I would just like to start by saying that I am not ripping off Musings on Life by Turnip, although you should totally check it out, he's a very clever guy. Needs more paragraphs and audience flare, but he's still very good. Where was I?
Oh right. I read on a friends Facebook page that 'Pessimism is Realism'. Doesn't that just annoy you? If you actually agree, prepare for a scathing editorial blog about how wrong you are, and why your being wrong is a very bad thing.
Ok, so the basic argument. I shall start by listing the arguments said to me to support pessimism being accurate. Happiness is essentially the ability to not rely on anything else, and still be content with your life. Not to want more, or desire money or wealth. They then noticed that this applies to monks. However, as the majority of people are not so strong willed, such as bankers and con-artists, the world is most likely to be horrid. Cynicism comes into effect here by the idea that living in this type of world will lead to a distrusting life.
First off, defining the world by a few people is prejudice. Saying 'a few people are corrupt, so all humans are' is very assumptive. Happiness can just as easily be found with people who aren't so warped by the idea of wealth that it distresses people; there are people who don't aim for nothing, but enough to get by.
I am actually reminded of something that I had to research for an RS lesson, although I have only just found use for it. Nicky Cruz had a hard life, running away from home and becoming a gangster leader. A preacher approached him and told him about god's love, and he was so shocked by the notion of someone loving unconditionally that he threatened the preacher.
He later attended a sermon with his gang to 'get some payback', but ended up giving money to the collection. The preacher asked him to bring the collection onto the stage, baffling Nicky when he passed a fire escape on his way up that could create an easy steal. The sheer thought of someone trusting him changed his life, showing that even if the rest of the world is messed up, only one good thing needs to happen to make you smile. I just noticed I'm rambling.
An argument they continued onto is that the pessimists would expect the worse event happening, and therefore either be glad they were correct or glad something better than expected happened.
Whilst this works in theory, it also falls short in continuation. For a pessimist to look at a bad thing happening, or a better thing happening, they'd notice the bad event or that they were wrong, respectively, and comment on how life for them sucks. To look at these events and notice how they're correct or something good has happened, they would have to break their pessimistic view temporarily in favor of an optimistic one.
The final point I shall mention, as I am sleepy, is that the world 'revolves around negativity'. Not my words. The notion is that all good things are only noticed by a negative contrast, while a positive contrast would be too distracting. Therefore, a concept of good and bad is based on how we actually have a negative world, so pessimism is the reality of our world.
Bull. Any two things, regardless of how good or bad they are in comparison to a metaphoric neutral, can be seen as a good or bad in contrast to each other. Example, you have a 50:50 chance of getting a solid gold bar, or a solid gold bar and a fancy hat. You recognize the second as the better as you get an additional fancy hat, even though both are an improvement on nothing. Therefore, you'd consider it good to get the extra fancy hat than just the gold bar, so the gold bar on it's own could be comparatively bad. Much as it's a good thing to have the lesser of two evils, the greater of two goods is good too.
Frankly, pessimism is NOT realism. Nor is cynicism. I'm not saying optimism is, either. It is just as insane to see a turd and immediately think about how you can grow a carrot from that as it is to see an allotment and think how you could have your grave there. Realism is a completely independent thing entirely, based on the world as it is. Pessimism is thinking of the world at it's worst all the time, optimism is the reverse. Realism is a midpoint.
There's a reason the title isn't 'Pessimism, Realism' or 'Realism, Optimism'. They are named different because they are different.
This is highly philosophical and has tired my brain. Next time, I'll keep it simple and document why I hate coconuts and fungus.
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