See also:

• PESSIMISM (from Lat. pessimus, worst)

PESSIMISM (from See also:

• LAT

Lat. pessimus, worst)  , a word of See also:

• MODERN

modern coinage,' denoting an attitude of hopelessness towards See also:

• LIFE

life, a vague See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general See also:

• OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

opinion that See also:

• PAIN (from Lat. poena, Gr. robin, penalty, that which must be paid: O. Fr. peine)
• PAIN, BARRY (1867– )

pain and evil predominate in human affairs . It is the See also:

• ANTITHESIS (the Greek for " setting opposite ")

antithesis of " optimism," which denotes the view that on the whole there is a See also:

• BALANCE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. bilantia, an apparatus for weighing, from bi, two, and lanx, a dish or scale)

balance of See also:

• GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good and See also:

• PLEASURE (through Fr. plaisir from Lat. placere, to please; Gr. rlbovii)

pleasure, or at least that in the See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long run good will See also:

• TRIUMPH (triumphus)

triumph . Between optimism and See also:

• PESSIMISM (from Lat. pessimus, worst)

pessimism is the theory of " See also:

• MELIORISM (Lat. melior, better)

meliorism," according to which the See also:

• WORLD

world on the whole makes progress in goodness . The See also:

• AVERAGE

average See also:

• MAN
• MAN, ISLE OF (anc. Mona)

man is pessimist or optimist not on theoretical grounds, but owing to the circumstances of his life, his material prosperity, his bodily See also:

• HEALTH

health, his general temperament . Perhaps the most characteristic example of unsystematic pessimism is the See also:

• LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. langage, from langue, tongue, Lat. lingua)

language of See also:

• ECCLESIASTES (Heb. n5np, Kohelet, "Koheleth "; Sept. EKKarlveamrils; Jerome concionator)

Ecclesiastes, who concludes that " all is vanity." Pessimism and optimism have, however, been expressed in systematic philosophical forms, a brief See also:

• SUMMARY

summary only of which need here be given . Such systems have been elaborated chiefly by modern thinkers, but the germs of the ideas are found widely spread in the older See also:

• ORIENTAL

Oriental philosophies and in pre-See also:

• CHRISTIAN
• CHRISTIAN, WILLIAM (1608-1663)

Christian See also:

• EUROPEAN

European thought . Generally speaking, pessimism may be found in all pantheistic and materialistic systems . It is important, however, to point out an essential distinction . The thinker who See also:

• SEES

sees man confronted by the See also:

• INFINITE (from Lat. in, not, finis, end or limit; cf. findere, to deave)

infinite non-moral forces presumed by natural See also:

• PANTHEISM (Gr. 7rav, all, Oeos, god)

pantheism inevitably predominating over the finite See also:

• POWERS, HIRAM (1805-1873)

powers of men may appear to the modern Christian ' theologian or to the evolutionist as a hopeless pessimist, and yet may himself have concluded that, though the future holds out no prospect See also:

• SAVE, or SAVA (Ger. Sau; Hungarian Szdva; Lat. Savus)

save that of annihilation, man may yet by prudence and care enjoy a considerable measure of happiness . Pessimism, therefore, depends upon the individual point of view, and the See also:

• TERM

term is frequently used merely in a condemnatory sense by hostile critics . The attitude of a man who denies the See also:

• DOCTRINE

doctrine of See also:

• IMMORTALITY (Lat. in-, not, mortalis, mortal, from mors, death)

immortality and rejoices in the denial is not strictly pessimistic . A Christian again may be pessimistic about the See also:

• PRESENT

present; he must logically be optimistic about the future—a teleological view of the universe implies optimism on the whole; the agnostic may be indifferent to, or pessimistic, regarding the future, while exceedingly satisfied with life as he finds it .

