Optimism and Pessimism

[Strange]

After putting some thought into it. I no longer beleive that Optimism and Pessimism and the spectrum in between to two exist. I really started to put some thought into this when one of my teachers called one of my friends a pessimist. He then asked his next (considered more of a) pessimistic teacher if the teacher thought he was a pessimist. The teacher stronly disagreed with the previous teacher because he thought my friend was clearly an optimist. This made me begin to think of optimism and pessimism as the 2 extremes of a spectrum. (Pessimism on one side of the spectrum and optimism on the other side). Along with this I began to think there was a Line in the middle between the two. As far as I know those are the only 2 I have heard of. I have never heard of an opti-pessimist :P. Anyways lol

Thinking back to the 2 teachers. One was clearly an optimist and one was clearly a pessimist. Lets just take an example, say that my friend was clearly directly in the center of the spectrum between optimism and pessimism. It seems that someone with a so called "optimistic" frame of mind would consider this person to be a "pessimist". And the other teacher clearly a "pessimist" considered this person an optimist. This has somewhat brought me to the conclusion that the line in between optimism and pessimism is fuzzy depending on the person who is determining it.

As far as I know most people I have asked beleive you need optimists to have pessimists and visa versa. So I started to think If all the pessimists were to dissapear just by some freak chance and you were apart of the low end (close to the center line between optimism and pessimism). You would then become a part of the pessimists according to the extreme optimists (the most optimistic). Now why would this make any sense considering you havent changed. Everyone else has changed and not you. This is what makes me really doubt the idea that the two concepts of optimism and pessimism even exist.

If your status as a person (an optimist or a pessimist) can change depending on what other people think how can optimism and pessimism even exist. If you are as optimistic as you think you can be and other people are more optimistic then you are and they think you are a pessimist are you really a pessimist.

Odviously this is just a rough idea of what I think of the concept of Optimism and Pessimism. If you could give me some feedback that would be helpful. By the way I am only in grade 11 so if its hard to understand what I am saying sorry... Please dont bash my ideas I am odviously not as advanced as most of you.

thanks
-Strange :)

[Strange]

Comeon people lol Give me your oppinions. :)

[redtrigger]

There are actually three. Pessimism (seeing the world negatively regardless of what is going on), Realism (Seeing things for what they are), and Optimism (trying to find good no matter how adverse the conditions). Optimism and Pessimism are at polar opposite ends of the spectrum, with realists in the middle. Most people that are "intelectuals" consider themselves realists. There is one school of thought known as Existensiallism. It says that you cannot define a person and the aforementioned adjectives are irrelavant, it is odd however because if say you are a existentiallist then you are defining yourself and breaking the the school's most important rule. I have a book on it somewhere and later I will list some reading that will clear things up for you.

[komon]

a pessimist see a glass full of despair. an optimissm see the same glass full of hope
.....classic?.......or relative?

[Strange]

No matter if the glass is half empty or the glass is half full the glass is always half way. No matter what way you think about it Its always at the half way mark.

[komon]

thanks.but the glass was full.

[Strange]

Originally posted by [email protected] 21 2004, 10:12 PM
thanks.but the glass was full.
Yes of course the glass was full :P
But Im just stating that If someones outlook on life can be changed or considered different by someone elses perspective on that person. The idea of an outlook on life really isnt worth even bothering with.

It seems like a waste of time If its being judged by someone else. And that line in the middle of the 2 can change.

Oh and by the way im going to look into "realism" any books I could read?

[Latifa]

Originally posted by [email protected] 21 2004, 09:30 PM
No matter if the glass is half empty or the glass is half full the glass is always half way. No matter what way you think about it Its always at the half way mark.
The Optimist sees a half full glass
The Pessimist see a half empty glass
The capitalist asks for a re-fill!

Thats my opinion anyhow.

[pedro san pedro]

you could probably also say the same about the words 'rich' and 'poor'.