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Indeed. I think I recently heard Cory Doctorow phrase it like this: Both pessimists and optimists are essentially fatalists. Ie.: at the core it's more importa
by pipo234 3y ago
Indeed.
I think I recently heard Cory Doctorow phrase it like this: Both pessimists and optimists are essentially fatalists. Ie.: at the core it's more important to believe you can make a change, than to "know" what "will" happen.
- dredmorbius 3y agoThat's Doctorow's prescription of hope rather than "optimism" or "pessimism". Hope reserves agency. Optimism and pessimism both presume an outcome regardless of action, and absolve responsibility.
- DicIfTEx 3y agoAs a counterpoint, Derrick Jensen's “Beyond Hope”: https://orionmagazine.org/article/beyond-hope/ https://orionmagazine.org/article/beyond-hope/
- dredmorbius 3y agoThat reminds me of Ashleigh Brilliant's aphorism: "I feel much better now that I've given up hope". <https://www.ashleighbrilliant.com/book4.html https://www.ashleighbrilliant.com/book4.html> That's more about hope as expectation than hope as possibility, I think. And that's certainly Jensen's vibe. Thanks for the reference.