This complex view of life is exemplified by See also:

• PLATO

Plato, whose general theory of See also:

• IDEALISM (from Gr. i5Ea, archetype or model, through been urged of the truth of its point of view is the persistency Fr. idealisme)

idealism is entirely optimistic . In analysing the world of phenomena he necessarily takes a pessimistic view because phenomena are merely imitations more or less removed from reality, i.e. from the good . Yet the idealistic postulate of a summum bonum is in result optimistic, and this view predominated among the See also:

• STOICS

Stoics and the Neoplatonists . The Epicureans, on the other See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand, were empirical pessimists . Man is able to derive a measure of enjoyment from life in spite of the non-existence of the orthodox gods; yet this enjoyment is on the whole negative, the avoidance of pain . A similar view is that of the See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

ancient sceptics . Oriental pessimism, at least as understood by Europeans, is best exemplified in See also:

• BUDDHISM

Buddhism, which finds in human life sorrow and pain . But all pain and sorrow are incidental to the human being in his individual capacity . He who will See also:

• CAST (from the verb meaning " to throw "; the word is Scand. in origin, cf. Dan. kaste, and Swed. kasta; " cast " in Middle Eng. took the place of the A.S. weor pan, cf. Ger. werf en)

cast aside the " Bonds," the " Intoxications," the " Hindrances," and tread the See also:

• NOBLE, SIR ANDREW (1832- )

Noble Eightfold Path (see BUDDHISM) which leads to See also:

• NIRVANA

Nirvana, will attain the ideal, the " See also:

• FRUIT (through the French from the Lat. fructus; frui, to enjoy)

Fruit of Arahatship," which is described in terms of glowing praise in the See also:

• PALI

Pali See also:

• HYMNS

hymns . This, the See also:

• ORIGINAL

original doctrine of the See also:

• BUDDHA

Buddha, though not adopted in the full sense by all his followers, is in fact at least as optimistic as any optimism of the See also:

• WEST
• WEST, BENJAMIN (1738-1820)
• WEST, NICHOLAS (1461-1533)

West . To See also:

• CALL (from Anglo-Saxon ceallian, a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch kallen, to talk or chatter)

call it " pessimism " is merely to apply to it a characteristically Western principle according to which happiness is impossible without See also:

• PERSONALITY (from Lat. persona, originally an actor's mask, from personare,1 to sound through)

personality . The true Buddhist on the contrary looks forward with See also:

• ENTHUSIASM

enthusiasm to this absorption into eternal See also:

• BLISS, CORNELIUS NEWTON (1833– )

bliss .

In See also:

• EUROPE

Europe on the whole the so-called pessimistic attitude was commoner in the See also:

• TEUTONIC
• TEUTONIC (GERMANIC) LANGUAGES

Teutonic See also:

• NORTH
• NORTH, BARONS
• NORTH, MARIANNE (1830—1890)
• NORTH, ROGER (1653-1734)
• NORTH, SIR THOMAS (1535?-16o1?)

north than in the Mediterranean See also:

• BASIN, or BASON (the older form bacin is found in many of the Romanic languages, from the Late Lat. baccinus or bacchinus, probably derived from bacca, a bowl)
• BASIN, THOMAS (1412—1491)

basin . But even here the hopefulness as regards a future life, in which the inequalities of the present would be rectified, compensated for the gloomy See also:

• FATALISM (Lat. fatum, that which is spoken, decreed)

fatalism with which the present was ' The earliest example-given in the New See also:

• ENGLISH

English See also:

• DICTIONARY

Dictionary is in S . T . See also:

• COLERIDGE, HARTLEY (1796-1849)
• COLERIDGE, JOHN DUKE COLERIDGE, 1ST BARON
• COLERIDGE, SAMUEL TAYLOR (1772-1834)
• COLERIDGE, SARA (1802–1852)
• COLERIDGE, SIR JOHN TAYLOR (1790-1876)

Coleridge's Letters (1794) . regarded . The See also:

• ADVENT (Lat. Adventus, sc. Redemptoris, " the coming of the Saviour ")

advent of See also:

