nihilism, (from Latinnihil, “nothing”), originally aphilosophy ofmoral and epistemologicalskepticism that arose in 19th-century Russia during the early years of the reign ofTsarAlexander II. The term was famously used byFriedrich Nietzsche to describe the disintegration of traditionalmorality in Western society. In the 20th century,nihilismencompassed a variety of philosophical andaesthetic stances that, in one sense or another, denied theexistence of genuine moral truths or values, rejected the possibility of knowledge or communication, and asserted the ultimate meaninglessness or purposelessness of life or of the universe.

The term is an old one, applied to certain heretics in theMiddle Ages. InRussian literature,nihilism was probably first used by N.I. Nadezhdin, in an 1829 article in theMessenger of Europe, in which he applied it toAleksandr Pushkin. Nadezhdin, as did V.V. Bervi in 1858, equated nihilism withskepticism.Mikhail Nikiforovich Katkov, a well-knownconservative journalist who interpreted nihilism as synonymous withrevolution, presented it as a social menace because of its negation of all moral principles.

It wasIvan Turgenev, in his celebrated novelFathers and Sons (1862), who popularized the term through the figure of Bazarov the nihilist. Eventually, the nihilists of the 1860s and ’70s came to be regarded as disheveled, untidy, unruly, ragged men who rebelled against tradition and social order. The philosophy of nihilism then began to be associated erroneously with the regicide ofAlexander II (1881) and the political terror that was employed by those active at the time inclandestine organizations opposed toabsolutism.

If to the conservative elements the nihilists were the curse of the time, to the liberals such asN.G. Chernyshevsky they represented a mere transitory factor in the development of national thought—a stage in the struggle for individual freedom—and a true spirit of the rebellious young generation. In his novelWhat Is to Be Done? (1863), Chernyshevsky endeavoured to detect positive aspects in the nihilist philosophy. Similarly, in hisMemoirs, PrincePeter Kropotkin, the leading Russian anarchist, defined nihilism as the symbol of struggle against all forms oftyranny, hypocrisy, and artificiality and for individual freedom.

Fundamentally, 19th-century nihilism represented a philosophy of negation of all forms of aestheticism; it advocatedutilitarianism and scientificrationalism. Classical philosophical systems were rejected entirely. Nihilism represented a crude form ofpositivism andmaterialism, a revolt against the established social order; it negated all authority exercised by the state, by the church, or by thefamily. It based itsbelief on nothing but scientific truth; science would be the solution of all social problems. All evils, nihilists believed, derived from a single source—ignorance—which science alone would overcome.

Thethinking of 19th-century nihilists was profoundly influenced by philosophers, scientists, and historians such asLudwig Feuerbach,Charles Darwin, Henry Buckle, andHerbert Spencer. Since nihilists denied theduality of human beings as a combination of body andsoul, of spiritual and materialsubstance, they came into violent conflict withecclesiastical authorities. Since nihilists questioned the doctrine of thedivine right of kings, they came into similar conflict withsecular authorities. Since they scorned all social bonds and family authority, the conflict between parents and children became equally immanent, and it is this theme that is best reflected in Turgenev’s novel.