Pessimism

Pessimism, doctrine that reality, life, and the world are evil rather than good. Pessimism generally takes one of two forms: that of an entrenched negative state of mind, or a permanent expectation of the worst under all circumstances, and that of a philosophical system. The former instance may arise, depending on the temperament of the individual, from the reaction of a person to the difference between the world as it is and the world as it could be. The existence of evil and the link between suffering and sin have been dwelt upon since ancient times; one example is the ancient Hebrew Book of Job.

In the 19th century, pessimism was elaborated into a system of philosophy by the German philosophers Arthur Schopenhauer and his successor Eduard von Hartmann. Each saw life in this world as rooted in misery, pain, and endless struggle. An unqualified pessimism encompasses the idea that all the ends and aims of life are illusory. The doctrine opposite pessimism is optimism, which approves the world as it is and embraces the feeling of hope.