Nihilism, Absurdism, Advaita Vedanta and More: 10 Philosophies That Can Change How You See Life
What if life has no predetermined meaning? What if meaning is something we create? What if the self we spend our entire life protecting is not our deepest identity? What if happiness comes from wanting less rather than having more? And what if free will itself is an illusion?
Philosophy becomes truly fascinating when it stops being a list of difficult names and starts becoming a way to understand your own thoughts, choices, relationships, suffering and everyday life.
Why do we suffer?
Why do we want more?
Do we actually have free will?
Is morality objectively real?
Does life have an inherent purpose?
What happens when we realize that the universe may not provide the answers we desperately want?
Different philosophical traditions approach these questions in radically different ways.
Some question whether life has any inherent meaning. Others argue that the absence of predetermined meaning gives us the freedom to create our own. Some challenge our assumption that we are separate individual selves. Others focus on virtue, tranquility, skepticism, simplicity or freedom from unnecessary desire.
In this article, we will explore 10 philosophical ideas:
- Nihilism
- Absurdism
- Advaita Vedanta
- Existentialism
- Stoicism
- Epicureanism
- Pyrrhonism
- Error Theory
- Cynicism
- Determinism
And because philosophy becomes much easier to understand when we see it through human stories, we will also explore three remarkable books by Fyodor Dostoevsky:
- Crime and Punishment
- White Nights
- Notes from Underground
These books don't simply explain philosophical ideas.
They make you experience them through characters dealing with loneliness, guilt, desire, freedom, morality, suffering and the search for meaning.
1. Nihilism — What If Nothing Has Inherent Meaning?
Nihilism is one of the most frequently misunderstood philosophical concepts.
People often use "nihilistic" to describe someone who is depressed, destructive or believes that nothing matters.
Philosophically, however, nihilism is much more specific.
At its simplest, nihilism questions whether existence, life, morality or values possess objective or inherent meaning.
Imagine asking:
"Why are we here?"
Someone answers:
"To become successful."
You ask:
"Why should I become successful?"
"To become happy."
You ask:
"Why should happiness matter?"
Eventually, you may reach a point where there is no further objective explanation.
That is where the philosophical problem begins.
An everyday example of nihilism
Imagine spending twenty years building a successful career.
You earn money.
You receive recognition.
You buy a beautiful house.
You become respected.
Then one night you sit alone and ask:
"What was all of this ultimately for?"
Nihilism does not necessarily say that your achievements are worthless.
Instead, it asks whether there is some objective, universal meaning that makes those achievements valuable independently of human interpretation.
Nihilism and Dostoevsky
Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment is particularly fascinating when explored alongside nihilism.
Raskolnikov develops an intellectual theory that appears to place certain extraordinary individuals above ordinary moral restrictions.
He attempts to turn an abstract philosophical idea into action.
But his psychological and moral collapse raises a much deeper question:
Can human beings actually live peacefully after removing traditional moral boundaries?
The novel becomes a powerful exploration of morality, rationalization, guilt, suffering and philosophical rebellion.
📖 Explore Crime and Punishment
If you want to read the philosophical questions rather than merely study them, Dostoevsky's novel is an excellent place to start.
👉 Buy Crime and Punishment on Amazon
2. Absurdism — What If We Want Meaning From a Silent Universe?
Absurdism is related to nihilism, but the two are not identical.
The basic absurdist problem is:
Human beings desperately seek meaning, order and explanation, while the universe does not necessarily provide one.
That conflict creates the absurd.
Imagine asking:
"Why am I here?"
The universe gives you no answer.
You search religion.
Science.
Relationships.
Success.
Philosophy.
Still no final answer.
The tension between our desire for meaning and the universe's apparent indifference is the absurd condition.
Nihilism vs Absurdism
A simplified distinction is:
Nihilism:
"There is no inherent meaning."
Absurdism:
"We seek meaning, but the universe does not guarantee one. How should we live despite that?"
This second question is crucial.
The absurdist response does not necessarily have to be despair.
