We explain what pessimism is and its presence in history and philosophy. In addition, we tell you what pessimistic people are like.
What is pessimism?
The pessimism It is the tendency to see or interpret reality in its worst aspect that is, to think that things will always go wrong. It constitutes the exact opposite of optimism.
It is a state of mind and a way of seeing life, but also a philosophical current and a psychological trait that can be associated with depression. It is often symbolized by the metaphor of the “glass half empty,” which from an optimistic point of view could also be a glass half full.
The idea that everything always goes wrong is very old. It can be found in different ways in the Book of Job from the Bible, in the work of the Greek philosopher Hegesías (4th century BC) or Plutarch (c. 46-c.120 AD). However, its true rational conceptualization took place in the 19th century, in the work of irrationalist philosophers such as Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) or Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855). Philosophical pessimism denies that there is progress in civilization and ensures that human nature remains just as selfish as it was in the beginning.
The term “pessimism,” however, is a relatively recent creation. It is made up of Latin voices pessimus (“very bad”) and ismus (“-ism”) and was coined by the French author Voltaire (1694-1778) in his 1759 work Candide or optimism. In it he mocks the philosophical doctrine of optimism, proposed by the philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) who maintained that “we live in the best of all possible worlds.”
Pessimistic people are those who tend to expect the worst from the situations they experience and to be skeptical of any expectation of general improvement in life. These attitudes often lead to or are part of other philosophical attitudes and currents, such as nihilism, cynicism and skepticism.
Continue with: Hope
References
- “Pessimism” in the Language Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy.
- “Etymology of Pessimism” in the Online Spanish Etymological Dictionary.
- “Optimism and pessimism” in Filosofía.org.
