I would think pessimism came after adverse circumstances.

You can be selectively pessimistic about different things.

I think that to be pessimistic about everything would suggest depression but to be pessimistic about your job prospects or relationship prospects might relate to an honest appraisal of your chances.

It could be my individual case of being depressed; but, that begs the question in my case whether the depression came first and then pessimism followed. — Shawn

You may be blaming something on your psyche or disposition that may be medical.
https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=55167

The Wikipedia entrance is interesting.

"Entropy pessimism" represents a special case of technological and environmental pessimism, based on thermodynamic principles.[25]: 116  According to the first law of thermodynamics, matter and energy is neither created nor destroyed in the economy. According to the second law of thermodynamics — also known as the entropy law — what happens in the economy is that all matter and energy is transformed from states available for human purposes (valuable natural resources) to states unavailable for human purposes (valueless waste and pollution). In effect, all of man's technologies and activities are only speeding up the general march against a future planetary "heat death" of degraded energy, exhausted natural resources and a deteriorated environment — a state of maximum entropy locally on earth; "locally" on earth, that is, when compared to the heat death of the universe, taken as a whole."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pessimism#Pragmatic_criticism

I would think pessimism came after adverse circumstances. — Andrew4Handel

So, according to what your saying, pessimism is a reflexive response to adversity?

I'm the kind of cheerful pessimist who will feel much sorrow, much regret, much pity - but not suffer from depression. I know that in reality, things will end badly, but in fiction, I cannot bring myself to write an unhappy ending.

I do not think my pessimism is innate, though it's possible some temperaments are more prone to it. Me, I'm an optimist by nature, with a disposition to charity and happiness; my early experience was of a mother who sang and laughed, even when her life was difficult, and of relatives who doted on me - a pretty, well-behaved, clever child, who expected everyone's approval.

It is experience and learning that has brought about my pessimism. By the age of 25, I've worked it out that humanity is both destructive and self-destructive; that, having perfected its notion of 'civilization' and its mega-weapons, its short future will be full of strife, and all the good, wise people will be ignored at best; at worst, put to the stake. I know that still, more surely than ever. ...
...so then I wrote a story about the distant, happy future of humanity.

Probably

It probably has to be based on reasons and those reasons may include personal adversity and external insecurity.

I have an interesting question to raise. Namely, do you think philosophical pessimism is an attitude or disposition towards the world? How does it arise in the philosopher or more aptly in the individual professing it?

I have not met a pessimistic child myself so it seems like it is not a disposition.

It took a lot to make me pessimistic and now I am relatively optimistic about somethings.

I have not met a pessimistic child myself so it seems like it is not a disposition. — Andrew4Handel

It thus, seems to be an attitude that arises based upon past experiences, no?

Some people believe that pessimism is a more realistic view of life, and that pessimism is more rational.

But, this raises the central issue of this thread, perhaps, in that how does a person become pessimistic, and why?

I was a pessimistic child. For no particular reason I assumed everything would always go badly in the world and that becoming an adult was a pointless exercise. From about 8 years of age I didn't want what was being sold to us by mainstream culture - religion, marriage, a suburban house, consumerism, a deathly dull job. Thankfully I discovered radical politics and made a circle of friends who also bemoaned mainstream aesthetics and aspirations and was able to see value in things previously unknown.

Pessimism ... simply a rationalization (à la hypochondria) for coping with ineluctable frustrations (i.e. facticity). — 180 Proof

I.e. begins as a disposition and maybe develops into a 'reflective' outlook / stance. Other old posts on 'pessimism', etc ...

https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/comment/578692

https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/comment/511013

https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/comment/346776

Yes, where are we to demarcate between philosophical pessimism, which isn't a reflexive attitude, or disposition and the generic pessimism of resignation or lack that one feels in life?

For one, I have nothing against philosophical pessimism, as I feel that there are certain truths about philosophical pessimism rather than the resignation and sadness of generic emotional pessimism?

I guess this way of framing the issue is the following:

How does one adopt the matureness of philosophical pessimism without falling for the emotional side of pessimism with regards to emotional resignation, sadness, and lack? I'm sure you can do it because I have read about cheerful pessimists and joyful absurdists like Cioran or Schopenhauer or Camus...

I have not met a pessimistic child myself so it seems like it is not a disposition. — Andrew4Handel

Haven't you? I've known several and seen many in action.

How does one adopt the matureness of philosophical pessimism without falling for the emotional side of pessimism with regards to emotional resignation, sadness, and lack? I — Shawn

Why should one try? What's wrong with resignation and sadness?
I hate Smile Culture!

Yes, where are we to demarcate between philosophical pessimism, which isn't a reflexive attitude, or disposition and the generic pessimism of resignation or lack that one feels in life? — Shawn

Where's the demarcation between becoming an adult and being a child? The latter is regulated by feelings (impulses) and the former by reasons (judgment). One may accompany the other but I don't think they entail each other.

Yes, well, why would anyone want to be a pessimist?

