhere to a Utilitarianism morality, although this isn't a universal rule; there are Anti-Nihilists whose morality might border on self-made Blue and Orange Morality (see the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche). Expect this declaration of defying nihilism to be uttered as a form of shutting up nihilists' lectures on Despair and how Humans Are Morons. Thus, very likely to take form as a World-of-Cardboard/Patrick Stewart Speech. Compare Determined Defeatist, who is pessimistic not about the world but about his own chance of success, but has a similar 'let's try anyway' mentality. See also Ubermensch for the type of person who believes in creating their own meaning and morality, but may not be quite as caring or considerate of others in the process. Note that the title of this page is based more on popular misconception of Nihilism, rather than the actual philosophy as conceived by Friedrich Nietzsche, which was somewhat closer to this in reality. See Existentialism for the philosophy that encouraged living in Real Life as this character. Examples of The Anti-Nihilist include:
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