"The concept of Nihilism is associated most frequently with twentieth-century movements such as existentialism, postmodernism, and Dadaism. This work shows that a tradition of nihilism in the nineteenth century anticipated these movements. With its origins in Enlightenment science, this tradition had an influence on philosophy, religion, literature, and drama"-- Provided by publisher.

Jean Paul's vision of nihilism and plea for the doctrine of immortality --Klingemann and the absurdity of nothingness in The Nightwatches -- Nihilism in English Romanticism : Byron and Shelley -- Schopenhauer's theory of human suffering and lack of meaning -- Büchner's account of the reign of terror as a mirror of human existence -- Poul Martin Moller's criticism of Hegelianism and the Danish discussion of nihilism -- Kierkegaard and the indefinability and inexplicability of death -- Turgenev's portrait of a nihilist -- Nietzsche's vision of the past and the future of nihilism -- The importance of Nihilism in the Nineteenth Century.