Ritual nihilism
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Ritual nihilism, also known as Nihilistic ritualism, Neo-Nihilism or Cult nihilism, is a set of philosophical beliefs combining the ideas of Cosmic, Existential and Moral nihilism, held together via the underpinning of the functionalist concept of Ritualism as a part of Strain Theory and the perspective of pointlessness as a sort of Cosmic Aestheticism. A Ritual nihilist may express their philosophy in any number of ways, with many adherents to it having a passive acceptance of the society in which they reside in. The outlier in this, however, is Kæra'zna, who posits itself as a state built upon the philosophy. In this the Board of Collective Truth, which heads the state, expresses the philosophy as an all-encompassing ideology that rationalizes the state's adoption of unethical and totalitarian doctrine. This is done through the emphasizing of the more controversial concepts within the philosophy based upon the idolization and worship of the inherent pointlessness and insignificance of life and sapience, hence developing the pseudonym of Cult nihilism.
Existentialism
The Theory takes an extremely sceptical view of any belief which constitutes an intelligent design or inherent meaning behind the Universe. Ritual Nihilists take the Existential Nihilist concept that existence is absurd and arbitrary, and any metaphysical or religious doctrine trying to describe it otherwise is rather a natural and flawed response to the fear of death. Ritual Nihilists, however, look at the pointlessness of the universe as beautiful in itself, holding the notion that the lack of intrinsic meaning and function to the universe allows it to be seen as if it were expressive art without an artist. Proponents of the belief tend to take opposition to the view that Nihilism and Anomie can be citied as justification for despair at the perceived pointlessness of existence, arguing instead that despair is only one of the possible stepping stones in perceiving the universe in its true form: meaningless, abstract and yet artistic in the arbitrary nature of it all. This absolute opposition to religion has sparked notable controversy on the aptness of the term Cult nihilism as a probable misnomer that goes against one of the tenants of Ritual Nihilism, describing it with a religious veneration it does not have. However, as noted by those observing the philosophy's adherents, this argument is stated by seemingly anyone other than the Ritual nihilists themselves who, in their unusually positive view of the concept of meaninglessness, will sometimes refer to themselves as Cult nihilists when speaking to the philosophical community to display to absurd irony of such a debate.
Amorality
Ritual nihilists, in concordance with Moral nihilism, harshly reject concepts of an objective morality or the traditional belief that there are objective properties which in some way obligate us to act (or not act) in a certain way. They also take the stance that any statement that relies upon Ethical terms is also invalidated, contrasting against some defenders of Error Theory that would still see such talk as a useful tool despite agreeing on the belief that these objective qualities are indeed, false at a fundamental level. Ritual Nihilists take the position that beliefs based on morality are neither true nor false, rather that they are invalid as they rely on the presumption of the underpinning properties of morality that Ritual Nihilists believe do not actually exist. Thus, any theoretical action or decision based solely on morality and nothing else is entirely pointless besides the subjectively held belief of the decision maker that their action had a moral quality that it objectively does not. This aversion to the concept of morality has seen use as a blanket nullifier of criticism of immoral actions taken by Ritual Nihilists in positions of power, who will assert that valid moral justification for any action is impossible as the prerequisite that objective morality is true has not, and can not, be met. The most stark example of this is found in the governance of Kæra'zna, with discussion of morals within the governing body being considered long dead while policies of eugenics, forced labour and mass executions are passed without significant opposition from the adherents to the State's interpretation of the Philosophy.
Ritualism and Passive Ritual Nihilism
The concept of Ritualism in Sociology originated in the study of Crime and Deviance, sharing the concept with Criminology. As a part of functionalist Strain Theory, it tries to ascribe the deviance arises from the incompatibility of societal goals and the situation an individual finds themselves in. In the case of ritualism, this is expressed through the rejection of Societal Goals while acting through and accepting the same means as a societal Conformist. This concept resonates with the Ritual Nihilist, whose beliefs usually force themselves to be averse to the goals of the society in which they reside in, seeing them based upon the invalid and false. However, in their acceptance and appreciation of pointlessness, a Ritual Nihilist still adheres to the means in which the societal deems proper to try and reach such false ends. This passive cooperation with society allows them to immerse themselves in the existential pointlessness of the modern and postmodern society, a ritual devoted to the concept of meaninglessness.