• CHRISTIANITY

Christianity, with its categorical assertion of future happiness for the good, to a large extent did away with pessimism in the true sense . In See also:

• LEIBNITZ (LEIBNIZ), GOTTFRIED WILHELM

Leibnitz we find a philosophic or religious optimism, which saw in the universe the perfect See also:

• WORK

work of a See also:

• GOD

God who from all possibilities selected the best . See also:

• KANT, IMMANUEL (1724-1804)

Kant, though pessimistic as regards the actual man, is optimistic regarding his moral capacity . To See also:

• HEGEL, GEORG WILHELM FRIEDRICH (1770-1831)

Hegel similarly the world, though evil at any moment, progresses by conflict and suffering towards the good . Passing over the See also:

• ITALIAN

Italian See also:

• LEOPARDI, GIACOMO, COUNT (1798-1837)

Leopardi we may See also:

• NOTICE

notice two leading modern pessimists, See also:

• SCHOPENHAUER, ARTHUR (1788-186o)

Schopenhauer and von See also:

• HARTMANN, KARL ROBERT EDUARD VON (1842–1906)
• HARTMANN, MORITZ (1821–1872)

Hartmann . Schopenhauer emphasizes the pessimistic See also:

• SIDE
• SIDE (mod. Eski Adalia)

side of Hegel's thought . The universe is merely See also:

• BLIND, MATHILDE (1841—1896)

blind Will, not thought; this Will is irrational, purposeless and therefore unhappy .

The world being a picture of the Will is therefore similarly unhappy . See also:

• DESIRE

Desire is a See also:

• STATE
• STATE, GREAT OFFICERS OF

state of unhappiness, and the See also:

• SATISFACTION (Lat. salisfacerc, to satisfy)

satisfaction of desire is therefore merely the removal of pain . Von Hartmann's doctrine of the Unconscious is in many respects similar to Schopenhauer's doctrine of the Will . The Unconscious which combines Will and See also:

• REASON (Lat. ratio, through French raison)

Reason is, however, primarily Will . The workings of this Will are irrational primarily, but, as in its See also:

• EVOLUTION

evolution it becomes more rationalized and understands the whole meaning of the Weltschmerz, it ultimately reaches the point at which the desire for existence is gone . This choice of final nothingness differs from that of Schopenhauer in being collective and not individual . The pessimism of Schopenhauer and Hartmann does not, however, exclude a certain ultimate See also:

• MYSTICISM (from Or. µuety, to shut the eyes; µuorrts, one initiated into the mysteries)

mysticism, which bears some See also:

• ANALOGY (Gr. avaXo-yLa, proportion)

analogy to that of Buddhism . Pessimism is naturally connected with materialist, optimism with idealist, views of life . The theories of the modern evolutionist school, however, have introduced into materialistic theory a new optimistic See also:

• NOTE
• NOTE (Lat. nota, mark, sign, from noscere, to know)

note in doctrines such as that of the survival of the fittest . Such doctrines regard the progress of humanity as on the whole tending to the greater perfection, and are markedly optimistic in contrast with earlier theories that progressive differentiation is synonymous with progressive decay . Similarly the cynical contempt which See also:

• NIETZSCHE, FRIEDRICH WILHELM (1844–1900)

Nietzsche shows for morality and the conventional virtues is counterbalanced by the theory of the Ubermensch, the highest type of manhood which by struggle has escaped from the See also:

• ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary weaknesses of normal humanity . See See also:

• JAMES
• JAMES (Gr. 'IlrKw,l3or, the Heb. Ya`akob or Jacob)
• JAMES (JAMES FRANCIS EDWARD STUART) (1688-1766)
• JAMES, 2ND EARL OF DOUGLAS AND MAR(c. 1358–1388)
• JAMES, DAVID (1839-1893)
• JAMES, EPISTLE OF
• JAMES, GEORGE PAYNE RAINSFOP
• JAMES, HENRY (1843— )
• JAMES, JOHN ANGELL (1785-1859)
• JAMES, THOMAS (c. 1573–1629)
• JAMES, WILLIAM (1842–1910)
• JAMES, WILLIAM (d. 1827)

