Rose is an Orthodox Christian, so he filters Modern Nihilism through his Orthodox Faith. Which, for me, was a refreshing outlook.
I am interested in studying Nihilism, I find it a fascinating subject! Rose argues Modern Nihilism through Modern Political theories and beliefs. Before reading his book, I was already thinking that Nihilism has already rooted itself into political thought, and his book is a great foundation to start with.
Nihilism, the way I view it, is defined via Nietzsche as the "Devaluation of Values", more specifically the value of Life and God. Ultimately every major society that has introduced Greek Philosophy with Theism, Islam, Christianity (Catholicism, Protestantism, and Orthodoxy) have all suffered the devaluation of God and Life within their society.
Islam for example introduced Greek Philosophy into their culture around the 800's C.E. and created the Islamic Golden Age, and by 1250 they rejected the advances of knowledge and decided to become more fundamental in their religion, which created civil unrest, civil wars and invasions! Due to the weakness of Islamic Unity left them open for conquest and by the 1400's Mehmed the Conqueror, Bayezid II and Suleiman the Magnificent conquered the entire Middle East, North Africa and parts of Europe, expanding the Ottoman Empire to its fullest height. Which led to the Stagnation of Islamic culture and which is one of the reason's the Ottoman Empire was dubbed the "sick man of Europe". Can anyone really state for certainty that "Modern" Islam is not a victim of Nihilism? That is a culture that has devalued life and god?
Let me contrast this with Europe, when Mehmed II conquered Constantinople in 1453, all of the Greek Scholars fled to Florence, Italy, sparking the European Renaissance! Once again, Greek Philosophy merged with Theism (Catholicism). Which sparked a "Golden Age" in Europe, which lasted til the 1700's. Like Islam, Catholicism went fundamental, which created civil unrest between the Church and the State, Reformation, Counter-Reformation, Inquisition, the 30 year's war. Which left Europe reeling, and by 1789 the French Revolution took place, which allowed Napoleon Bonaparte to rise to power, which he conquered France and then Europe, North Africa and attempted to invade the Middle East. Contrast 1930's and 40's Germany to 1790's France and you will find that Hitler came to power in very similar fashion as Napoleon! The same can be said for 1920's Russia when it went Communistic (contrast what Russia did after world war II and you will see America mirrored them, for example: They took Eastern Europe we took Western Europe, when they would claim a Middle Eastern Country we would do the same. Both Russia and America are playing by the same nihilistic behavior).
By the 1760's the Renaissance came to America and America was born, America is a Renaissance Country, not a Christian (Protestant) country. Once again, Philosophy merged with Theism (Deism) (and then afterward co-opted Protestantism, which is why many American make the assumption that America is a "Christian Country") and the American Renaissance was created. We conquered America, and then we slowly took on the British and defeated them, then by World War II, we conquered Western Europe, North Africa, and now we are conquering the Middle East. America is going through the same cycle of events, civil unrest is bound to happen, there will be a leader in America who will "conquer" America and it will be done by military force. All the while America will suffer a stagnant culture, we already have devalued God and Life in this country, look at today politic's!
Nihilism happens when Greek Philosophy merges with Theism, it sparks a "Golden Age" or a "Renaissance", which is sparked due to the high value of life and God within the culture. After time, these values start to devalue, which starts the nihilism process in culture, which leads to civil unrest do to society breaking down, which will then lead to a strong man to arise and take over, and that culture will then (if it has not already) go on a war footing!
Does Rose touch on what I have said? Not really, though, I think he would recognize a lot of what I have said to be true, since he does refer to the French Revolution, Russian Revolution, American politics, etc. So I would argue he actually takes a parallel road to what I have argued and he states it through political philosophy, whereas, I argue it through history.
I have a B.S. in Philosophy (Toccoa Falls College), and I actively study History, Philosophy, Political Philosophy, Political Science, Political History, Theology and other connected fields of study.
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This book sheds a bright light on the philosophy of the absurd. It exposes the modern counterfeit coherence of the intellect which seems to abound in the world today. It's a smooth read, but you may need to consult a dictionary from time to time if you're not a seasoned reader. The highlight of this book, I think, is the fact that absurdism is not of the intellect really, but rather of the will. Another companion book to this one is The Reprobate, by George Warholak
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