Blackwell Reference Online

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P hilosophy of religion, ethics, philosophy of history [from Latin optimus , the best] A French term ( optimisme ) referring to Leibniz 's claim in Theodicy that the actual world is the best of all possible worlds because God who created it is the most perfect being. More generally, optimism is a positive and hopeful attitude toward things and the future, involving the claim that in the long run things are getting better. Optimism is contrasted to pessimism , which holds that this world is radically imperfect or that the future will be worse than the present. Schopenhauer 's thought is the most important example of pessimism in philosophy. “I cannot here withhold the statement that optimism, whether it is not merely the thoughtless talk of those who harbour nothing but words under their absurd, but also a really wicked, way of thinking, is a bitter mockery of the unspeakable sufferings of mankind.” Schopenhauer, The World as Will and Representation ... log in or subscribe to read full text