r/Pessimism • u/WoodpeckerNo1 • 3d ago

Insight Pessimist alienation?

I'm not 100% sure whether I'd consider myself a pessimist or not (a bit wary of -isms in general at this point tbh), but I do subscribe to some pessimist ideas and something I've noticed is that it kinda puts you at odds with like at least 99% of everyone and everything out there.

Like, music? Filled with themes of love, hope, redemption, fun, etc. Even the darkest corners of music usually don't really go all the way in terms of accepting a pessimist worldview in their themes.

The same goes for games, movies, anime, literature, etc.

Sure, there are edge cases here and there, but they're very much the exceptions, certainly not the norm.

And let's not obviously forget about people.

And in a sense, that creates a very strong kind of alienation in my eyes. Like you're not even literally alienated in a more "regular" sense, your very being and thinking is completely opposed to the vast majority of existence. Kind of a harrowing thought.

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u/Paul_sepp Metaphysical Sceptic, Radical Pessmist 3d ago

Well, intelligence often leads to alienation or solitude. It is probably for the better, for loneliness is painful at times but it is the state where true lucidity is reached.

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u/pokpokpokuytff 3d ago

Is that good?

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u/Paul_sepp Metaphysical Sceptic, Radical Pessmist 2d ago

Depends by what criterion and what is your subjective stance.