It can be engagement with life despite uncertainty.
Everyday example
You spend years working toward a goal.
You finally achieve it.
For a few weeks, you feel fulfilled.
Then another goal appears.
You achieve that.
Another goal appears.
Eventually, you notice that there may never be a final achievement that permanently solves the problem of existence.
An absurdist response might be:
There may be no final answer. Live anyway.
3. Advaita Vedanta — What If the Separate Self Is Not What You Think?
Advaita Vedanta takes us into a completely different philosophical direction.
The word Advaita means "not two" or "non-dual."
At the heart of Advaita Vedanta is the relationship between Atman, the deepest Self, and Brahman, ultimate reality.
Ordinary experience tells us:
"I am this person."
"My body is me."
"My thoughts are me."
"My success belongs to me."
"My problems define me."
Advaita asks us to investigate these assumptions.
A simple example
Imagine watching a movie.
You become emotionally involved with the main character.
You become frightened when the character is threatened.
You become happy when the character succeeds.
But you know you are not actually the character.
Advaita encourages a similar inquiry into our experience of the self.
We normally identify ourselves with:
- our body
- thoughts
- emotions
- memories
- social identity
- profession
- relationships
- achievements
But Advaita asks:
Who is the one aware of all these changing experiences?
This leads to one of its most famous inquiries:
"Who am I?"
Not merely:
"What is my name?"
"What is my job?"
"What is my personality?"
But:
What is the deepest nature of the Self?
Advaita Vedanta is not nihilism
This distinction is important.
Nihilism questions whether meaning, value or certain forms of objective reality exist.
Advaita does not simply say:
"Nothing exists."
Instead, it proposes a radically different understanding of ultimate reality, consciousness and the self.
That makes Advaita Vedanta particularly interesting for anyone exploring identity, attachment and consciousness.
4. Existentialism — What If We Have to Create Meaning?
Existentialism focuses heavily on:
- freedom
- responsibility
- choice
- anxiety
- authenticity
- individuality
- mortality
- meaning
One of its central concerns is that human beings must often make choices without possessing absolute certainty.
Example
Imagine choosing a career.
Your parents want one option.
Society respects another.
Your friends recommend a third.
But there is no universal sign saying:
"This is objectively the correct life for you."
Eventually, you have to choose.
And once you choose, you have to live with the consequences.
This is one of the central tensions of existentialism:
Freedom can be liberating, but freedom can also be frightening.
Because if nobody else can make the decision for you, you cannot completely escape responsibility for your choices.
Dostoevsky and existentialism
Dostoevsky's characters repeatedly confront:
- freedom
- morality
- God
- guilt
- suffering
- isolation
- responsibility
- rationality
This is especially visible in Notes from Underground and Crime and Punishment.
5. Stoicism — Focus on What You Can Control
Stoicism may be one of the most immediately practical philosophies for modern life.
Ancient Stoic thinkers such as Epictetus, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius emphasized the distinction between what is within our control and what is outside it.
Within your control
Your:
- choices
- judgments
- actions
- responses
- attitudes
Outside your complete control
Other people's opinions.
Other people's behavior.
The past.
Unexpected events.
Market conditions.
Your reputation.
The final outcome of many situations.
Example
You launch a product.
You research carefully.
You create something valuable.
You market it.
But customers may still decide not to buy.
The Stoic approach is not:
"I don't care about the result."
Instead:
"I will give my attention to the decisions and actions I can control."
This distinction can dramatically reduce unnecessary anxiety.
6. Epicureanism — Could Wanting Less Make You Happier?
Epicureanism is often misunderstood as a philosophy of luxury and endless pleasure.
Epicurus' philosophy was considerably more nuanced.
Epicureanism emphasizes pleasure, but much of that pleasure comes from:
- tranquility
- friendship
- moderation
- freedom from unnecessary fear
- simple living
- absence of unnecessary suffering
Modern example
Imagine two people.
Person A earns a huge income but constantly worries about status, comparison and losing wealth.
