system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Is Nihilism a tenable position forever or does one always strive to create meaning? Is Absurdism an acceptable compromise?
gpt
Nihilism is not a philosophical theory per-se. Nietzsche (an Existentialist) is often referred to as a Nihilist by the general public, but he was engaged in presenting a defense against the Nihilism he saw in the population. A comment in a previous thread  made the observation that: a true Nihilist would have no reason to argue for their belief. Certainly a Nihilist would have no reason to write on the subject, since nothing has any 'meaning'.

Absurdism like Existentialism is a response to Nihilsim. But Absurdists, unlike Existentialists, do not refute the basic belief that nothing has 'meaning'. 

Thomas Nagal essentially argued that the concept of 'meaning' doesn't make sense. 'Meaning', he believed, implies that what we do serves some higher value than ourselves. But if 'meaning' requires higher value, then that higher value itself must serve some even higher value. He asks why it would be 'meaningful' to serve God, if God himself didn't provide value to an even greater purpose. Ultimately he concluded that it is enough if we, ourselves, care about things. He believed that the Absurd existed in our pursuit of higher 'meaning' despite it's obvious impossibility. 

Albert Camus (probably the most famous Absurdist) also believed that 'meaning' was impossible. However, he saw the Absurd emerging in the way we pursue 'meaning'. We look to the future to give our lives purpose, but ultimately it leads only to our demise. 

Camus is also different in his belief that we should rebel against the Absurd. Nagal simply shrugged in response to the Absurd, determening that it doesn't change anything about how we live. Camus, on the other hand, felt that by recognizing and embracing the Absurd, we could achieve the purist form of freedom, and truly learn to live in the moment. 

Ultimately, both Absurdism and Existentialism are responses to the threat of Nihilism, not compromises with it.