Nihilism vs. Hedonism: What's the Difference?

(Philosophy) The doctrine that nothing actually exists or that existence or values are meaningless.

Pursuit of or devotion to pleasure, especially to the pleasures of the senses.

Relentless negativity or cynicism suggesting an absence of values or beliefs

(Philosophy) The ethical doctrine holding that only what is pleasant or has pleasant consequences is intrinsically good.

Political belief or action that advocates or commits violence or terrorism without discernible constructive goals.

(Psychology) The doctrine holding that behavior is motivated by the desire for pleasure and the avoidance of pain.

Also Nihilism A diffuse, revolutionary movement of mid-19th-century Russia that scorned authority and tradition and believed in reason, materialism, and radical change in society and government through terrorism and assassination.

The belief that pleasure or happiness is the highest good in life. Some hedonists, such as the Epicureans, have insisted that pleasure of the entire mind, not just pleasure of the senses, is the highest good.

(Psychiatry) A delusion, experienced in some mental disorders, that the world or one's mind, body, or self does not exist.

(countable) A general devotion to the pursuit of pleasure.

The view that all endeavours are devoid of objective meaning.

The doctrine of the Hedonic sect; the pursuit of pleasure as a matter of ethical principle.

The rejection of, or opposition to, religious beliefs, (inherent or objective) moral principles, legal rules, etc., often due to the view that life is meaningless (sense 1).

The ethical theory which finds the explanation and authority of duty in its tendency to give pleasure.

The rejection of non-proven or non-rationalized assertions in the social and political spheres of society.

The pursuit of pleasure as a matter of ethical principle

A delusion that oneself or the world, or parts thereof, have ceased to exist.

An ethical system that evaluates the pursuit of pleasure as the highest good

Alternative case form of Nihilism

A doctrine grounded on the negation of one or more meaningful aspects of life; in particular, the view that nothing in the world actually exists.

(countable) Something that is regarded as meaningless.

Nothingness; nihility.

The doctrine that nothing can be known; scepticism as to all knowledge and all reality.

The theories and practices of the Nihilists.

A revolutionary doctrine that advocates destruction of the social system for its own sake

The delusion that things (or everything, including the self) do not exist; a sense that everything is unreal

Complete denial of all established authority and institutions