Nihilism is the philosophical doctrine which espouses an absolute negation of all sentimentalism and spiritualism contextualism in preference for a universe governed purely by free will.
Nihilism differs from atheism in that it does not make any specific gesture to negate theism; it simply suggests that atheism and theism are both, by definition, passionate about causality, while nihilism asserts a very abstract universal causation principle governed mostly by random events caused by agents exerting their own individuated free will.
Many philosophers and writers such as Sartre and Camus have explored nihilism.
The Hindu god Shiva, master of destruction and meditation, is believed to contemplate the deep emptiness of the universe and the possibility that meaning is only derived by personal meditation rather than civilization causation.
The American horror film avatar Pennywise (from Stephen King's novel It) is a deranged demonic clown who preys on people with the relentless belief that mischief and murder are allowed in a universe that is susceptible to disobedience.
Shiva and Pennywise are great folk avatars we can use to talk more colloquially and economically about nihilism.
Shiva and Pennywise both seem to believe that assertions about causation certainty are flawed and that nihilism or absence of meaning can best be contemplated by personal liberty.
To understand how these two avatars would connect (or relate), we could try to understand how nihilism can be applied to culture.
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