Truth Against Life? Rational Belief between Pragmatism, Nietzsche, and Nihilism

This MA thesis examines the normativity of belief at the intersection of contemporary epistemology, pragmatism, Nietzsche studies, and the philosophy of nihilism. It argues that neither evidentialism nor austere forms of pragmatism provide an adequate account of rational belief. Against belief-relative pragmatism, the thesis develops an objection based on the distinction between thin instrumental intelligibility and thicker forms of agential ownership. It then explores more selective, value-shaped forms of pragmatism, arguing that empowerment cannot serve as a sufficient condition for rational belief, while an anti-disempowerment constraint appears more promising. The later chapters interpret Nietzsche as an axiologically oriented pragmatist about belief and argue that the most corrosive form of nihilism depends not on meaning nihilism alone, but on its conjunction with an unconditional sovereignty of truth over belief-like attitudes.