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This is interesting, because I was just reading an essay of Schopenhauer where he claims that his own pessimistic temperament is the best way to preserve some h
by jasperry 4y ago
This is interesting, because I was just reading an essay of Schopenhauer where he claims that his own pessimistic temperament is the best way to preserve some happiness amidst the troubles of life, because of its low expectations.
Maybe the broader lesson is that, whatever natural temperament type you have, whether cheerful, stoic, or pessimistic, that temperament is your built-in way of adapting to life, and you will be happier overall if you own and embrace it.
Philosophers have been accused of turning their own inclinations into a theory that explains why their way is the best for everyone else as well. :)
- Konohamaru 4y agoWhat was the name of that essay?
- jasperry 4y agoI think it was from "On the Wisdom of Life: Aphorisms": https://gutenberg.org/files/10731/10731-h/10731-h.htm#link2H_4_0007 https://gutenberg.org/files/10731/10731-h/10731-h.htm#link2H... There are a few in there that seem close to what I remember. Maybe this one: "The sublime melancholy which leads us to cherish a lively conviction of the worthlessness of everything of all pleasures and of all mankind, and therefore to long for nothing, but to feel that life is merely a burden which must be borne to an end that cannot be very distant, is a much happier state of mind than any condition of desire..."