The soul of a civilization is its religion, and it dies with its faith. Nicha implicated the extreme rationality exemplified by plato and socrates as a symptom of degeneration. The age of intellect is also characterized by the rise of highly rational and critical intellectuals who thrive in dissecting and tearing down dominant systems of beliefs and values. A majority of the people come to believe that there is no such thing as objective truth or life's meaning. As these critical theories spread, traditional moral codes give way to moral relativism,. Faith that life has meaning is replaced by existential nihilism.