so i really want a tattoo that means a lot to me. it will be my first so i want something kinda small-ish and somewhere not too obvious.
i want it to incorporate symbols of nihilism, straightedge, and veganism. the symbols are more a promise to myself than anything.
i was thinking of a nietzschean (the philosopher, probably spelt wrong, lol) theme including his symbolism of a lion as the nihilistic spirit and a child as the creating spirit. so i thought obviously the child should be riding the lion. and the child could have X’d hands for the straightedge bit, and be holding a carrot for the vegan bit. the lion could be eating a tie or a cross or something.
anyway thats all i’ve thought of so far. heres some pics of stuff i found related to what i want. i’m not sure what style i want, maybe cartoonish like the X’d rabbit.
any suggestions/ideas/comments? especially as how this might work specifically as a tattoo cos i don’t really know anything about what works/doesn’t. i’m really bad at drawing so i can’t really sketch out what i want myself.
lol i don’t. since we’re already using language and the word nihilism its not that ironic to look for a symbol for another symbol. words have meaning. nihilism is a word.
nihilist thought can stem from the idea that meaning is just a thing, with no more special a place than rocks or ink. beliefs can come and go, be created and destroyed. at least thats the way i see it.
to be a nihilist isn’t to not have any beliefs, thats impossible and boring. unless you’re dead maybe.
i guess i use nihilism and existentialism interchangably, but i prefer to say nihilism because it emphasizes resistance/change and holding beliefs as non-special.
Hi
To be honest Nihilsim and Existentialism are quite separate in their philosophies although one can support the other in the overall idea.
Nihilism is from the root latin word of nihil meaning nothing which in summary can be taken to believe that nothing actually exists or nothing has any moral value or worth so no action can be condemned as death is the same as life murder is the same as birth etc in their value ie none at all.
It can also mean the complete destruction of the system in place as the believer in Nihilism does not accept the authority or moral retsraints of the system or their peers.
This is because they believe that there is no universal truth or meaning so society religion and morals are useless.
Because of the fact that there is no value or moral restraint humans are able to achieve whatever they wish by ay means necessary even if it means breaking the cionceptual norms of right and wrong as the nihilist has evolved beyond such petty concerns.
Existentialism however differs in that:
Existere the latin root which means that which stands out – the things we can feel, hear, smell, touch, rather than believe based on faith.
That human condition or being is responsible for their own meaning for existence because we are the sum of our subjective experiences not a puppet controlled by higher power eg G-d.
This means that a person is free to choose their own actions without moral constraint but does not lean upon smashing the system. It may mean questioning the root of the society we live and rejecting the constraints of the obligations or expectations on how they behave.
The key difference is that nihilism has no belief it is meaningless but existentialism allows a person to believe in something that makes their life productive but is based on their freedom of their own choice without input/restraint from society.
Both share the absence of G-d.
All of that said (and I am sure can be argued as it is philosphy after all) is that some very dangerous movements have arisen from this kind of thinking eg the concept of the Aryan Master Race under the Nazi regime.
Also Nietsche was barking mad towards the end. He did also kill himself.
On a more cheerful note the tattoo would have to be fairly large to incoporate all of that detail.
To simplify why not have a cartoon style lion cub with x for paws and a V tattooed on the shoulder. The cub will show a combination of both child and freedom of spirit and the V is obviously about vegansim.
Take Care
Matthew
Haha did NOT argue that bit!
I did question my own sanity though reading your earlier post though.
My knowledge isn’t nearly as extensive as yours but I tend to be fairly certain about the few bits I DO happen to know.
OK, enough thread hijacking.
nihilist thought can stem from the idea that meaning is just a thing, with no more special a place than rocks or ink. beliefs can come and go, be created and destroyed. at least thats the way i see it.
to be a nihilist isn’t to not have any beliefs, thats impossible and boring. unless you’re dead maybe.
i guess i use nihilism and existentialism interchangably, but i prefer to say nihilism because it emphasizes resistance/change and holding beliefs as non-special.
Well you got me on that one mate……………….I have no idea what you are talking about!
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