TEHRAN – Danish-Turkish philosopher and sociologist Bulent Diken’s book “Nihilism” has been published in Persian.

Now is the publisher of the book translated by Farhad Akbarzadeh.

Most significant problems of contemporary life have their origins in nihilism and its paradoxical logic, which is simultaneously destructive to and constitutive of society. Yet, in social theory, nihilism is a surprisingly under-researched topic.

This book develops a systematic account of nihilism in its four main forms: escapism, radical nihilism, passive nihilism and “perfect nihilism”. 

It focuses especially on the disjunctive synthesis between passive nihilism (the negation of the will) and radical nihilism (the will to negation), between the hedonism/disorientation that characterizes the contemporary post-political culture and the emerging forms of despair and violence as a reaction to it.

The book deals with nihilism at three levels. First, it addresses the genealogy and consequences of nihilism, which is followed by an excursus through film analysis. 

Then the book focuses on the “social”, relating nihilism to capitalism, post-politics and terrorism. 

Another excursus fleshes out the theoretical arguments by focusing on Houellebecq’s fiction. Finally, the possibilities of overcoming nihilism are considered by emphasizing the significance of concepts such as event, agonism and antagonism in this context.

Diken teaches at Lancaster University. He has studied urban planning at the Aarhus School of Architecture. He is known for his research on social theory, post-structuralism, nihilism, political philosophy, urban sociology and immigration. 

During 1998 and 1999, he was an assistant professor at Roskilde University, Department of Geography.

Photo: Front cover of the Persian translation of Bulent Diken’s book “Nihilism”.

MMS/YAW