Person B lives simply, has close friendships, enough resources and relatively little unnecessary anxiety.
Epicureanism asks:
Who is actually experiencing the better life?
The answer is not automatically the person with more possessions.
The problem of endless desire
You buy a new phone.
For a few days, it feels exciting.
Then it becomes normal.
Soon you want an upgrade.
Then another.
The cycle continues.
Epicurean thinking encourages us to ask:
"Do I genuinely need this, or have I simply learned to desire it?"
That question becomes particularly powerful in today's consumer culture.
7. Pyrrhonism — What If We Should Stop Pretending to Know?
Pyrrhonism is a philosophical tradition of skepticism associated with Pyrrho and later developed by Sextus Empiricus.
Its central attitude is intellectually fascinating:
When evidence is insufficient, why rush into certainty?
Instead of immediately saying:
"This is definitely true."
or
"This is definitely false."
a Pyrrhonian skeptic may suspend judgment.
Everyday example
Someone tells you:
"Everyone at work dislikes you."
Do you immediately believe them?
A skeptical approach asks:
- What evidence supports this?
- What evidence contradicts it?
- Is there another explanation?
- How reliable is the source?
- Do I actually know this?
Modern life often rewards certainty.
Social media encourages statements such as:
"Everyone knows this."
"This proves it."
"Obviously."
But complicated questions rarely deserve absolute confidence.
Sometimes the most intellectually honest answer is:
"I don't know."
8. Error Theory — What If Objective Moral Facts Don't Exist?
Error theory belongs to the field of metaethics, where philosophers investigate what moral claims actually mean and whether moral facts exist.
Consider the statement:
"Murder is objectively wrong."
Error theory questions whether there are objective moral facts that make statements like this true in the same way that factual statements can be true.
If there are no objective moral properties of the required kind, then ordinary moral claims may systematically contain an error.
Example
Imagine two civilizations with completely different moral systems.
One says a particular action is morally acceptable.
Another says it is objectively wrong.
Error theory asks:
Is there an objective moral fact, independent of human attitudes, that determines which civilization is correct?
If no such facts exist, then ordinary moral language may be attempting to describe something that isn't actually there.
Important distinction
Error theory does not simply mean:
"Anything is allowed."
It is a philosophical position about whether ordinary moral judgments successfully refer to objective moral facts.
That distinction is essential.
9. Cynicism — What If Society's Values Are Artificial?
Ancient Cynicism is very different from what we mean when we call someone "cynical" today.
Ancient Cynics, particularly figures such as Diogenes, questioned social conventions and emphasized living according to nature rather than chasing artificial status.
Imagine applying this philosophy to modern life.
Look at:
- luxury brands
- expensive cars
- job titles
- social media followers
- status symbols
- prestige
- external validation
The Cynic might ask:
"How many of these things do you actually need?"
A modern example
Someone buys an expensive watch because they genuinely appreciate watches.
That's one thing.
Someone buys an expensive watch entirely because they desperately want other people to recognize their status.
The Cynic asks:
Who is controlling whom?
Are you using the object?
Or is your desire for social recognition controlling you?
This makes ancient Cynicism remarkably relevant in the age of social media and personal branding.
10. Determinism — Do We Really Have Free Will?
Determinism asks one of philosophy's most uncomfortable questions:
Could everything we do be the result of previous causes?
Consider your personality.
It may have been influenced by:
- genetics
- childhood
- education
- culture
- environment
- relationships
- experiences
- brain states
- previous decisions
If every event has prior causes, then what does it mean when we say:
"I could have chosen differently"?
Example
Imagine becoming angry during an argument.
You say:
"I chose to become angry."
A determinist might ask:
What caused that reaction?
Your previous experiences?
Your personality?
Your memories?
Your physical state?
The other person's words?
Your brain's prior activity?
The question becomes surprisingly complicated.
Determinism is not the same as fatalism
This distinction is important.
Fatalism:
The outcome will happen regardless of what you do.
Determinism:
The outcome follows from prior causes, including your own actions and decisions.
