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A Philosophy of Pessimism
About this book
There are many reasons to despair over the state of the world today: climate change, war, terrorism, social injustice, and an utter failure by our political systems to fix them. Yet there will always be those frustrating optimists who counter such an outlook by citing developments such as modern medicine, democracy, and the global internet as signs that things are, and always have been, on the up and up. This book locks those people in a separate room, shattering their rose-colored glasses to show the tremendous value in keeping the dark side of human affairs at the forefront of our consciousness. Stuart Sim starts with the proposition that pessimists simply have a more realistic world view. Tracing how pessimism has developed over time and exploring its multifaceted nature, he shows that many thinkers throughout historyâincluding philosophers, theologians, authors, artists, and even scientistsâhave been pessimists at heart, challenging us to face up to the desperations that define human existence. Spanning cultures and moving across eras, he assembles a grand discourse of pessimism. Ultimately he offers the provocative argument that pessimism should be cultivated and vigorously defended as one of our most useful and ever-relevant dispositions.
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Information
Table of contents
- Front Cover
- Half Title
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Preface
- ONE The Glass is Always Half-full? Countering the Optimists
- TWO The âDoomsday Clockâ is Always with Us: Pessimism in History
- THREE Optimists v. Pessimists: Economics and Politics
- FOUR I Think, Therefore I Expect the Worst: Pessimism in Philosophy
- FIVE A World Without Meaning: Pessimism in Literary Fiction
- SIX Visions of Despair: Pessimism in the Arts
- SEVEN The Benefits of a Half-empty Glass: Pessimism as a Lifestyle
- REFERENCES
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- INDEX