LEADER 04377nam 2200721Ia 450 001 9910453286603321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a1-4008-2748-5 010 $a1-282-93546-1 010 $a9786612935466 024 7 $a10.1515/9781400827480 035 $a(CKB)2550000001251827 035 $a(EBL)617605 035 $a(OCoLC)697184207 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000472048 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11312139 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000472048 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10433177 035 $a(PQKB)10375739 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000544520 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)12252769 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000544520 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10535357 035 $a(PQKB)11474213 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC617605 035 $a(MdBmJHUP)muse36397 035 $a(DE-B1597)446471 035 $a(OCoLC)979741816 035 $a(DE-B1597)9781400827480 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL617605 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10435976 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL293546 035 $a(EXLCZ)992550000001251827 100 $a20051229d2006 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur|n|---||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aPessimism$b[electronic resource] $ephilosophy, ethic, spirit /$fJoshua Foa Dienstag 205 $aCourse Book 210 $aPrinceton, N.J. $cPrinceton University Press$dc2006 215 $a1 online resource (313 p.) 300 $aDescription based upon print version of record. 311 $a0-691-14112-6 311 $a0-691-12552-X 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. [273]-282) and index. 327 $t Frontmatter -- $tContents -- $tPreface -- $tAcknowledgments -- $tAbbreviations -- $tPart I. -- $tChapter One. The Anatomy Of Pessimism -- $tPart II. -- $tChapter Two. "A Philosophy That Is Grievous But True" Cultural Pessimism In Rousseau And Leopardi -- $tChapter Three. "The Evils Of The World Honestly Admitted" Metaphysical Pessimism In Schopenhauer And Freud -- $tChapter Four. "Consciousness Is A Disease" Existential Pessimism In Camus, Unamuno, And Cioran -- $tPart III. -- $tChapter Five. Nietzsche's Dionysian Pessimism -- $tChapter Six. Cervantes As Educator Don Quixote And The Practice Of Pessimism -- $tChapter Seven. Aphorisms And Pessimisms -- $tChapter Eight. Pessimism And Freedom (The Pessimist Speaks) -- $tAfterword -- $tBibliography -- $tIndex 330 $aPessimism claims an impressive following--from Rousseau, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche, to Freud, Camus, and Foucault. Yet "pessimist" remains a term of abuse--an accusation of a bad attitude--or the diagnosis of an unhappy psychological state. Pessimism is thought of as an exclusively negative stance that inevitably leads to resignation or despair. Even when pessimism looks like utter truth, we are told that it makes the worst of a bad situation. Bad for the individual, worse for the species--who would actually counsel pessimism? Joshua Foa Dienstag does. In Pessimism, he challenges the received wisdom about pessimism, arguing that there is an unrecognized yet coherent and vibrant pessimistic philosophical tradition. More than that, he argues that pessimistic thought may provide a critically needed alternative to the increasingly untenable progressivist ideas that have dominated thinking about politics throughout the modern period. Laying out powerful grounds for pessimism's claim that progress is not an enduring feature of human history, Dienstag argues that political theory must begin from this predicament. He persuasively shows that pessimism has been--and can again be--an energizing and even liberating philosophy, an ethic of radical possibility and not just a criticism of faith. The goal--of both the pessimistic spirit and of this fascinating account of pessimism--is not to depress us, but to edify us about our condition and to fortify us for life in a disordered and disenchanted universe. 606 $aPessimism 606 $aPessimism$xPolitical aspects 608 $aElectronic books. 615 0$aPessimism. 615 0$aPessimism$xPolitical aspects. 676 $a149.6 700 $aDienstag$b Joshua Foa$f1965-$0900486 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910453286603321 996 $aPessimism$92458224 997 $aUNINA