I argue that it’s quite comprehensible to get upset about metaethical nihilism, to indulge what I call nihilistic despair . When we lose the objective moral or normative point of view, we lose the promise of luck-immune guidance and categorical importance, things many of us hope for. This is all quite Williams-friendly, but I reject his puzzling but suggestive remarks that nihilistic despair must be a self-pitying muddle. Finally, I argue that internalism about reasons is even more depressing than outright nihilism, in one way at least.
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Luke Elson (2024) studied this question.
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