Who is a pessimist?

This perception of personality dates back to the VII-VIII century BC. A vivid representative of the world view through the prism of pessimistic attitudes was the ancient Greek versifier and Rhapsody Hesiod. However, his views can be called global. Today it is necessary to talk about who is a pessimist in the narrower sense of the word.

To consider this type of personality, it is necessary to start from the work of leading philosophers and writers of the XIX-XX century, namely Vladimir Solovyov and Arthur Schopenhauer. Taking as a basis the standard classification for psychology, they were able to determine the typological features of the pessimist character most accurately.

Who is the pessimist for V. Solovyov

To determine the formula for unconditional pessimism, the philosopher took as his basis the "Four Noble Truths" of Buddhist teaching. It should be said that these definitions relate not only to the pessimistic perception of the world as a whole, but also to the individual's perception of his being in isolation. According to Soloviev, a pessimist is a person who perceives his existence as suffering from birth to death. Everything in the world is done through suffering, even the joy that is destined to end will eventually lead to it. The pessimist perceives himself as a weak person, prone to hatred and affection, the consequence of which are negative emotions that bring suffering. In this case, according to the teachings of Buddhists, nirvana (that is, the absence of pain and sorrow) is possible by abstracting from the surrounding world and, consequently, cleansing the mind of human attachments, envy and anger towards people, impatience and irritation. A pessimist is often prone to moral growth and knowledge of wisdom, tranquility.

Who is a pessimist - the definitions of A. Schopenhauer

Schopenhauer's teaching says that suffering is an inevitable and constant process in the life of a pessimist. Death for him is the deliverance from grief and sorrow of life. That is why people of this type often resort to suicide.

From the moment of birth a person enters into suffering, having duties to the society and family. A pessimist prefers to remain in the shadow, not because he loves her, but because he understands all the imperfection of the world. In other words, such a person does not like to take advice and moralizing, because he believes that he bears rest in himself, possesses all the knowledge that is necessary for his essence.

Who is a pessimist: signs of behavior

Following the definitions of the term "pessimist" on the works of two significant figures in the field of world philosophy that explain the very essence of the worldview of pessimists, one should proceed to the typological features of the behavior of such a person "in the crowd": "

- alienation, the desire to remain alone with oneself;
- aggressive perception of criticism or ignoring the critical evaluation of their actions;
- a tendency to introspection, therefore, closedness;
- anxiety, inclination to believe in the worst;
- the ability to give a "sober" assessment of what is happening.

By the way, it helps to find the answer to the question: "Who am I - an optimist or a pessimist?" A test that psychologists developed. You can find it on the pages of many popular printed publications.