“Everything Is Eternal”—— On Severino’s Critique of Nihilism

Unlike Jacobi,Nietzsche,Heidegger and others,Emanuele Severino defines nihilism as the belief that “things are Nothing” or that “Being is not”,which was unconsciously adhered by the whole metaphysical tradition starting from Plato.The basic manifestations of metaphysical nihilism in Western civilization are God and modern technology.Although the latter two aim to free people from suffering,they also lead to people’s anxiety about precarious happiness and fear of falling into nothingness.Based on the re-understanding of Parmenides’ fragments,Severino argues that the truth of Being,that is “Being is”,not only means that the pure Being must be and is forever,but that all beings must be and are forever,and considers the latter the only basis for overcoming anxiety and nothingness caused by modern technology.Severino’s critique of nihilism helps us to correct the nihilistic attitude towards things,but obviously absolve the suspicion of responsibility for today’s people.Severino’s lack of historical consciousness and dialectical logic leads him to be pessimistic about the beings’ real right to be eternally.