3 ms·
People naturally have a survivorship bias. Thomas Ligotti has this great quote about why people, most people, are Optimistic (specifically with existence), tha
by weatherlight 5y ago
People naturally have a survivorship bias.
Thomas Ligotti has this great quote about why people, most people, are Optimistic (specifically with existence), that this is all okay, and nothing will go wrong, and that when things do go wrong, it'll be okay in the end
“The point that in the absence of birth nobody exists who
can be deprived of happiness is terribly conspicuous. For
optimists, this fact plays no part in their existential
computations. For pessimists, however, it is axiomatic.
Whether a pessimist urges us to live “heroically” with a
knife in our gut or denounces life as not worth living is
immaterial. What matters is that he makes no bones about
hurt being the Great Problem it is incumbent on philosophy
to observe. But this problem can be solved only by
establishing an imbalance between hurt and happiness that
would enable us in principle to say which is more
desirable—existence or nonexistence. While no airtight
case has ever been made regarding the undesirability of
human life, pessimists still run themselves ragged trying
to make one. Optimists have no comparable mission. When
they do argue for the desirability of human life it is
only in reaction to pessimists arguing the opposite, even
though no airtight case has ever been made regarding that
desirability. Optimism has always been an undeclared
policy of human culture—one that grew out of our animal
instincts to survive and reproduce—rather than an
articulated body of thought. It is the default condition
of our blood and cannot be effectively questioned by our
minds or put in grave doubt by our pains. This would
explain why at any given time there are more cannibals
than philosophical pessimists.”
- rhacker 5y agofavorited that... thanks
- weatherlight 5y ago:) you're welcome!