Why should one try? What's wrong with resignation and sadness?
I hate Smile Culture! — Vera Mont

There's middle-ground.

What do you mean? I don't thlnk "want" has anything to do with this.

I don't thlnk "want" has anything to do with this. — 180 Proof

I'm trying to delineate between typical depressive pessimism and philosophical pessimism.

My own take on the matter is that philosophical pessimism can be fruitful with knowledge and wisdom, whereas the emotional appeal leads to boorish and maladaptive beliefs. So, can I have the realistic outlook of pessimism without the maladaptive beliefs and behavior?

What do you mean? I don't thlnk "want" has anything to do with this. — 180 Proof

:up:

There's middle-ground. — Heracloitus

Sometimes. We don't always create or choose our ground. In fact, the vast majority of people in the history of the world have not enjoyed that luxury. They try to survive in given situations, and they feel some way about it. That's their response; they are entitled to it, and most of the time, It's appropriate to the situation. Point is, why should anyone not express their genuine responses? And who gets to decide what's appropriate and what's excessive for someone else to feel? Who sets the correct mourning period for a parent or a friend or a homeland? Who calibrates the correct level of rage an abused child should feel? Who can assure me this volcano will not erupt again, this river won't flood, this house won't blow away in a gale - when so many already have?

So, can I have the realistic outlook of pessimism without the maladaptive beliefs and behavior? — Shawn

Wouldn't that depend on what you hope to adapt to?

There's not much hope to entertain when your pessimistic about things. That's just my experience with pessimism.

So, can I have the realistic outlook of pessimism without the maladaptive beliefs and behavior? — Shawn

Of course. They are not necessarily related.

There's not much hope to entertain when your pessimistic about things. That's just my experience with pessimism. — Shawn

Okay. But adaptive and maladiptive are relative to some norm or standard.

How does one adopt the matureness of philosophical pessimism without falling for the emotional side of pessimism with regards to emotional resignation, sadness, and lack? I'm sure you can do it because I have read about cheerful pessimists and joyful absurdists like Cioran or Schopenhauer or Camus... — Shawn

Zapffe's view is that humans are born with an overdeveloped skill (understanding, self-knowledge) which does not fit into nature's design. The human craving for justification on matters such as life and death cannot be satisfied, hence humanity has a need that nature cannot satisfy. The tragedy, following this theory, is that humans spend all their time trying not to be human. The human being, therefore, is a paradox.

In "The Last Messiah", Zapffe described four principal defense mechanisms that humankind uses to avoid facing this paradox:

Isolation is "a fully arbitrary dismissal from consciousness of all disturbing and destructive thought and feeling".[5]
Anchoring is the "fixation of points within, or construction of walls around, the liquid fray of consciousness".[5] The anchoring mechanism provides individuals with a value or an ideal to consistently focus their attention on. Zapffe also applied the anchoring principle to society and stated that "God, the Church, the State, morality, fate, the laws of life, the people, the future"[5] are all examples of collective primary anchoring firmaments.
Distraction is when "one limits attention to the critical bounds by constantly enthralling it with impressions".[5] Distraction focuses all of one's energy on a task or idea to prevent the mind from turning in on itself.
Sublimation is the refocusing of energy away from negative outlets, toward positive ones. The individuals distance themselves and look at their existence from an aesthetic point of view (e.g., writers, poets, painters). Zapffe himself pointed out that his produced works were the product of sublimation.
On the occasion of the 65th birthday of the Norwegian–Canadian philosopher Herman Tønnessen, the book I Choose the Truth. A Dialogue Between Peter Wessel Zapffe and Herman Tønnessen (1983) was published. The two had known each other already for many years. Tønnessen had studied at the University of Oslo together with Arne Næss.[6]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Wessel_Zapffe

Yes, well put. Wouldn't it be even easier to postulate that because Schopenhauer derived his pessimism from the central concept of impermanence and desire in the human mind, according to Buddhism?

I do have a question though given Zapffe's more Western oriented approach.

Zapffe's view is that humans are born with an overdeveloped skill (understanding, self-knowledge) which does not fit into nature's design. The human craving for justification on matters such as life and death cannot be satisfied, hence humanity has a need that nature cannot satisfy. The tragedy, following this theory, is that humans spend all their time trying not to be human. The human being, therefore, is a paradox. — schopenhauer1

Speaking about the paradoxical, whom would Zapffe choose as the ideal human being? Or the human most comfortable with whom he or she is?

This is Schopenhauer as well, "The more one increases one's knowledge the more one increases one's sorrows." The depth of understanding with many people I know is very limited even about the realities of nature, but they seem happy in their ignorance and in fact guard that ignorance.

I believe that pessimism is the downward turned outlook on something. It means that someone is sad and is asked for input and it sounds rather bleek and dry. Pessimism is the least comely thing that humans ever thought up. When someone is a pessimist, it means they are so downtrodden by life in so many ways and they cannot see the point of view of a just sort of evenly content person. Sadness overcomes us all sometimes.