Under determinism, your actions still matter because your actions are themselves part of the causal chain.
Three Dostoevsky Books That Turn Philosophy Into Experience
Reading philosophy can sometimes feel abstract.
Dostoevsky solves that problem by putting philosophical ideas inside psychologically complicated human beings.
Instead of simply asking:
"What happens if someone rejects conventional morality?"
Crime and Punishment lets you watch a person attempt it.
Instead of simply discussing loneliness:
White Nights makes you feel it.
Instead of discussing freedom and irrationality:
Notes from Underground gives you a narrator who constantly fights against the idea that human beings are perfectly rational.
📕 Crime and Punishment — Nihilism, Morality, Guilt and Rationalization
Raskolnikov develops a theory that certain extraordinary individuals may be justified in crossing ordinary moral boundaries.
He then commits a crime.
But the real philosophical drama begins afterward.
The novel asks:
Can an intellectual theory override conscience?
Can morality simply be calculated?
Can a human being live peacefully after convincing himself that ordinary moral rules don't apply to him?
Is guilt merely psychological, or does it reveal something deeper about morality?
This makes Crime and Punishment particularly valuable for readers interested in:
nihilism, existentialism, moral philosophy, free will, guilt and human psychology.
🛒 Read Crime and Punishment
👉 Purchase Crime and Punishment on Amazon India
📘 White Nights — Loneliness, Imagination and Existential Longing
White Nights is a much shorter and more emotionally accessible Dostoevsky story.
Its unnamed narrator spends much of his life inside his imagination.
He dreams of connection.
Then he meets Nastenka.
For a short period, his isolated inner world collides with another person's reality.
The story explores a deeply human question:
Is an imagined life enough when what we actually want is human connection?
It is particularly interesting for anyone who has experienced the difference between:
imagining a life
and
actually living it.
🛒 Read White Nights
👉 Purchase White Nights on Amazon
📗 Notes from Underground — Consciousness, Freedom and Irrationality
Notes from Underground may be the strangest and most psychologically uncomfortable of the three.
The narrator thinks constantly.
He analyzes himself.
He analyzes society.
He contradicts himself.
He knows what he should do.
And sometimes he deliberately does the opposite.
Why?
Because human beings may not always want what is rationally best for them.
The Underground Man challenges the idea that humans can be reduced to rational calculations of self-interest.
Imagine someone saying:
"If people understand what is best for them, they will naturally choose it."
The Underground Man essentially responds:
What if I understand exactly what is best for me and deliberately refuse to do it simply to prove that I am free?
That question connects the novel with:
- existentialism
- free will
- nihilism
- rationality
- consciousness
- alienation
- psychological rebellion
🛒 Read Notes from Underground
👉 Purchase Notes from Underground on Amazon
Which Philosophy Does Each Dostoevsky Book Explore?
| Book | Strongest Philosophical Connections | What It Makes You Question |
|---|---|---|
| Crime and Punishment | Nihilism, existentialism, morality, free will | Can an intellectual theory justify immoral action? |
| White Nights | Existential loneliness, longing, imagination | Can imagined connection replace real connection? |
| Notes from Underground | Existentialism, nihilism, freedom, irrationality | Are human beings actually rational? |
These books don't belong neatly to just one philosophical school.
That's part of what makes them so valuable.
A great novel can contain several philosophical tensions at once.
How These 10 Philosophies Compare
| Philosophy | Main Question | Simplified Perspective |
| Nihilism | Does life have inherent meaning? | Perhaps there is no objective meaning |
| Absurdism | What do we do without guaranteed meaning? | Live despite the absurd |
| Advaita Vedanta | What is the deepest nature of the Self? | Ultimate reality is non-dual |
| Existentialism | How should we live amid uncertainty? | Choose, create meaning and take responsibility |
| Stoicism | What deserves my attention? | Focus on what is within your control |
| Epicureanism | What makes life genuinely pleasurable? | Seek tranquility, friendship and simple pleasures |
| Pyrrhonism | How certain can we be? | Suspend judgment when evidence is insufficient |
| Error Theory | Are objective moral facts real? | Ordinary moral claims may be systematically mistaken |
| Cynicism | Are social values genuinely valuable? | Question status, convention and artificial desires |
| Determinism | Are our choices caused? | Human actions may arise from prior causes |
The Most Interesting Part: You Don't Have to Choose Just One
Philosophy doesn't have to become a competition where you pick one label and reject everything else.
