Moral nihilism
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Moral nihilism is the meta-ethical view that normative, moral statements are false. This view should be distinquished from non-cognitivism, ethical subjectivism, and moral relativism, which either do not not assign static truth-values to moral statements or do not assign them at all. Insofar as no false statement is known, moral nihilists are necessarily moral skeptics (not vice versa).
Niccolò Machiavelli is sometimes presented as a model of moral nihilism, but that is highly questionable. His book Il Principe (The Prince) was silent on moral matters, which shocked a European tradition that throughout the Middle Ages had inculcated moral lessons in its political philosophies. But silence about morality is not tantamount to outright nihilism. Machiavelli does say that the Prince must override moral reasons in favor of power-maintaining reasons of State, but he also says, particularly in his other works, that the successful ruler should be guided by Pagan, rather than Christian virtues. Hence, Machiavelli presents an alternative to the ethical theories of his day, rather than an all-out rejection of all morality. Closer to being an example of moral nihilism is Thrasymachus, as he is portrayed in Plato's Republic. Thrasymachus can, however, be interpreted as offering a revisionary account of justice, rather than a total rejection of morality and normative discourse.
Nihilism is perhaps most strikingly defended by the fictional character Bazarov, in Ivan Turgenev's novel Fathers and Sons.
