Optimistic Nihilism
Kurzgesagt
How accepting the meaninglessness of existence can paradoxically free you to create your own meaning and find joy.
Why we picked this
Six minutes that reframe the biggest question humans have ever asked. Kurzgesagt at its most personal and philosophical.
Kurzgesagt doesn’t usually get personal. The channel is known for rigorous, well-researched explainers on science and society, delivered through distinctive animation. But “Optimistic Nihilism” is different — it’s the team’s attempt to answer the question that underlies everything else they’ve ever made: if the universe is vast and indifferent, what’s the point?
Their answer is deceptively simple. If nothing matters on a cosmic scale, then you’re free. Free to decide what matters to you. Free to make your own meaning. Free to enjoy the absurd improbability of being conscious at all.
At just six and a half minutes, this is one of the most efficient pieces of existential philosophy ever produced. It won’t resolve the question for you — nothing will — but it might change which version of the question you carry around.