Cultural Impact and The Beauty of the Pointless
In Art
Ritual Nihilists often associate themselves with the rejection of conventual art in a way adjacent to the underlying theory behind the Anti Art Movement, especially that of the early 20th Century. They stand in almost unanimous rejection of art that emphasises socio-political themes over aesthetic value, though a strong minority additionally reject common notion of aesthetic beauty. This has brought the popularity of found art as the preferred artform to mark their opposition to traditional notions of art. However, in this Ritual Nihilist Artists are known to create elaborate and time-consuming pieces created based upon the foundations of these anti-art concepts, before setting them alight. This artform, known as Effigeic anti-art, is synonymous with Ritual Nihilism as a display of the artistry of pointlessness in a perceivable form, a representation of the universe in a manner in which grants it no inherent meaning or value while showing the Aesthetic Beauty and Grace in its cosmic meaninglessness.
In Literature
Ritual Nihilist Literature is almost entirely dominated by the work of Finn H. Valk, a Vistarian soldier and author who lived in Norgsveltian-Occupied Vorpest during the War of Imperial Succession. Valk's writing style was disturbingly abstract and deemed "hard-to-read" by the typical reader, with a mix of realism with the surreal and the horrific in ways which exemplified the meaningless toil experienced by the Lost Generation and beyond, yet delving into the Ritual Nihilist indulgence of what he coined as "The Beauty of the Pointless". While generally viewed negatively by general audiences at the time, his work's status as cult classics allowed them to renter the modern consciousness, assisted by the 2018 cinematic release of his novella: A Prohibitionist is Walked into a Bar, to critical success.
A considerable number of Kæra authors have also made contributions to Ritual Nihilist literature in the country, however access to such pieces is of great difficulty due to scarcity of the Kæzhyl language, with translated copies almost impossible to come by. The notable exception is "Memoir of Nothings", an anthology of found poems written by a Kæra Poet - believed to be a former diplomat - using the pen name Þon'syd Diktyn, believed to be a satirical malformation of the phrase "Homicide Victim". in reference to the Headline "Homicide Victims rarely talk to Police", which was mocked heavily online.
History
The Philosophy of Ritual Nihilism began to grow as a response to the success of the Kæra Nihilist Movement in the mid 19th Century, with the Abolition of the Kæra Monarchy and rejection of the Democratic System that had led to the Monarchy's reinstatement in the first place. In this limbo of post-revolutionary confusion, factions within the Kæra Nihilist Movement began to theorize and reflect upon the pointless toil they had experienced under the Monarchy, leading to the notion that while the goals of the system were entirely invalid, the system itself was emblematic of what they called The Universal Constant: Pointlessness. In a way in which seemed almost paradoxical to those who had supported the Revolution, the faction established a new Authoritarian Government known as the Steering Committee, who would force the population upon ultimately pointless labour without purpose other than the Collective. This architecture of state allowed the nation to grow alongside and entirely synchronous to the philosophy.
This was further cemented during the 20th Century, with the Great War showing itself as a display of pointlessness on a grand and divesting scale, allowing the philosophy to spread amongst disillusioned soldiers who would have to fight for a cause they no longer could see any meaning of truth in, with some first-wave thinkers deeming it the catalyst for a Nihilist Revolution paralleling the beliefs of Marxists. This idea was outright rejected by Ritual Nihilists however, with their perspective stating the no matter what a society claims to withhold as it's core values and morals, the truth that the prerequisites to justify those founding ideals are not true makes every state in some way an expression of Ritual Nihilism.