Pessimism: Philosophy, Ethic, Spirit

by Joshua Foa Dienstag

Pessimism claims an impressive following--from Rousseau, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche, to Freud, Camus, and Foucault. Yet "pessimist" remains a term of abuse--an accusation of a bad attitude--or the diagnosis of an unhappy psychological state. Pessimism is thought of as an exclusively negative stance that inevitably leads to resignation or despair. Even when pessimism looks like utter truth, we are told that it makes the worst of a bad situation. Bad for the individual, worse for the species--who would actually counsel pessimism?


Joshua Foa Dienstag does. In Pessimism, he challenges the received wisdom about pessimism, arguing that there is an unrecognized yet coherent and vibrant pessimistic philosophical tradition. More than that, he argues that pessimistic thought may provide a critically needed alternative to the increasingly untenable progressivist ideas that have dominated thinking about politics throughout the modern period. Laying out powerful grounds for pessimism's claim that progress is not an enduring feature of human history, Dienstag argues that political theory must begin from this predicament. He persuasively shows that pessimism has been--and can again be--an energizing and even liberating philosophy, an ethic of radical possibility and not just a criticism of faith. The goal--of both the pessimistic spirit and of this fascinating account of pessimism--is not to depress us, but to edify us about our condition and to fortify us for life in a disordered and disenchanted universe.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

274 pages, Paperback

First published July 17, 2006

Reviews

[Socraticgadfly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A so-so to decent book that could have been so much better, with update

UPDATE NOTE: Having just finished listening to an interview of Dienstag (see insert below for details) I thought I could upgrade the rating more, especially since I mention half-stars and even quarter-starts in newer reviews, even though Bezos is still too cheap to allow them on actual ratings. (Would it cost that much to overhaul the API more? No.)

If I went up to 3.75 from my original unbackgrounded 3, then I'd have to move the ratings star to 4. If I went 3.5, I could either go up, or keep it.

With that said, I'm going 3.5, and the option of keeping the rounding down to 3, and slightly tweaking the header. Now, the original review, with the detailed update noted.

==

Occasionally I'll penalize a book for having a good, even a great, concept and just not doing it full justice, and this is one of those occasions.

This book rates at least five stars for its rehabilitation of pessimism and for its excellence at connecting the dots between different philosophers without an established "school of pessimism."

It ranks less than five stars for not fulfilling its potential and overlooking three major areas.

Dienstag's project of rehabilitation for philosophical pessimism is done well. He begins by stating two core tenets of philosophical pessimism, that it is anti-systemic and anti-optimistic. He also, in his preface, indicates he will most focus on where pessimism plays out in the arena of political philosophy.

From this, he tackles specific philosophers who can be seen as having a pessimistic core, and groups them into cultural, metaphysical and existential pessimists.

First, he shows that many philosophers in each of these three categories did not take pessimism to a world-denying, resigned conclusion. Here he contrasts the culturally engaged Leopardi to the withdrawing Rousseau, the metaphysically engaged Freud to the withdrawing Schopenhauer and the existentially engaged Camus to the withdrawn Cioran.

Dienstag then devoted a separate chapter to Nietzsche, followed by a second devoted to the central role of aphorism as a writing style within philosophical pessimism. He finishes with offering up some of his own aphoristic observations, which make several good points.

I found his outline of pessimism to be hugely thought-provoking. I would find myself connecting the dots on one particular line of thought, turn the page, and see him doing similar dot-connecting in print.

Plus, looking beyond political philosophy alone, I found myself with the "aha" moment of "This is my worldview. I'm a pessimist." Even if there is no official school. That's especially true in his chapter on aphorisms and the afterward, where he says that scientific positivism, to the degree it has proved out as an optimistic, systemic philosophy, is becoming used up.

Now, the book's shortcomings:

The first is early philosophers. It's bad enough that Dienstag just gives a passing glance to the pre-Socratics, especially since he talks about Nietzsche's analysis of them. It's worse by far that he overlooks post-Socratic Cynicism. (Capitalization deliberate, per the school of philosophy vs. the psychological style; see below.)

Other than it possibly (though Diogenes himself has little to say on the matter) still having a cyclical, not linear view of history, Cynicism meets all the benchmarks Dienstag establishes to define philosophical pessimism. Skepticism, beyond his brief mention of Pyrrhonic Skepticism, also deserves more mention and coverage.

