Rebuttal
What we see in the world is what there is. My opponent asks, "Does it matter whether or not there is an absolute truth or merely our subjective opinion?" and though he says that subjectivity is what we're forced into, he is obviously not taking the question as seriously as he needs to take it if he is serious in contemplating the nature of optimism and pessimism.My opponent is right about one thing. Pessimism- as I will explain it, not as my opponent maligns it- is Romantic at heart. We know the power of the individual, and the power that comes with knowing that there is complete truth, a real and powerful entity that is real beyond bounds. This is the power that comes up against the forces of darkness in the world, the power that is strong against the bonds of evil.
My opponent, who calls himself an optimist, cannot object if I use his 'optimistic' definition of pessimism- that it is looking at the universe for all of the negative. But then he goes on to say that this makes one alone in such a universe. But a person does not stand apart from the universe- not only does he create the universe he percieves, he is part of it and is it. And since it is true that man cannot see himself in the negative, that man is always the protagonist of his life story, that such a pessimist cannot exist. There is always something that is good in the world, and that opens us up to positive thoughts.
Real pessimism has always been more like realism, or like anti-optimism, as they are wont to flip the universe into seeing things that are not really there: they become like Pangloss, blind to what is real and only allowing for the good. Optimists are trapped by their sense of mulitlateralism, that all philosophies and schools, when fully understood, cannot help but be good. What they don't realize is that it is stupid to think in that way: there is no sum of anything- all of these things can only be taken as they are, and placed against the absolute and complete definition of good and evil.
The pessimist is not trapped. By not insisting on any subjective stance, they realize the differences in ideas are real differences in ideas and not simply manifestations of some Neo-Platonic god.
We thus escape from infinite infinite universes of ideas and can realize the truth! My opponent cannot deny it- he said we cannot escape from our minds, and he is right, but people see the absolute in different orders, not a different translation of the divine.
As such, our minds can only go so far as the divine, and all that we do, all our actions, depend on it! Such freedom it is, that he does not recognize, to cast away false freedom of choosing your own path rather than do what is written on the divine script!
Truly yours,
The Anti-Optimist
posted by Emmett @ 17:22
2 Comments:
Sorry, it's my turn to be tardy in replying.
A few thoughts... it doesn't seem to me like these two really represent the great "two types of people" totality, partially because I believe there are [i]not[/i] two types of people, and many definitions of the supposed optimist/pessimist split. To start, they're both extremely philisophic and get in on levels most people don't consider, such as our reality being based on our perception. Most people don't consider this often keep the idea that what they see is what there is. This sort of thing would change the arguments a bit. We should also consider that there are plenty of people who gave up, for the most part, on notions of good/evil or a grand battle between light and dark. Here, even the pessimist is thinking in terms of the divine/higher truth, but quite a few believe there is no d/h truth, and far more live as if there isn't one.
Another thing. I would have to disagree with the idea that we're incapable of seeing ourselves in the negative. If someone has extremely low self-confidence, for example, or, a case that I see more frequently, a very high level of confidence in someone other than themselves, it's possible that they'll start off assuming they're wrong (in the first case) or that they're wrong where they conflict with the other, even if all their instincts and logic point to their own view (second case).
And one more thing, just because I can: go with the definition of a pessimist as a "realist" and it's quite possible to disguise your own views depending on how you view pragmatism, materialism, mysticism, etc.
This is starting to sound like my anthropology class's theory discussions about the reality of culture and how it's all perception and stuff...but I'm not sure. It's all over my head here.
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