It might seem harmless to concede that there are no virtues, nothing to value in life. It might even seem to be consistent with freedom: If nothing is true, then surely everything is permitted? On this basis, we would oppose barriers to our impulses—but we would lack an argument against the powerful whose impulse is to control us. If we accept that “everything is shit,” if nothing is any better than anything else, we have no basis for sovereign choices, and gain no practice in the building of a self. We will mutter under our breath and accept our place in a system.
