The Pathologies of Modernity:Liberalism,Nihilism,Conservatism,Postmodernism,Intersectionality/Identity Politics,and Secular Humanism

In this article,Mocombe highlights what he calls the pathological-pathogenic purposive-rationalities(liberalism,nihilism,conservatism,postmodernism,intersectionality/identity politics,and secular humanism)that emerge out of modernity as constituted by the West under American hegemony.In the place of these pathological-pathogenic responses to the vagaries of modernity,Mocombe calls for an antihumanism,associated with what he calls libertarian communism,as a panacea to the aforementioned malaises.

Nihilism in Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find

Flannery O'Connor is considered one of the outstanding female writers of the American South in the 20 th century.Her works not only reveal to readers a world of nihilism,but also describe a society of original sins.Nihilism reflected by two major characters and their fates in A Good Man Is Hard to Find demonstrate her concern about the lack of belief and emptiness of modern people's soul.

The Catastrophic Effects of African Americans＇ Marginalisation in Ralph Ellison＇s Invisible Man and August Wilson＇s Fences： A Comparative Study

This paper explores Du Boisian notion of double consciousness and the notion of black nihilism suggested by Cornel West in Ralph Ellison＇s Invisible Man （1952） and August Wilson＇s Fences （1986）. In order to conduct this study, the researcher adopts African American approach and shows that double consciousness and black nihilism are the immediate effects of African Americans＇ marginalisation. According to W. E. B. Du Bois, all African Americans develop the sense of double consciousness which means being both African and American simultaneously. On the other hand, Cornel West believes that black Americans suffer from nihilism which means loss of hope and absence of meaning. The paper is an attempt to compare the novel Invisible Man and the play Fences thematically based on these two theories. It then looks to find the considerable similarities in the conditions of the protagonists of these two literary works. Although both protagonists migrate to the North to escape Southern racism in the era prior to the Civil Rights Movement, they become totally disillusioned, for they are treated as the invisible marginal. Interestingly though, at the end of both stories, there remains a ray of hope for reactivation and the creation of democracy for black Americans.

Optimization Design of Electromagnetic Nihility Nanoparticles

Nihility material is a medium whose relative permittivity and permeability tend to zero simultaneously. In this work, comparing with the scattering properties of perfect nihility nanoparticles （made from nihility material）, we provide an optimization design of electromagnetic nihility nanoparticles, which is a coated hybrid nanosphere constituted by commutative c-negative （ENG） and μ-negative （MNG） media. Compared to a single ENG or MNG nanosphere, it is found that the total and back scattering spectra of coated hybrid nanospheres are much closer to those of perfect nihility nanospheres. Moreover, it is observed that the scattered electromagnetic field distribution of coated hybrid nanospheres is identical to that of perfect nihility nanospheres. These results indicate that the combination of commutative ENG and MNG media can constitute a composite structure which gives the closest approximation of electromagnetic scattering of perfect nihility nanospheres in a wide frequency range.

Nihilistic Catastrophe:Barth's The End of the Road

This paper probes into the characterization and plotting of the novel The End of the Road,and attempts to unveil the existentialism and nihilism implications through analyzing the nihilistic hero,the absurd love triangle and the black humor used in the novel.

Hemingway and Nihility

Hemingway's works have sometimes been read as an essentially negative commentary on a modern world filled with sterility,failure and death.Yet such a nihilistic vision is repeatedly modified by Hemingway's affirmative assertion of the possibility of living with style and courage.Nihility in Hemingway's works is primarily expressed in three forms:a) consciousness of death;b) consciousness of pains;c) consciousness of fantasies.It firstly comes from his life experiences,and then it is closely connected with his living environment and ages.Nihility makes notable impact on his creation.

The Radical Character of Art and the Pedagogical and Political Value of the ＂Sublime＂ in Adorno＇s Aesthetic Theory

The critical nature of artwork is owed, according to Adorno, to the fact that it opposes its assimilation by reason and that it does not yield to the imposition of its established principles. This character which Heidegger, too, through a paradoxical convergence with Adorno, and in opposition to Lukacs, recognizes as its ontological component, permits the work of art to represent a force of resistance to dominance in general, in the prospect of the salvation of a humanized society. As such, it makes possible the radical rejection of political and, pertinent to it, pedagogical activity, when converted into primarily authoritiarian activity. Such a responsibility does art assume, according to Adorno, when it represents a spirituality, which is embodied in exemplary fashion both in the work of art itself, making the experience of the sublime possible, and in the aesthetic of the sublime, which is concentrated intensively on whatever remains unapproachable through concepts. In this way, we could say that the aesthetic of the sublime is converted into ＂first philosophy,＂ in the sense that it provides the rule for every theoretical approach. Concurring with this reading of Adorno, we consider how the sublime, as shown in the context of his aesthetic theory, is governed, furthermore, by a paideutic principle of exceptional significance, which we must necessarily activate through aesthetic education, so that western man may understand that he must uproot himself from the nihilistic social context in which he lives, rupturing the delusion of his omnipotence. In a world governed by a permanent crisis of democracy in public and private life, since the weakening of political imagination unites with the retreat from political ethos and an generalization of the unprecedented will for dominance, we consider this aesthetic theory to be exceptionally essential and useful to us both as pedagogical theory and as political theory, since it allows us to understand that the experience of the sublime through art is in opposition to this condition of destruction, and indeed represents the ideal of justice.