That includes a non-systemic, even anti-systemic philosophical point of view, a non-optimistic outlook on life, a rejection of social conventions (generally leaning toward optimism), arguably a rejection of Socratic conventions of knowledge, and an aphoristic-like mode of discussion of itself.

The second big oversight was not to include 20th century discoveries in the natural science. Quantum theory, if not anti-optimistic, at least puts definite limits on human knowledge. So does general relativity.

The third oversight comes directly from philosophy. How Dienstag could not even have a word of mention for Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem, which is, at base, a wrecker of systems, totally escapes me. For that matter, beyond the theorem, the failure to include Gödel among modern pessimistic philosophers for discussion is a huge oversight.

Dienstag could have added to his three classes of political, metaphysical and existential pessimism a fourth field of logical pessimism. And he could have considered Wittgenstein here in addition to Gödel.

Now, it's true that Dienstag, in his preface, limits his focus to "pessimism (as) a philosophical sensibility from which political practice can be derived." That would rule out Gödel and Wittgenstein, to be sure, but not the Cynics.

That was his choice, though. He owes us a second volume, or at least a revision of this one to expand his view of the working-through of pessimism beyond political actions. Certainly, the subtitle of the book doesn't indicate it will be limited to political philosophy.

Yes, I should thank Dienstag for bringing these connections to light in my mind, But, why didn't he do this himself? He could have brought his book in at a solid, but by no means overwhelming, 325 pages with these additions. Or, depending on how much he pursued not only 20th century modern physics but 21st century neuroscience and its investigation of the emotional mind, 400 pages wouldn't have been too hard to produce, or too long.

Couple of other nitpicking points.

Here and in interviews, Dienstag calls cynicism (lowercase) a negative philosophy. First, cynicism as lowercased is a psychology, not a philosophy. Greek Cynicism is by no means a negative philosophy. For that matter, the same applies to skepticism the attitudinal state vs. Skepticism the philosophical school.

==

UPDATE: In an interview with philosopher friend Massimo Pigliucci, Dienstag discusses S/skepticism, C/cynicism, the structure of the book and more.

He also says that the general non-linearity of ancient western philosophy, along with modern calendrical systems, is part of why he doesn't much discuss P/pessimism in the ancient world.

I can more than halfway understand this conceit. Whether it totally fits the actuality is different. It a minimum, logically, P/pessimism can exist in an eon viewing the world non-linearly, even circularly. Note Nietzsche, after all!

Speaking of, at about the 48-minute mark, Pigliucci takes Dienstag to look at the pre-Socratics. Dienstag references Nietzsche on Socrates' "bad turn" vs the pre-Socratics while noting he's not sure that's correct or not, or the only interpretation. He adds that Nietzsche was surely trying to find elements of himself in the pre-Socratics.

Massimo then asks about philosophical Pessimism outside the Western tradition. Dienstag, noting he's an amateur, says Schopenhauer found Pessimism elements in Buddhism. He otherwise says he doesn't know enough to comment further on Buddhism or Daoism "but I wish someone would undertake that as a philosophical project." He does know that Pessimism at the time of Schopenhauer was stimulated by the translation of Hindu and Buddhist texts at his time. Per what I know about Pure Land, I don't think all forms of Buddhism would fall under philosophical Pessimism.

Interestingly, Dienstag doesn't think to tie this to Buddhism and Hinduism, with karma and reincarnation, having a largely non-linear view of time.

There is also the issue, on time, as to whether or not "higher" animals, ie, primates, cetaceans and elephants, have a sense of the flow of time and thus, the ability to plan for the future, along with a sufficiently robust sense of self, or not. Dienstag's take is "animals are animals," in essence. I don't know Pigliucci's take, but having read Frans de Waal on chimpanzees and bonobos, having seen research on dolphins and orcas, etc., I'd be hesitant about such blanket decisions. Such animals' ability to plan for the future might indeed be far less than our, but yet, certainly not non-existent. Indeed, I wouldn't totally rule corvids out of the above group of animals, either.

Dienstag says he sees a future for pessimism as a personal ethic and also a foundation for political ethics.

I do like Dienstag talking about mountain climbing as a reason to reject a utilitarian summing up of pains and pleasures as a bad version of philosophical Pessimism. Having climbed half a dozen "14ers" in Colorado, I understand indeed.

==

For someone new to the field of philosophy, let alone political philosophy, this book might be five-star worthy. But, to me, Dienstag falls short of that mark. And, the last observations were just about enough to three-star it for me. And, per the update, and per the note at top, I can't go much higher.

