Pessimism about historical transition masks a lack of will to live.
Evidence
There are pessimists who stand horrified and amazed in the midst of the ruins which the process of change brings with it, seeing so many things they were comfortable with, which were advantageous to them, which they had set their hearts on, fade away and disappear. They see the ruins not just as the ruins of their own world, but of the world as such. What they see seems to them to be not simply the dying away of something which was historically conditioned, which developed, matured and must now for that very reason decay. It seems to them, rather, to be death and corruption as such. What they really lack, however, is an understanding of the essence of lifeand in fact, even more fundamentally, they lack the will to live. That is why they cannot be teachers or guides to us, although they would so much like to be … — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 89
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: A tired historical age generates philosophies focused on endurance rather than hope — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 1057; Optimism and pessimism are both sentimental dispositions toward history; Many find life meaningless, yet continue to live. — Leo Tolstoy, A Confession, 104 (+1 more)
Broader Connections
- Optimism and pessimism are both sentimental dispositions toward history
#expands(0.80) - A tired historical age generates philosophies focused on endurance rather than hope
#corroborates(0.75) — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 1057 - Many find life meaningless, yet continue to live.
#corroborates(0.75) — Leo Tolstoy, A Confession, 104 - Decisive historical actions carry an irreducibly hopeless subjective aspect at the moment they occur.
#contradicts(0.70) — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 1204