Introduction; 1. Jean Paul's Vision of Nihilism and Plea for the Doctrine of Immortality; 2. Klingemann and the Absurdity of Nothingness in The Nightwatches; 3. Nihilism in English Romanticism: Byron and Shelley; 4. Schopenhauer's Theory of Human Suffering and Lack of Meaning; 5. Büchner's Account of the Reign of Terror as a Mirror of Human Existence; 6. Poul Martin Møller's Criticism of Hegelianism and the Danish Discussion of Nihilism; 7. Kierkegaard and the Indefinability and Inexplicability of Death; 8. Turgenev's Portrait of a Nihilist; 9. Nietzsche's Vision of the Past and the Future of Nihilism; 10. The Importance of Nihilism in the Nineteenth Century.
A rich, expansive book reaching beyond philosophy to literature and the history of ideas with strong appeal to diverse readers.
Jon Stewart is a Research Fellow in the Institute of Philosophy at the Slovak Academy of Sciences. He is the author of many books, most recently An Introduction to Hegel's Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion: The Issue of Religious Content in the Enlightenment and Romanticism (2022) and Hegel's Century: Alienation and Recognition in a Time of Revolution (Cambridge University Press, 2021), which was the Philosophy category prizewinner in the 2021 PROSE Awards.
'Jon Stewart's A History of Nihilism in the Nineteenth Century
presents a remarkable new interpretation of the development of
thinking about the problem of the meaninglessness of the human
condition that is referred to as nihilism. This concept is usually
associated with twentieth-century existentialism, but Stewart
traces how the crisis of meaning arose far earlier, namely as a
result of the development of Enlightenment science which undermined
traditional religious belief. Insight after insight is gained into
the different dimensions of nihilism by means of close readings of
key thinkers and writers of the nineteenth century. In experiencing
the amazing amplitude of scope of the source-critical work and the
creative interpretive turns that come as the narrative unfolds, one
senses being in the presence of an author of significant humanity
and erudition.' Curtis L. Thompson, Thiel College
'A History of Nihilism in the Nineteenth Century delivers a
comprehensive, balanced survey of the leading philosophical and
literary attempts to grapple with the concept of nothingness.
Stewart's erudition is on full display as he sheds new light on
well-known theorists of nihilism, e.g., Schopenhauer, Nietzsche,
and Turgenev, while elevating the contributions of neglected
figures, e.g., Klingemann, Büchner, and Møller. Students
and scholars alike will appreciate Stewart's clear, engaging, and
jargon-free exposition of one of the defining ideas of the
nineteenth century. An impressive achievement by any measure.'
Daniel Conway, Texas A&M University
'While other histories of nihilism focus primarily on one or
another of these problems, Stewart's work is unique in that it
comes to terms with nihilism as a complex set of problems and
thereby offers a comprehensive approach to the topic. By
introducing new readers to the multiplicity of the concept, Stewart
offers a fresh account that is at once a conceptual study of
nihilism's myriad problems, a genealogy of its modern origins, and
a comparative analysis of its figures. Readers come away from the
book having been introduced to the issues and proposed solutions of
nihilism as well as to the interdisciplinary trajectory of
philosophical, religious, and literary engagements.' Nahum Brown,
The Philosophical Quarterley
'… the book's clarity and its didascalic slant make this volume an
ideal companion for a course on nineteenth-century perspectives on
nihilism.' Davide Marino, Religious Studies Review
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