I finally did so in the end precisely because this book could have been so much more.

[Drenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dienstag presents the case that a pessimistic worldview does not necesitate a pessimistic personal attitude, that, in fact, pessimism is a philosophically respectable 'ethic' or 'form of life' with an enviable history of adherents.
Pessimism's basic foundation lies in the generally accepted change in time consciousness that occurred in the early modern period. THe modern notion of linear time produced two children: optimists (time is linear and progressive) and pessimists (time is linear and flat). "Liberalism, socialism, and pragmatism may all be termed optimistic in the sense that they are all premised on the idea that the application of reason to human social and political conditions will ultimately result in the melioration of these conditions.Pessimism, while retaining a linear account of time and history, denies this premise, or finds no evidence for it and asks us to philosophize in its absence." (p. 18) Since the Frankfort School must come immediately to mind, perhaps more could have been addressed there, but Dienstag does make liberal use of Adorno for examples, particularly in suggesting that the philosophical fragment or aphorism is the perfect mode for communicating the pessimistic ethic.

The principal adherents this book addresses are Rousseau, Leopardi, Schopenhauer, Freud, Nietzsche, Camus, Unamuno, and Cioran, with Cervantes providing the shining literary example. Since I own and honor works by all these writers except Leopardi, I quickly knew I had found a fellow traveler in my own constructed form of life. Dienstag enhanced the lucidity of that ethic admirably.

[Michal Ong · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The question is what kind of connection we will have toward the future: one of freedom or enslavement? Optimism subordinates the present to what is to come and thereby devalues it. Pessimism embodies a free relation to the future. In refraining from hope and prediction we make possible a concern that is not self-abasing and self-pitying. By not holding every moment hostage to its future import, we also make possible a genuinely friendly responsibility to ourselves and to others." (245)

A thoroughly riveting read: one that persuasively explores the place of pessimism in the history of political thought as well as the key thinkers associated with the pessimistic ethic (Leopardi, Rousseau, Schopenhauer, Freud, Camus, Nietzsche, Cervantes). It also makes a convincing case about the way in which the pessimistic ethic arose out of man's confrontation with history and, more specifically, man's nature as a historical being, and provides some key insights about the relationship between the philosophy of pessimism and the aphoristic form in both the theoretical and practical levels.

This book is not only impressive in terms of the breadth and the depth of its coverage of the subject matter; it also spurred me to think more seriously about my own craft, specifically with regard to the usage of the aphoristic form as a legitimate mode of writing that reflects and productively engages with chaotic modernity.

Without a doubt, Joshua Foa Dienstag's "Pessimism: Philosophy, Ethic, Spirit" stands as one of the most enjoyable and thought-provoking pieces of scholarship I've read in a long time.

[Massimo Pigliucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book came out back in 2006, and I’m ashamed to say I just found out about it! But I quickly made up for the lost time and devoured it while taking copious notes. I will soon interview the author for my “Ars Vivendi” video conversations published on my Substack (Figs in Winter). Dienstag immediately distinguishes between psychological and philosophical pessimism. The first one is a personal attitude, the second a philosophical stance. The two are not logically connected at all. One can be a philosophical optimist (like John S. Mill) and yet psychologically depressed. And one can be a philosophical pessimist (Albert Camus) and yet full of life energy. Dienstag then traces the philosophical lineage of pessimism, which includes authors like Rousseau, Leopardi, Schopenhauer (obviously!), Freud, Nietzsche, Camus, Unamuno, and Cioran, among others (and, perhaps, the Presocratic philosophers, especially Heraclitus). Some of these authors will resonate with you and others won’t, but they are united by a generally pessimistic view of life. Meaning what, exactly? Well, philosophical pessimism is a modern philosophical orientation that holds four core beliefs: (1) that human time-consciousness is fundamentally burdensome, (2) that history unfolds ironically rather than progressively, (3) that freedom and happiness are incompatible, and (4) that human existence is absurd due to a mismatch between human purposes and the means available to achieve them. Sounds pretty reasonable to me! Dienstag also identifies different strands of pessimism, represented by some of these authors mentioned above. He calls them cultural pessimism (Rousseau and Leopardi), metaphysical pessimism (Schopenhauer and Freud), and existential pessimism (Camus and the rest). The book then devotes, rightly, I think, an entire chapter to Nietzsche, and one—perhaps surprisingly—to Cervantes’s Don Quixote, understood counterintuitively as an exemplar of a pessimist life well lived (we are talking the actual novel, not the Man of La Mancha musical…). There is also a chapter on aphorisms, which are a favorite mode of expression of pessimists, and one in which the author speaks about his personal take on pessimism by way of aphorisms. This book has open vistas for me that I have shunned in the past (especially Nietzsche and Camus) and has made me take a fresh look at some beloved authors (Leopardi and Schopenhauer; I’m still not much into Freud on account of his pseudoscientific take on human psychology, but that’s another story). Enough for now, off to read my second book on philosophical pessimism…