On the Nihilism in Endgame

With its presentation of the apocalyptic view of the world of four agonized survivors,Endgame conveys a strong sense of nihilism:the futility of existence,the universal misery,human’s suffering,hopelessness and despair,which is visually,connotatively and allegorically expressed through the theme,the plot,the language,and the theatrical device.The play may be claimed as the most absurd play of the“Theater of Absurd”.

The President Who Is Beyond Good and Evil:A Nietzschean Pantomime

This paper draws many parallels between Guy Debord‟s Society of the Spectacle and the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche particularly Beyond Good and Evil and Thus Spake Zarathustra in anticipating and predicting the rise of the Superman,the 45th President of the United States Donald J.Trump.Debord identified the spectacle as“The moment when the commodity has achieved the total occupation of life”.What Debord didn‟t foresee is the rise of Donald J.Trump which Nietzsche would describe as the“noontide”or transcendence of the society of the spectacle,and indeed the eternal recurrence of the society of the spectacle.The spectacle is capable of regenerating itself in perpetuity through the essential slogan in Trumpism-make America great again!Nietzsche prophesizes that nihilism will be turned into the new religion where he predicts the rise of the Superman.Here it will be argued that Donald J.Trump is the nominal head of this new religion and may therefore be identified as the Anti-Christ.

Life and Will in the Philosophies of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche: What Preferred Alternative for the Emancipation of the African Subject Agent for Africa’s Development?

In this paper,we try to understand the difference in approach of the Schopenhauerian and Nietzschean philosophers with regard to the notions of life and will,by highlighting the distance that separates them.Beyond highlighting this distance,we wonder about the lessons that the African subject,as an agent of history,can draw from it,first for his emancipation,then to promote the development of history Africa.

Transformation devices with optical nihility media and reduced realizations

Starting from optical nihility media (ONM),we design several intriguing devices with transformation optics method in two dimensions,such as a wave splitter,a concave lens,a field rotator,a concentrator,and an invisibility cloak.Though the extreme anisotropic property of ONM hinders the fabrication of these devices.We demonstrate that those devices could be effectively realized by simplified materials with Fabry-Pérot resonances (FPs) at discrete frequencies.Moreover,we propose a reduced version of simplified materials with FPs to construct a concentrator and a rotator,which is feasible in experimental fabrications.The simulations of total scattering cross-sections confirm their functionalities.

Nietzsche＇s Nihilism

Nietzsche＇s philosophical views have by now been superseded. He found the roots of nihilism in European society＇s traditionaI metaphysics and Christian morality, and he located nihilism specifically within the field of morality or value. He so urgently sought to resolve the problem of nihilism that he proposed extreme methods, such as the revaluation of all values. But he did not overcome nihilism completely, though he claimed that the Overman would replace the Christian God. Nihilism is not only a European phenomenon. As a historical process, nihilism may appear in different countries. We should take a positive attitude toward this phenomenon and guide it in the right direction. Nietzsche＇s ideas on nihilism are important contributions and an inspiring legacy that can help us confront contemporary phenomena.

The Mechanism of the Emergence of Nihilism from the View of Intentional Tenacity

This paper sets forth the reasons why Nietzsche thought nihilism to be inevitable from the perspective of the tenacity of the intentional.Through distinguishing two ordered intentional states—first-order and high-order—and two kinds of objects respectively,the paper illustrates that it is impossible to find a new ultimate value to replace Christian values when Nietzsche announced"the death of God."Inspired by Nietzsche's thoughts,.the paper concludes by briefly discussing the possibility of comparing Confucian and Nietzsche's ideas concerning nihilism.

Nihilism of Taiwan Residents Youth in the 1950s and 1960s： Reinterpreting Modernism and the Left-Wing

This paper presents a comparative analysis on Chen Yingzhen＇s ＂Wo de didi Kangxiong＂ （＂My brother Kangxiong＇） and Wang Shangyi＇s ＂Ye gezi de huanghun＂ （＂Wild pigeon＇s dusk＂） in the cultural-historical context of Taiwan in 1960s, in the aim of exploring the origin of ＂nihilism＂ which had been prevailed among Taiwan youth from 1950s to 196os. Furthermore, the paper reexamines the hidden but intimate relationship between modernism and left-wing intellectuals.