"What does one do when one has a question that is so difficult to answer? One tactic employed particularly by analytic philosophers is to ignore the question altogether; to call it useless, ill-posed, or meaningless. But reducing the question to a linguistic dilemma is akin to a psychological defense mechanism where one does not want to face the underlying problem. And in doing so, curiously enough, the question of meaning is transferred from life itself to language, and in the field of language it is finally possible to pass sentence: there is no meaning (because the question is meaningless). In the end, according to certain philosophers, although it is true that we do not know if life has meaning, at least we do know that the question itself has no meaning. And knowing one thing is, they would say, better than knowing nothing. This analytical tactic can only convince those who already have a certain optimistic predisposition towards life. This is because to think or believe that a profoundly human longing (the longing for meaning) can be ignored is to think that the human being can live relatively well without knowing why they live. The teleological pessimist is, on the other hand, a pessimist who sees the lack of meaning in life as one of the great sources of suffering. And if it were true that the question cannot be answered or that there is no point in asking about the meaning of human life, then that would only exacerbate the sense of weltschmerz rather than appease one's inner torments."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Ignacio Moya Arriagada, Entre Infinitos (2021), a pessimistic appendix, pp. 74–75
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Philosophical_pessimism
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Philosophical pessimism
352 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Philosophical pessimism →
Related Quotes
"One can regret not having done something and one can also regret having done something. Doubt, dread, and fear of dec…"
"If one finds it. If the meaning of life is to seek meaning in life, then to find meaning in life is to remain without…"
"Better to be an animal than a man, an insect than an animal, a plant than an insect, and so on. Salvation? Whatever d…"
"Everything that is engenders, sooner or later, nightmares. Let us try, therefore, to invent something better than being."
"If everyone had seen through everything, if everyone had "understood," history would have ceased long since. But we a…"
"Above all, we cannot expect the state to make people happy. Even if it effectively protects the rights of everyone, i…"
"We laugh, but inept is our laughter, We should weep, and weep sore, Who are shattered like glass and thereafter Remol…"
"Consider the capacity of the human body for pleasure. Sometimes, it is pleasant to eat, to drink, to see, to touch, t…"
"Sadness, more than an emotion, is a discovery. It is the discovery that we have no power over the world, that we are …"
"The only thing the young should be taught is that there is virtually nothing to be hoped for from life. One dreams of…"