PART VII. Pessimism and Optimism

PESSIMISM AND OPTIMISM

PREVALENCE OF PESSIMISM

Oriental origin of pessimism.—Pessimistic poets.—Byron.—Leopardi.—Poushkin.—Lermontoff.—Pessimism and suicide 233

ANALYSIS OF PESSIMISM

Attempts to assign reasons for the pessimistic conception of life.—Views of E. von Hartmann.—Analysis of Kowalevsky’s work on the psychology of pessimism 239

III

PESSIMISM IN ITS RELATION TO HEALTH AND AGE

Relation between pessimism and the state of the health.—History of a man of science who was pessimistic when young and who became an optimist in old age.—Optimism of Schopenhauer when old.—Development of the sense of life.—Development of the senses in blind people.—The sense of obstacles 247