[Prisoner 071053 · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Pessimism is. . .a freedom to cut yourself loose from a project that everyone insists you participate in. Pessimism cuts us free of an optimism that is demanded of us. Pessimism cuts us out of a social activity we were enrolled in without our assent."

[Andrew]

An anti-systemic approach to what Dienstag conceives of as an anti-systemic philosophy. Even if I question the inclusion of some thinkers here – tell me with a straight face what commonalities exist between Nietzsche and Rousseau, and for that matter what that is truly pessimistic you can say about Rousseau other than his being a grumpypuss – if anything you can and should accuse him of excessive optimism. So I’m not sure if I agree with Dienstag’s thesis in toto here, to the extent that a thesis exists in this decidedly anti-systemic text. Furthermore, some parts really dragged – did we really need this much about Cervantes? And can Cervantes really be called a serious philosophical thinker? He seemed more like the type to just throw up a middle finger and get down. But as a series of provocations, I enjoyed this.

[Eric Chevlen · Rating 3 out of 5]

PESSIMISM--PHILOSOPHY, ETHIC, SPIRIT
By Joshua Foa Dienstag

Reviewed by Eric Chevlen

This book is not about pessimism as an emotional complex. Rather, its subject is the history of pessimism throughout the last few centuries of Western philosophy. The author quotes Susan Weil as saying, "All the tragedies which we can imagine return in the end to the one and only tragedy: the passage of time." We conceive time as linear. Thus victories in time give way to defeat. Life in time gives way to death.

While the vision of time as linear is compatible with nihilism, it need not be so. We have the option of infusing our lives with the purpose of the moment, even if eternal or unalterable purpose is not a possibility. Here the author discusses Don Quixote as an exemplar of a man creating his self.

The author seldom quotes poetry, although there is much poetry apposite to his theme. In his blank verse classic, Robert Frost writes:

Some say existence like a Pirouot
And Pirouette, forever in one place,
Stands still and dances, but it runs away,
It seriously, sadly, runs away
To fill the abyss' void with emptiness.
It flows beside us in this water brook,
But it flows over us. It flows between us
To separate us for a panic moment.
It flows between us, over us, and with us.
And it is time, strength, tone, light, life and love-
And even substance lapsing unsubstantial;
The universal cataract of death
That spends to nothingness -- and unresisted,
Save by some strange resistance in itself,
Not just a swerving, but a throwing back,
As if regret were in it and were sacred.

The author identifies three types of pessimism: cultural, metaphysical, and existential. Obviously, there is some overlap among these different sorts. In a chapter titled "A Philosophy That Is Grievous but True," the author discusses the cultural pessimism found in the writings of Rousseau and Leopardi. Metaphysical pessimism is discussed in the chapter titled "The Evils of the World Honestly Admitted. There we find discussion of the works of Schopenhauer and Freud. "Consciousness Is a Disease" is the title of the chapter elucidating the ideas of Camus, Unamuno, and Cioran.

Finally, the author discusses what I would call the practical application of pessimism. Nietzsche and Cervantes' Don Quixote figure large in this part of the book. If, as some pessimists argue, human life is a disease, the purpose of philosophy is not to provide a cure, but to teach people how to endure its symptoms.

The book is academic in tone, especially in the author's coda of aphorisms. I cannot recommend it to readers who are completely unversed in any of the authors mentioned above. But it may prove of value for readers who have brooded on its subject matter without formal rigor. For historians of philosophy, I would call it a must-read.

[ehk2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent piece of political theory. Pessimism is the only "liberating" path, I agree (no matter how it may sound contradictory). But, to say the truth, I am still closer to Schopenhauer's way of pessimism, rather than author's favourite Nietzsche. Instead of Dionysus, I prefer his tutor Silenus, who says that "That the best thing for a man is not to be born, and if already born, to die as soon as possible.". A little bit more misanthrophic, perhaps.


