The Allure of Academic Nihilism

Though Nietzsche himself was not a nihilist in the broad sense, reading Beyond Good and Evil has given me many thoughts on how nihilism manifests itself in the of an average student. His sharp criticism of the superficial moral structures which dominate most philosophical discussion also put me in the mood to criticize the most impactful institution of which I am currently a part - The university system. While I am also of course beholden to the laws and regulations set forth on Capitol Hill, those decisions impact me much less than the choices made by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Perhaps there will come a time where I vent fully on the bloated administration's baseless and profoundly detrimental decisions regarding student life and finances, but for now I wish to speak on a more personal struggle most students go through.

There comes a point in the semester when the work reaches its zenith, and it normally falls in accordance with a standard plot diagram, with the rising action taking place in the first few months, and the climax hitting around finals. Maybe that's one of the reasons Voldemort always launched his master plan at the end of the school year - to match the stress cycle already ingrained in readers. Regardless, I find myself now at the peak of this cycle, with projects, exams, and homework due seemingly every day. During these long hours of work I begin to feel the pull of a dangerous monster: Academic Nihilism.

Sometimes, when stuck on a particularly challenging or tedious problem, I decide to relax and listen to some music. A short break turns into an hour of scrolling through social media, playing games, or watching Youtube. After I realize how much time I've wasted, I chastise myself and half-heartedly get back to work, with the nagging thought in the back of my mind: Why not watch a movie? You've been wanting to see Get Out again... what's the harm in that? I find that the power with which I am able to resist these thoughts directly correlates to upcoming deadlines - if I have an exam due in the evening, I won't be as drawn to distraction, simply out of necessity; a sort of academic survival instinct.

These alluring thoughts I have dubbed "Academic Nihilism", which is somewhat similar to burning out, though it's more to do with existential philosophy rather than the stultification of creativity and will. It makes one think, What's the point of it all? For a little grade on a piece of paper? Generally, these may begin as little existential crises, where one begins to ponder the futility of existence in a cosmic scale universe, and ends with falling into a vice as thinly veiled escapism, or turning to pure Academic Nihilism. The latter presupposes that the conclusion reached from the turmoil in a student's head is that grades don't matter, and neither does school in general. What's one bad grade when compared to the shred of sanity one might save by tuning out and watching a movie? Why even try? This construct which we call an education system merely exists in order to expedite youths into the workforce in order to maximize productivity. With it being as cold, indifferent, and lifeless as it is, why should I seek to conform to it? Companies don't care about my GPA anyway. Why not just watch a movie?

The deeper issue with Academic Nihilism exists in how easily one can fall victim to it. I'm sure many of you have at least felt its pull, and as I round out my third straight semester this summer, I feel it stronger now than ever before. Perhaps it indicates a dissatisfaction with the system on the part of the student. Maybe the proclivity of someone to fall into Academic Nihilism varies by socio-economic status. Could it be true that you're more susceptible to it if your future has not been at least partially guaranteed? Could it be a simple manifestation of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, in which a student who already has some surety regarding their future can spend time pondering the existential questions which began this discussion, whereas one who had no guarantees in life cannot?

It may be that simply being conscious of one's tendency to drift off into this nihilistic state combats it significantly, but that doesn't seem to be the case when looking at extended periods of intensive academic labor. It seems, upon initial observation, that the ease with which one falls into Academic Nihilism is not only directly correlated with the stress cycle of a semester, but also compounded by multiple semesters of work.

As of now, I don't know the answer to the obvious question, "How do I avoid this?" It seems an inevitable result of discontent mixed with extended periods of stress induced by an indifferent system. Perhaps, like broad nihilism, a precondition to any significant philosophical discourse, it's simply a point one must reach before building something new and original. I know at least that being aware of Academic Nihilism is one way to fight it, though the viability of that solution decays exponentially with both time under pressure and workload. Given this uncertainty, I may come back to this topic later, but for now the path out of Academic Nihilism eludes me. Lastly, to my fellow RPI ARCHer's: Hang in there, we've only got a few weeks to go!