Description
Book SynopsisBetter 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 pessimismunlike silly pessimism, also described herenever denies the deep, intense joys of life, without whose seductive appeal the human race would long ago have vanished from the planet.
Trade ReviewWritten in a chatty, colloquial style and liberally spiced up with literary references and even the occasional verse,Better Than Both builds the case for its conclusion over the course of 20 short chapters... -- Elizabeth Herschbach * Metapsychology Online *
Table of Contents1 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