"Temporarity creates barriers to freedom and happiness that political institutions devoted to managing, say, scarcity, socialibity, domination, or faction, do not consciously address. Both optimistic political theory and modern political institutions have, for the most part, been oblivious to these barriers with the result that citizens of modern states face inevitable disappointment when their lives do not measure up to what contemporary political rhetoric tells them is possible. This disappointment then generates resentment as the search for a responsible party leads to a kind of competitive victimization in which all can participate.

Pessimists, by contrast, ... admits limits to, not defeat of, human aspirations. Indeed, in the very openness and indeterminancy of human history, the pessimists, or at least the anti-misanthropes among them, have seen the possibility of a distinct form of human freedom, one that envisages life as a quest amidst the unknown, undiscovered country of the future" (p.267)

[Nils · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent account of a maligned and marginalized philosophical tradition that rejects the hegemony of modern optimism, offering a welcome reminder that optimists are never pleasantly surprised.

[Clarke Bolt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This made me really like Nietzsche and reminded me a lot of the Foucault seminar this semester. A great read. Great perspectives. Dienstag is like a grenade as Dr. Stegall would say.

[Vaggelis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liked it a lot. Maybe the chapter "Pessimism and freedom" was a liiittle bit boring. However on general, it was a very interesting and pleasurable read and - yes! - an uplifting one too!
One could say a lot and comment a lot about "Pessimism", however, I'd like to just point out some things that I particularly enjoyed:

The language is simple, the thoughts are clear and – most importantly – not every fifth word is followed by "in itself". Dienstag writes to communicate something, not to demonstrate how much of a badass thinker he is or how many books he has read or how many obscure writers from some hundred years ago he can reference.

Any reference – even that is obscure writers from some hundred years ago – is made for a purpose, and this purpose is clarified adequately. There are some writers that shoot names and quotes and you just stand there and think "JUST SAY WHAT YOU WANNA SAY WTF GDJSJDICNCBSH!!".
Or other writers shoot names and quotes and you just stand there and think "Oooh crap, now I have to pause this book, go read three volumes of THAT writer and then come back and hope that I may be able to understand what she/he means. FINE.THANKS!".

The case with Dienstag is that his references are explained, and are put there to make a point, and the way these references help to make his point be made are explained as simply as possible.
And even when there is no actual reason to put a reference here or there, what is eventually communicated is not the vastness of the writers knowledge or his intellectual badassery, rather than the passion and appreciation and love –yes love – he feels for these philosophers and poets and even fictional characters and texts – so that in the end you just stand there and think " Oh I WANT to read The Rebel/Don Quixote/Leopardi etc!" – which is one of the greatest effects a book can have on its readers. Expands your horizons.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounding up to four stars. Although the book is tough sledding at times (as evidenced by the fact that it took me several months to work through it), it presents a thorough analysis of pessimistic philosophy and delves into a number of thinkers and traditions that embraced pessimism (either explicitly or implicitly). But the most important thing that this book does is remind the reader that pessimism IS a philosophy, not just a mood or mindset. And in an age that seems to blindly believe in progress and accept optimism as gospel, we are sorely in need of a more clear-eyed, level-headed understanding of history and human nature. This is something pessimism as a philosophy can provide, and the job Dienstag does of "rehabbing" pessimism is timely and admirable.

[Fatih · Rating 5 out of 5]

a very comprehensive book with a sharp, explicit language contrary to aphoristic genre :D, i very liked the book, especially sources it's been referred. now i'm planning to read the book again, chapter by chapter while reading referred books mentioned in it.

[Oğuz Gürler · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unique collection and book about pessimism, a philosophy was regretted and tumbled by optimistic modern thoughts due to its criticism, and the best introduction to it.

[Alvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dienstag offers the reader an interesting discussion of pessimism as a philosophical trend, exemplified in the writings of Rousseau, Leopardi, Schopenhauer, Freud, Unamuno, Camus and Cioran. Personally I found his discussion of Nietzsche and Cervantes' Don Quixote to be very insightful. I found the chapter entitled "Pessimism and Freedom" a bit tedious. I would recommend this work to friends and colleagues.

[Mitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dienstag understands the centrality of time to human experience, the profound divide that separates freedom from happpiness, and the mistaken fallacy in expectations.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terribly interesting overview of the philosophical and political implications of what the author describes as an overlooked philosophical thread.

[EdMohs · Rating 5 out of 5]

witty consise excellent history of Rosseau, Cervantes, Leopardi, Nietzsche, ect