James See also:

• SULLY, JAMES (1842– )
• SULLY, MAXIMILIEN DE BETHUNE
• SULLY, THOMAS (1783—1872)

Sully, Pessimism: A See also:

• HISTORY

History and a See also:

• CRITICISM
• CRITICISM (from the Gr. KpiTrlS, a judge, Kpivew, to decide, to give an authoritative opinion)

Criticism (1877); See also:

• CARO, ANNIBALE (1507-1566)
• CARO, ELME MARIE (1826-1887)

Caro, Le Pessimisme an xixe siecle (1878); Saltus, The See also:

• ANATOMY
• ANATOMY (Gr. avaroyil, from ava-silo c', to cut up)

Anatomy of Negation (1886) ; See also:

• TULLOCH, JOHN (1823–1886)

Tulloch, Modern Theories on See also:

• PHILOSOPHY (Gr. gthos, fond of, and vo4 (a, wisdom)

Philosophy and See also:

• RELIGION
• RELIGION, FOLKLORE, CUSTOM

Religion (1884); See also:

• WILLIAM
• WILLIAM (1143-1214)
• WILLIAM (1227-1256)
• WILLIAM (1J33-1584)
• WILLIAM (A.S. Wilhelm, O. Norse Vilhidlmr; O. H. Ger. Willahelm, Willahalm, M. H. Ger. Willehelm, Willehalm, Mod.Ger. Wilhelm; Du. Willem; O. Fr. Villalme, Mod. Fr. Guillaume; from " will," Goth. vilja, and " helm," Goth. hilms, Old Norse hidlmr, meaning
• WILLIAM (c. 1130-C. 1190)
• WILLIAM, 13TH

William fames, The Will to Believe; See also:

• DUHRING, EUGEN KARL (1833-1901)

Duhring, Per See also:

• WERTH [WEERT], JOHANN, COUNT VON (c. 1595-1652)

Werth See also:

• DES

des Lebens (1865); See also:

• MEYER, CHRISTIAN ERICH HERMANN VON (18or-1869)
• MEYER, HEINRICH AUGUST WILHELM (1800-1873)
• MEYER, JULIUS LOTHAR (183o-1895)
• MEYER, KONRAD FERDINAND (1825-1898)
• MEYER, VICTOR (1848-1897)
• MEYER, [MARIE] PAUL HYACINTHE (184o- )

Meyer, Weltelend and Weltschmerz (1872); E .

See also:

• PFLEIDERER, OTTO (1839—1908)

Pfleiderer, Der moderne Pessimismus (1875); See also:

• AGNES, SAINT

Agnes Taubert (Hartmann), Der Pessimismus and See also:

• SEINE
• SEINE (Lat. Sequana)
• SEINE, or SEAN (O. Fr. seigne, mod. seine, Lat. sagena, Gr. vaytivrl, a draw-net)

seine Gegner (5873); Gass, Optimismus and Pessimismus (1876); Rehmke, See also:

• DIE
• DIE (Fr. de, from Lat. datum, given)

Die Philos. des Weltschmerzes (1876) ; See also:

• HUBER, FRANCOIS (1750-1831)
• HUBER, JOHANN NEPOMUK (1830-1879)
• HUBER, LUDWIG FERDINAND (1764–1804)

Huber, Der Pessimismus (1876); von Golther, Per moderne P . (1878) ; See also:

• PAULSEN, FRIEDRICH (1846-1908)

Paulsen, Schopenhauer, See also:

• HAMLET

Hamlet, See also:

• MEPHISTOPHELES

Mephistopheles (190o); Kowalewski, Studien zur Psychologie des P . (1904) .