pessimism
Sign in to savethumb|220px|An optimist and a pessimist, Vladimir Makovsky, 1893
AI overview
Pessimism is the tendency to expect negative outcomes or to focus on the worst aspects of situations rather than the best. It matters because how pessimistic or optimistic we are can influence our decisions, mental health, and how we respond to challenges in life.
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Article
14 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- As a psychological disposition
- Criticism
- Pragmatic criticism
- Other forms of pessimism
- Philosophical pessimism
- Political and cultural
- Technological and environmental
- Entropy pessimism
- Legal
- See also
- Notes
- Further reading
- External links
thumb|220px|An optimist and a pessimist, Vladimir Makovsky, 1893
Pessimism is a mental attitude in which an undesirable outcome is anticipated from a given situation. Pessimists tend to focus on the negatives of life in general. A common question asked to test for pessimism is "Is the glass half empty or half full?"; in this situation, a pessimist is said to see the glass as half empty, or in extreme cases completely empty, while an optimist is said to see the glass as half full. Throughout history, the pessimistic disposition has had effects on all major areas of thinking.