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Healthy-minded optimism is inadequate as a philosophy, because the evil it ignores is part of reality and may be the key to life's meaning

Drawn from what William James said

optimism
What this subject means

optimism Expecting things to go well: whether it is what gets things built, or a bias that forecasts keep paying for.

What William James actually said

  1. William James American philosopher and psychologist (1842 to 1910)
    But it breaks down impotently as soon as melancholy comes; and even though one be quite free from melancholy one's self, there is no doubt that healthy-mindedness is inadequate as a philosophical doctrine, because the evil facts which it refuses positively to account for are a genuine portion of reality; and they may after all be the best key to life's significance, and possibly the only openers of our eyes to the deepest levels of truth.

Added to korrents 3 Oct 2026 · How quotes work · Something wrong? Tell us

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