The value of the world and of oneself: philosophical optimism and pessimism from Aristotle to modernity
"This book examines the longstanding debate between philosophical optimism and pessimism in the history of philosophy, focusing on Aristotle, Maimonides, Spinoza, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche and Camus. Philosophical optimists maintain that the world is optimally arranged and is accordingly valuable...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Book |
| Language: | English |
| Subito Delivery Service: | Order now. |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
New York, NY
Oxford University Press
[2022]
|
| In: | Year: 2022 |
| Series/Journal: | Oxford scholarship online
|
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Aristoteles 384 BC-322 BC
/ Maimonides, Moses 1135-1204
/ Spinoza, Benedictus de 1632-1677
/ Schopenhauer, Arthur 1788-1860
/ Nietzsche, Friedrich 1844-1900
/ Camus, Albert 1913-1960
/ Optimism
/ Pessimism
B Optimism / Pessimism / History of ideas |
| Further subjects: | B
Pessimism
B Philosophy B Optimism History B Pessimism History B Optimism |
| Online Access: |
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Aggregator) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
|
| Summary: | "This book examines the longstanding debate between philosophical optimism and pessimism in the history of philosophy, focusing on Aristotle, Maimonides, Spinoza, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche and Camus. Philosophical optimists maintain that the world is optimally arranged and is accordingly valuable, and that the existence of human beings is preferable over their nonexistence. Philosophical pessimists, by contrast, hold that the world is in a woeful condition and ultimately valueless, and that human nonexistence would have been preferable over our existence. Schopenhauer criticizes the optimism he locates in the Hebrew Bible and in Spinoza for being unable to square the presumed perfection of the world and its parts, including human life, with the suffering and misfortunes observable in them, and for leading to egoism and thereby to cruelty. Nietzsche, in turn, criticizes Schopenhauer's overtly pessimistic view, inter alia, for furtively positing a perfect state for one to aspire to, thus being latently optimistic. Similarly, Camus charges Nietzsche, who announces his rejection of both optimism and pessimism, with deifying the world and oneself, thereby reverting to optimism. Interestingly, Aristotle countenances an optimistic theory, later adopted and developed by Maimonides, that is arguably capable of facing Schopenhauer's challenge. Aristotelian optimism accounts for the perfection of the world in terms of a hierarchy of value between its parts, with human beings ranked relatively low, and recommends an attitude congruent with that ranking"-- |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | Also issued in print: 2022. - Includes bibliographical references and index. - Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (viewed on April 11, 2022) |
| ISBN: | 0197634109 |
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780197634073.001.0001 |