Pessimism and Misanthropy: Pro? Con?

[RVFVS]

I am both of the things above. I am utterly negative and cyinical. I do not believe in God or an afterlife, I am a hardcore intellectual realist and have a mild hate for people.

Is being pessimistic a good thing or a bad thing? I ask the same for misanthropy. Does it improve life or degrade it?

[cfmonkey45]

It's possible you have depression or a social disorder that causes a lack of empathy. I recently had the same thing, although I was and am still a Christian, but I discovered recently that some time ago I was diagnosed with a mild case of Asperger's Syndrome that was actually retracted in favor of the previous diagnosis of ADHD. Currently, I believe that AS was the correct diagnosis for a number of reasons.

In my experience, no. It usually causes you to often be cynical without cause. This form of cynicism can be detrimental in a number of ways; for example, your cynicism might interfere with long term relationships, and also begin to cause you to doubt their relevance or authenticity, which might create a self-fulfilling prophecy. Moreover, in other aspects of your life, it could keep you back from experimenting and trying new thing and meeting new things.

It could keep you from participating in mundane issues, such as meeting acquaintances and establishing longer relationships with them, to the personal, with romantic relationships, to even the philosophical and religious affects, such as immediately doubting the value or possible truth to a number of sets of beliefs. Its usually best to keep an open mind.

[Bovril]

I am both of the things above. I am utterly negative and cyinical. I do not believe in God or an afterlife, I am a hardcore intellectual realist and have a mild hate for people.

Is being pessimistic a good thing or a bad thing? I ask the same for misanthropy. Does it improve life or degrade it?

The positions of the cynics and the realists are technical philosophical positions as well as popular charicterisations. Maybe you should look up such figures as Diogenes and Plato for representative of the cynic and realist schools respectively.

[Arch-hereticK]

Realism is a neccessary evil for progress, in all spheres of life.

[Habelo]

Depends where you are, if you are a nobody it is hurtful. If you are a ruler then it is good for everyone around you.

And even if you are born a nobody and become an emperor i bet you will only cause pain- like napoleon.

[Arch-hereticK]

Pessimism should part of any healthy philosophical diet.

[Lupu]

Pessimism should part of any healthy philosophical diet.

What are you talking about?

[Arch-hereticK]

What are you talking about?

You gotta have a balance man. Being too peppy will get you drop-kicked in the face in a bar in Minsk. I never saw it coming.

[Lupu]

But pessimism is negative, you don't balance out recklessness or extreme optimism with pessimism. I thought it was called caution?

[Arch-hereticK]

But pessimism is negative, you don't balance out recklessness or extreme optimism with pessimism. I thought it was called caution?

The opposite of extreme optimism is extreme pessimism, plain 'ole pessimism is a neccessary negative.

[Habelo]

If you are pessimistic then you change things for the better, if you are naive then you follow blindly.

[Lupu]

I think we agree, just that I say it another way, I don't think pessimism is a way to balance out optimism, less optimism is better than adding pessimism.

@Habelo: A pessimist is worse, not only does he disagree with the conditions, he also thinks he can't change them. When was naivity the opposite of pessimism anyway? Paranoia, maybe?

[Habelo]

Then i have my words messed up. Maybe i was thinking of skeptic?

[eXistenZ]

Absolute pro, since i'm also both.

Optimism is in my eyes a synonym for being naive.

And people suck in general. they are all Hypocrits , which annoys me to death.

[Habelo]

Absolute pro, since i'm also both.

Optimism is in my eyes a synonym for being naive.

And people suck in general. they are all Hypocrits , which annoys me to death.

I have stopped gettin annoyed, now i feel pity and sorrow for le idiots

[eXistenZ]

I have stopped gettin annoyed, now i feel pity and sorrow for le idiots

I don't. pitying people is a waste of time. It's not that i care for them, so i don't pity them. As long as they don't bug me, i'm fine. epicurism all the way for me: peace ,quiet, and no disturbance of the mind is the highest summon.

people have dissapoint me too much to care about them

[Lupu]

"And people suck in general. they are all Hypocrits , which annoys me to death"
Quoted and sigged for hypocrisy

Then i have my words messed up. Maybe i was thinking of skeptic?

[eXistenZ]

"And people suck in general. they are all Hypocrits , which annoys me to death"
Quoted and sigged for hypocrisy

Yes people annoy me, because they are hipocrits. thats why i sped as less time as possible with real people. On a forum that doesn't matter much, because you can easily ignore what people write down.

Like i don't care for your childish sig, because as soon as you find another quote you will use that one

[Lupu]

Yes people annoy me, because they are hipocrits. thats why i sped as less time as possible with real people. On a forum that doesn't matter much, because you can easily ignore what people write down.

Like i don't care for your childish sig, because as soon as you find another quote you will use that one

Not that I care if you say you don't like me, I'm human after all I can see where your general hadred of people comes from if you are insulted that easily, even if you can choose to ignore it as you say.

[Salem1]

Could it be said that cynicism and pessimism are both reactions against being disappointed by something's failure to meet expectations?