My cousin, Nauroz Arif, is an admirer of the Green Zone Philosophy. Since introducing it to his family a few years ago, they have regular Green Zone family meetings which they start with a discussion about our weekly Blog. His sons have grown older and developed a keen interest in philosophy and psychology, art and literature, so they want my opinion about Nihilism. Therefore, this Blog is dedicated to Nauroz and his wife, Nighat and their sons, Sarosh, Aazar and Rumi.
Nihilism is a philosophy that became popular in the last couple of centuries. A number of philosophers including Soren Kierkegaard, Frederick Nietzsche and Jean Paul Sartre played a significant role in the development of this philosophy. These philosophers challenged different religious traditions and declared, life is meaningless. I found it quite interesting that some existentialists believed that life is meaningless but not worthless.
In my clinical practice, I have met many men and women who suffered from existential depression as they believed their life was meaningless. Through therapy, many were helped to discover their own unique meaning in life. I encourage them to read one of my essays titled, Creating a Meaningful Life, which is this week’s Blog. I hope Nauroz and his family find my essay thought provoking and meaningful.