Pessimism and optimism

• Main Author: Pires, Maria Laura Bettencourt
• Publication Date: 2021
• Format: Article
• Language: por
• Source: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Download full: https://doi.org/10.34632/gaudiumsciendi.2021.11211

Pessimism is a view of the world that is connected to life conditions and a propensity to see the worst aspect of things that, inevitably, leads to despair. It can, however, also alert people to threats thus helping them to survive, although Schopenhauer, with his philosophical pessimism, wanted to eliminate expectations. In the difficult times we are living in today, I think it has been demonstrated that pessimists and optimists become stronger and more effective when they work together. The topic of pessimism and optimism has motivated writers, painters and musicians all over the world. Among famous writers, like Goethe, Dostoevsky, Baudelaire and Sá Carneiro, who have been considered the "Patron Saints of Pessimism", I distinguish Voltaire with his masterpiece Candide, ou L'Optimisme. Well-known musicians, such as Mahler, Shostakovich and Chopin, and painters, like Goya and Donald Sutton, were also inspired by the theme. Although there are also eminent optimists, like Leibniz, young people, nowadays, who see their future as insecure, seem to have a pessimistic view of the world as is evident in the lyrics of so many of the most popular songs that they so much appreciate. I conclude my text, quoting George Bernard Shaw who said "Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society. The optimist invents the aeroplane, the pessimist the parachute."