Add new comment

I always love reading Mallory's contributions, and am very grateful that they took the time to write the piece, thanks!

However, I am left a little bit frustrated after reading it, and its common enough element to pessimistic writing that I think it bares mentioning.
There is this defensive sentiment that runs through pessimist writings that seems to take one of two forms. Either like ye prophets of old they are persecuted for their bad tidings, or they drag a cross behind them as they address you, maybe as a preemptive self-defense tactic(?) "don't expect to make friends".
This can secondarily takes the form of a kind of antagonistic turn in response, from "those uncomprehending fools" to "they deserve what they will get".

I *hope* that pessimism can get beyond this kind of dynamic and open up on to something. I have to say, I'm not very interested in the moral purity of remaining pessimistic to one's core. I'm not so convinced of my own analysis to to take it as a truth from on high. So I'm a bit more interested in what following this kind of pessimistic lens does. What power do we gain from taking this perspective on.
If it's to stop doing something that is futile, if its to desist from old forms, well... then what are we doing instead?
A rejoinder might be "why do we have to do anything"?
Well, I guess my answer would be, because going to our limits, rolling our little boulders around, can actually be pretty cool.
feels good man
conatus, my dude
So we aren't going to save the planet, and its doomed.
Great, that's a pretty liberating starting point. That means we can NOT do alot of things.
So I guess I'm saying, I'm hoping more pessimists will start talking about all the things they want to do, now that they've moved beyond all those fruitless endeavours and time traps.
And I kind of feel like those things they'll get up to will be far more enticing to others then their gloomy prophecies (no matter how much I agree with them)