Notes on Pessimism

Pessimism is certainly not the worst condition a person could have. After all, what is pessimism but a severe case of idealism? If you look at all of the other things that you could have, be it schizophrenia or cancer, pessimism looks pretty dang good. I suppose I’m more here to talk about idealism- how it causes pessimism, anyway. It’s an interesting enough topic, and I find it consuming many of my moments of thought.

This is the time at which I would love to talk about the origins of idealistic study: in 1736, a man named…; however, there really is no history to idealistic study. If I were to tell you that idealistic study began with me, I would probably be wrong. On that same note, I would probably be wrong to say it began with any other specific person. Honestly, I think about idealism just about as often as Plato thought about the four elements- in other words, enough to be a philosopher on the subject.

Idealists, in the early stages of their career are upset very often and very easily. This is not to say that once they pass this early stage that they are never disappointed or upset, but the caliber of these feelings is significantly lower with each passing day. Idealists envision the world as it “should” be (according to their perspective). This includes all matter of subjects; ranging from world peace, to health care reform, to the number and gender of children. What I have just described is what many people would call “woman.” Anyone who takes the description I just wrote and tags it as “woman” deserves to die. Many women are what I like to call “romantics.” There is a key and important difference between idealists and romantics, which I will try and remember to discuss later on.

Perhaps the problem with idealists is that they see world as something that is totally and completely logical, when in fact the world is created with anything but logic. Yes, the evolution of creatures is a fairly logical process, but it is mastered by the environment- which, might I remind you, is completely unpredictable. If something is unpredictable, we can hardly call it logical. As such, idealists are often disappointed with what they encounter in the “real world.” And thus, a pessimist is born.

What I find most miraculous is when an idealist remains an idealist and yet does not become a pessimist. The questions of fate, freewill and luck suddenly become more than questions, but actual thoughts with processes that form and alter with time and study. Being an idealist and a pessimist myself, I find it highly unlikely that these people are lucky, but rather that they are naïve- they simply don’t realize that nothing works out the way it should.

Now, as promised, I shall discuss the difference between a romantic and an idealist. It is true that many idealists are romantics, but a romantic is not necessarily an idealist- kind of like how a square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not a square. Romantics have an idea in their head as to what should happen in the world, however, they do not rely quite so much upon the successful happening of these ideas. While a romantic will look at a situation and see what should happen, an idealist looks at a situation and sees what must happen. Idealists fill their theories with logic and reason while romantics simply have the ideas. Essentially, romantics are people who think idealistically; idealists are people who live idealistically. The result is one group that is mentally happy and another that is mentally disappointed.

Pessimism is not always a bad thing. In fact, pessimists are more fun to surprise because they are so thrilled by the fact that something in the imperfect world in which they are forced to live made them happy. Pessimists are not people suffering from depression, they are more similar to people with depressive personalities. I know, the difference seems hardly noticeable, but it is a crucial one. The point is, if you have a friend who is a pessimist and they seem to be having a bad day, don’t treat them they way you would someone who is suffering from depression, as you are more likely to cause the depression than cure the depressive feeling that may or may not have been there to begin with. The best way to deal with a pessimistic friend is to treat them like any other friend. What a concept, right? Who would have thought that we would be just like regular humans too?

Be careful where you step, young one. The water is only shallow for so long.