You could approach different areas of life through different philosophical lenses.
Imagine your business has a terrible month.
A Stoic might say:
Focus on what you can control.
An Epicurean might say:
Don't allow material success to become the only source of happiness.
A Pyrrhonian skeptic might say:
You don't actually know why things went badly yet. Investigate before assuming.
An existentialist might say:
Whatever happens, you are responsible for deciding how to respond.
A nihilist might question whether business success has any ultimate cosmic significance.
An Advaita practitioner might ask:
Who is this "I" that is experiencing success and failure?
An absurdist might respond:
The universe never promised predictable outcomes. Live anyway.
And perhaps that's one of the greatest benefits of studying philosophy.
Different philosophies give us different lenses for looking at the same event.
Where Should You Start?
If you're completely new to philosophical literature, don't begin by trying to memorize every philosopher and definition.
Start with a question that genuinely interests you.
If you wonder about meaning:
Start with Nihilism → Absurdism → Existentialism
If you wonder about identity and consciousness:
Explore Advaita Vedanta
If you struggle with external events:
Explore Stoicism
If you feel trapped in endless wanting:
Explore Epicureanism
If you want to question certainty:
Explore Pyrrhonism
If you're fascinated by morality:
Explore Error Theory
If you question social status and materialism:
Explore Cynicism
If you wonder whether free will exists:
Explore Determinism
And if you want to encounter many of these questions through unforgettable characters:
Read Dostoevsky.
A Suggested Reading Journey
If you want to enter this world gradually, try this order:
1. White Nights
Start with the emotional side of Dostoevsky.
↓
2. Notes from Underground
Move into consciousness, freedom, irrationality and psychological contradiction.
👉 Buy Notes from Underground
↓
3. Crime and Punishment
Then explore morality, guilt, nihilistic reasoning and existential responsibility on a much larger scale.
After that, you can move into Camus, Stoicism, existentialist philosophy, Advaita Vedanta and philosophical skepticism.
Final Thought — Maybe Philosophy Is About Better Questions
Perhaps philosophy doesn't always give us answers.
Sometimes it gives us better questions.
You may never definitively solve whether life has objective meaning.
You may never know whether free will truly exists.
You may never completely understand consciousness.
You may never settle the question of whether morality exists independently of human beings.
But asking these questions changes the way you see ordinary life.
When you're anxious about something, ask the Stoic question:
"What is actually within my control?"
When you're endlessly chasing more, ask the Epicurean question:
"What do I actually need?"
When you're certain about something, ask the Pyrrhonian question:
"How do I know?"
When society tells you what should make you valuable, ask the Cynic question:
"Is this genuinely valuable, or merely socially rewarded?"
When you feel that your life has no meaning, explore the existentialist and absurdist question:
"If meaning isn't handed to me, what meaning can I create?"
And when you ask the deepest question—
"Who am I?"
—you may find yourself entering the radically different world of Advaita Vedanta.
Maybe philosophy doesn't remove the uncertainty of being human.
Maybe it teaches us to look directly at that uncertainty without immediately running away from it.
📚 Books Featured in This Article
Crime and Punishment — Fyodor Dostoevsky
Themes: Nihilism, morality, guilt, free will, existentialism
White Nights — Fyodor Dostoevsky
Themes: Loneliness, imagination, longing, connection
Notes from Underground — Fyodor Dostoevsky
Themes: Consciousness, freedom, irrationality, alienation, existentialism
Affiliate Disclosure
Some links in this article are Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase a product through these links, the publisher may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. This helps support the creation of more book guides, philosophy articles and reading recommendations.
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