 |
The Anatomy of Pessimism: Outline of a Neglected Tradition
| |
| | Unformatted Document Text:
Dienstag 29 8/26/04
which ultimately means, to despise oneself. Most philosophy today, on the left and the right, considers itself to be post-metaphysical – that is, it abstains from condemning what exists from the standpoint of a transcendental realm of perfection. If, however, Nietzsche’s diagnosis of the origin of metaphysics in ressentiment is correct, then optimism may be understood as the last modern refuge of the tendency to revenge and self-hatred that authorized metaphysics. “The future,” Camus wrote, “is the only transcendental value for men without God” (R 166). In this sense, it is optimism, rather than pessimism, which is best understood as a negative emotion or disposition. The realm of perfection which metaphysical philosophies projected onto a transcendent plane is projected by optimistic philosophies onto an ever-receding future. If therefore, we understand the move to post-metaphysical philosophy as a reflection of our growing humanism, we cannot consider this humanism complete until our thinking is post-optimistic as well, beyond the “idolatry of tomorrow,” as Cioran called it (FT 47). This is the path the pessimistic tradition has quietly explored for the last 250 years.
|
| | Authors: Dienstag, Joshua. |
|
| |
|
|
Dienstag 29 8/26/04
which ultimately means, to despise oneself. Most philosophy today, on the left and the
right, considers itself to be post-metaphysical – that is, it abstains from condemning what
exists from the standpoint of a transcendental realm of perfection. If, however,
Nietzsche’s diagnosis of the origin of metaphysics in ressentiment is correct, then
optimism may be understood as the last modern refuge of the tendency to revenge and
self-hatred that authorized metaphysics. “The future,” Camus wrote, “is the only
transcendental value for men without God” (R 166). In this sense, it is optimism, rather
than pessimism, which is best understood as a negative emotion or disposition. The
realm of perfection which metaphysical philosophies projected onto a transcendent plane
is projected by optimistic philosophies onto an ever-receding future. If therefore, we
understand the move to post-metaphysical philosophy as a reflection of our growing
humanism, we cannot consider this humanism complete until our thinking is post-
optimistic as well, beyond the “idolatry of tomorrow,” as Cioran called it (FT 47). This
is the path the pessimistic tradition has quietly explored for the last 250 years.
|
|
 Convention | | Convention is an application service for managing large or small academic conferences, annual meetings, and other types of events! | | Submission - Custom fields, multiple submission types, tracks, audio visual, multiple upload formats, automatic conversion to pdf. | | Review - Peer Review, Bulk reviewer assignment, bulk emails, ranking, z-score statistics, and multiple worksheets! | | Reports - Many standard and custom reports generated while you wait. Print programs with participant indexes, event grids, and more! | | Scheduling - Flexible and convenient grid scheduling within rooms and buildings. Conflict checking and advanced filtering. | | Communication - Bulk email tools to help your administrators send reminders and responses. Use form letters, a message center, and much more! | | Management - Search tools, duplicate people management, editing tools, submission transfers, many tools to manage a variety of conference management headaches! | | Click here for more information. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
