Should We Embrace Pessimism?
The way we live our lives and the decisions we make are strongly influenced by the societal expectations that we have today, which include being cheerful and having an optimistic outlook.
Several psychologists have brought attention to the fact that happiness has developed into a business. In turn, this has resulted in the establishment of what I refer to as a happiness imperative, which is the social expectation that every one of us should strive to achieve happiness. On the other hand, this may be a barrier to being happy. If we genuinely want to live better lives, pessimism is the philosophical system that may assist us.
In contrast to the psychological definition of pessimism, which is characterized by a predisposition to concentrate on negative results, philosophical pessimism is not essentially concerned with outcomes. On the contrary, it is a framework that explains the origins, prevalence, and pervasiveness of pain. I can be a philosophical pessimist even if I have a joyful and positive attitude toward life. This does not mean that I am a psychological pessimist; instead, I might continue to believe that existence is generally fraught with sorrow.
Some people have the impression that Jean-Paul Sartre, a French philosopher, is a pessimistic thinker who deals with existential agony, dread, and other issues that are generally related to depression and darkness. Additionally, he has been linked to pessimism, primarily due to misunderstandings regarding his body of work. Jean-Paul Sartre, a French author and philosopher, was a proponent of the idea that individuals should hold themselves accountable for the lives they make. In 1945, Sartre intended to dispel these erroneous notions. In a public speech titled “Existentialism is a Humanism,” he stated that existentialism, when correctly understood, is a philosophy about freedom and taking responsibility for the lives we build and the decisions we make. We are free, or, to put it another way, we are condemned to be free, according to existentialists. Because according to Sartre, we do not possess an essence; we are obligated to construct and construct one for ourselves. Some people may experience feelings of anxiety and hopelessness as a result of all of this, but this does not necessarily have to be the case.
Perseverance and anxiety are not always defining characteristics of philosophical pessimism, just as they are not necessarily distinguishing characteristics of existentialism.
There is a long history of pessimism in philosophy, reaching back to the ancient Greeks. One of the earliest myths tells us that the satyr Silenus told King Midas that the best thing any human being could wish for was never to be born and that the second best thing was to die at a young age.
On the other hand, scholars believe that Arthur Schopenhauer, a German philosopher who lived in the 19th century, was the first modern Western writer to approach pessimism systematically in his writing. Compassion and concern for all humanity are the driving forces behind Schopenhauer’s philosophical pessimism; yet, more specifically, this compassion extends to all living beings, not just humans. On the other hand, this is one of the most significant distinctions with existentialism.
The pessimism of Schopenhauer contains a resounding rejection of the very existence of things. In his words, “work, worry, toil, and distress are indeed the lot of almost all human beings their entire life through,” and “one can also conceive of our life as a uselessly disturbing episode in the blissful calm of nothingness.” Both of these statements are true.
As an additional point of clarification, he also asserts that “the world is simply hell, and human beings are on the one hand its tortured souls and on the other hand its devils.” This is if his condemnation of existence is not sufficiently evident.
The conclusion that Schopenhauer draws from this is that nonexistence is more desirable than existence. This indicates that if one chooses between existing or not existing, the most advantageous option is to not come to be. This is an echo of Silenus, but once we are here, the best thing we can do is adopt a life attitude that keeps us away from needs and wants. This is a crucial point to keep in mind. It is our best advantage to give up on things, including happiness, as we pursue them.
In no circumstance would he or any other pessimistic philosophy promote anything even somewhat similar to mad omnicide, which is the act of intentionally and directly making efforts to eliminate all life. This is a misconception that some people share. Ultimately, Schopenhauer’s pessimism is entirely dependent on his metaphysical views regarding the nature of existence, the essence of which he also referred to. It is sufficient to comprehend well a type of force that underpins, conditions, and motivates everything. Therefore, everything that exists exists to crave without end, and it is impossible to achieve long-lasting satisfaction.
The fact that we are supposed to be happy is an overwhelming task, considering that the society we live in compels us to cope with issues such as pandemics, economic crises, wars, and climate change. To believe that we should always think about the positive aspects of a situation is an unrealistic expectation. It is an unrealistic expectation that we should always try to find the positive side of things. And even if we decide to do so, it is still the case because, according to pessimism, we are here to want and desire without end throughout our existence. When this is considered, the happiness imperative conflicts with the fundamental nature of reality, which is Schopenhauer’s will, because contentment is not conceivable. It is consequently a struggle against the very nature of reality to have the expectation that one will be happy.
This is why optimism becomes toxic when society expects us to be happy and criticizes us if we are not because of this expectation. We may experience feelings of inadequacy and failure if we discover that we cannot fulfil the pleasure imperative. There are philosophical tools that can be gained from pessimism to help us better grasp our role in existence. It has the potential to assist us in coming to terms with the concept that the attitude of not obsessively pursuing happiness is the most rational course of action.
