A Philosophy of Pessimism
Distributed for Reaktion Books
160 pages
|
5 x 7 3/4
|
© 2015
- Contents
- Review Quotes
Table of Contents

Contents
Preface
One: The Glass is Always Half-full? Countering the Optimists
Two: The ‘Doomsday Clock’ is Always with Us: Pessimism in History
Three: Optimists v. Pessimists: Economics and Politics
Four: I Think, Therefore I Expect the Worst: Pessimism in Philosophy
Five: A World Without Meaning: Pessimism in Literary Fiction
Six: Visions of Despair: Pessimism in the Arts
Seven: The Benefits of a Half-empty Glass: Pessimism as a Lifestyle
References
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Index
One: The Glass is Always Half-full? Countering the Optimists
Two: The ‘Doomsday Clock’ is Always with Us: Pessimism in History
Three: Optimists v. Pessimists: Economics and Politics
Four: I Think, Therefore I Expect the Worst: Pessimism in Philosophy
Five: A World Without Meaning: Pessimism in Literary Fiction
Six: Visions of Despair: Pessimism in the Arts
Seven: The Benefits of a Half-empty Glass: Pessimism as a Lifestyle
References
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Index
Review Quotes
Hans Rollman | PopMatters
“Sim offers a thoughtful and well-articulated sampling of pessimism in western culture . . . expansive, compelling, and thought-provoking.”
Times Literary Supplement
“Lucid and wide-ranging book. . . . Revenge tragedies, Vietnam war films, Samuel Beckett’s plays, the novels of William Golding and Philip Roth, Goya’s series The Disasters of War and Picasso’s Guernica—all these works and many others figure in Sim’s analysis of pessimism . . . a meticulous survey.”
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