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Schopenhauer

Philosophical Outlook & Mental Well-Being

Sam Woolfe asks if pessimism is a proper response to life or a symptom of depression.

If you have a pessimistic philosophical outlook on the world then it makes sense that you would also feel miserable. However, there is more to the notion that your philosophy is tied to your mental well-being than just the idea that pessimism is worse for your mental health than optimism. For instance, which philosophical outlook is more grounded in reality, pessimism or optimism? And which way does the causality lie? Does depression result in pessimism, or do pessimistic tendencies result in depression? Is the causality even one way? Could not pessimism and mental health issues such as depression interact in a cycle, with vicious downward spiralling effects? I want to examine these questions in turn, drawing on examples of philosophers who fit the bill as either pessimistic (like Arthur Schopenhauer) or optimistic.

Do Depressives See the World More Clearly?

‘Depressive realism’ is the hypothesis that depressed people have a clearer idea of how things are or make more realistic decisions than the general population. This notion was developed by psychologists Lauren Alloy and Lyn Yvonne Abramson and is outlined in the book Depressive Realism: Four Theoretical Perspectives (1988).

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