Why Rick isn't a Nihilist - Final Report 2nd Installment (#6)

previous installment

Of course, Rick and Morty's emphasis on nihilism is exactly what the show wants people to think it's about - at least for the passers by that don't watch the show in depth. Anyone who's delved into it further will easily be able to pick out the brief snippets where it becomes clear the show is really in opposition to the purely nihilistic view of the world.

Much of this evidence comes from the episode Auto Erotic Assimilation, where we're introduced to Unity, a hive mind (one being controlling many bodies) who was apparently a former lover of Rick's. After reuniting in a space shipwreck, Rick learns that since he last saw her, she'd assimilated an entire planet's population and was on track to reach a new tier in the Kardashev scale. They quickly fall back into their usual pattern of drugs, alcohol, and partying, but it quickly gets out of hand as Unity becomes self-destructive like Rick.

At one point in this destruction, Rick tells Unity that her plans are too serious, and that she needs to just relax every now and then. Unity eagerly claims she knows how to let go, then proceeds to obliterate an entire town just for the spectacle. Rick is disturbed by this, even after being told the city was evacuated, and worries - albeit briefly - about his grandchildren.

In the end, Unity leaves Rick once more, explaining that she ironically loses her individuality when they're together, and that it's not healthy for either of them. Rick plums back home and attempts to kill himself in his garage.

It's in these examples of Rick legitimately caring about things that we see him diverge from the pure nihilistic view, wherein nothing really matters and he only looks after himself. It could be argued that the show is in fact satire of nihilism and absurdism, and trying to point out their own absurdities (e.g. it's silly to think nothing matters, when this is contrary to human nature). In this case, it might be pushing for existentialism, in which the most important thing is how we choose to live our lives as individuals, and how we deal with our actions under free will.

However, utilitarianism or pragmatism is in many ways a better fit for this show, as they pertain to choosing the actions with the most utility (or value) (usually to society, but in this case just to Rick). After all, on many occasions Rick has been shown to go to ridiculous levels simply because holding back would be less efficient. For instance, at one point Rick orders his car to "keep Summer safe" while he's gone. The car proceeds to kill anyone who approaches it, and Summer continually has to give it further, more specific instructions not to kill, injure, or mentally scar anyone.

However, due to pragmatism and utilitarianism technically pertaining to something's use to society as a whole, I find it a bit of a stretch to fit it to Rick's personality. Overall, I think the show is either a parody of absurdism/nihilism or a blend of those with existentialism/humanism, bringing questions of free will and the value of others into a field where those things are typically disregarded as being as pointless as the universe itself.

Other Reports:
My Philosophy and Music
Defining Courage