I think, to sum up the difference between a pessimist and a non-pessimist would be the answer to the question of: Is it better to have lived/loved/etc and lost than to have never lived/loved/etc at all? — darthbarracuda
Pessimism:
1. a tendency to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen; a lack of hope or confidence in the future
2. Philosophy a belief that this world is as bad as it could be or that evil will ultimately prevail over good.
Optimism
1 hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something
2 Philosophy the doctrine, esp. as set forth by Leibniz, that this world is the best of all possible worlds.
• the belief that good must ultimately prevail over evil in the universe. — Bitter Crank
My immediate thought is that intelligence (reason) cannot possibly support either optimism or pessimism (considered simply as expectational dispositions). As Hume points out our convictions that the future will resemble the past are not convictions of reason, but of mere habit. (See Hume’s ‘problem of induction’). — John
I think, to sum up the difference between a pessimist and a non-pessimist would be the answer to the question of: Is it better to have lived/loved/etc and lost than to have never lived/loved/etc at all? The answer for me (as a pessimist), is, no, nobody wants to lose. — darthbarracuda
If there were signatures on this forum I would be tempted to put as mine: "Pessimism can mean either a psychological disposition or a philosophical position." Most people either conflate the two or think pessimism only refers to the former. — Thorongil
One observation that I would make is that IN GENERAL pessimism is unfounded. Now this is entirely speaking in generalities, I understand. Bad things obviously, reliably and regularly. However, can't we say with some certainty that the world is, in general, always improving? Throughout history all the indicators of well being that you could possibly name - wealth, education, access to clean drinking water, medical advancement, life expectancy, likelihood of dying in a non-violent circumstance, gay rights, women's rights, racial equality etc. have advanced steadily upwards in a sawtooth (obviously not quite linearly in all regions, for all people, in all eras but generally speaking). Things just get better and better — invizzy
I think, to sum up the difference between a pessimist and a non-pessimist would be the answer to the question of: Is it better to have lived/loved/etc and lost than to have never lived/loved/etc at all? The answer for me (as a pessimist), is, no, nobody wants to lose. — darthbarracuda
Optimism is default Darwinism. Those who have dispositions, willpower, social, physical, and mental preferences for what already exists, and likes the system survive and thrive. Those that don't die off, possibly complain a little, commit suicide and are drowned out. — schopenhauer1
You have Schopenhauer's argument that want and desire create suffering as this leads to strife in the challenges of life, strife in existential boredom, and strife in relationships to other people and our surroundings. However, people will simply deny they experience this. Whether they lie (to themselves or others) to make a point or not, they can at least publicly denounce that they feel any of this strife. — schopenhauer1
You have someone like a Hartmann, who predicts that we will eventually run out of optimistic ideas in science, progress, religion, society, etc. and then realize a sort of ennui of life and die out. But this is far in the future, in completely depresses most people to even think that this will happen. — schopenhauer1
So there you have it- the pessimists will just be called wimps and be recommended 1) positive psychological thinking (make meaning out of meaninglessness) 2) anti-depressants 3) keep it to yourself and just deal with it 4) suicide. — schopenhauer1
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