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Full Description
Better Than Both: The Case for Pessimism is an experiment in "popular philosophy." It presents and discusses (literally) life-and-death issues in non-technical, everyday language. This new work sees pessimism not as a kind of depressed moodiness or self-indulgent negativity, but as the inevitable result of any fair-minded survey of the world we actually live in. It reaches this conclusion by looking into basic human psychology, the record of history, the experience of aging and death, the failure of religion, and many features of both ancient and modern culture. Acknowledging the truth of pessimism, as opposed to optimistic self-deception, serves both to inoculate us against the suffering that is either bound or liable to come our way, and to help us enjoy the pleasures that life can afford. Realistic pessimism—unlike "silly pessimism," also described here—never denies the deep, intense joys of life, without whose seductive appeal the human race would long ago have vanished from the planet. It simply cautions, since probability is the best guide to decision-making, against basing any belief-system or choosing any course of action on delusively long odds. The book refers to a broad spectrum of writers and thinkers, such as Nietzsche, Mark Twain, and King Solomon for insight.
Contents
1 Acknowledgements
2 Introduction to Pessimism: What are the Odds?
3 Brain-Fever: Psychological Pessimism
4 Chained to the Slaughter-Bench: Historical Pessimism
5 Not a Pretty Picture: Pessimism in Old Age
6 What Has God Done for You Lately? Atheistic / Agnostic Pessimism
7 Crumbling Rock of the Ages: Pessimism and Religious Imagination
8 Promises, Promises: American Pessimism
9 The Filthiest Nest: Ecological Pessimism
10 On and On and On: Pessimism and the Continuum
11 Don't Kid Yourself: Pessimism and Death
12 Blood-Soaked Roots: Cultural Pessimism
13 Don't be Duped: Pessimism and Comedy
14 The Triumph of Experience over Hope: Sexual Pessimism
15 Get Real: Pessimism and Tragedy
16 You Think You Got Trouble? Proverbial Pessimism
17 Things Aren't That Bad: Silly Pessimism
18 Who Needs All This Stuff? Pessimism vs. Creation
19 Don't Tell Me How it Ends: Eschatological Pessimism
20 Epilogue: The Joy of Pessimism
