Pessimism#
Summary#
Pessimism in Nietzsche’s view has been narrowed by half-Christian, half-German thinking, exemplified by Schopenhauer’s philosophy. It represents a world-renouncing mode of thought that remains trapped under the dominion of morality. The fear of an incurable pessimism drives whole centuries toward religious interpretation and artistic falsification of existence. In its most dangerous form, pessimism becomes a will to actual negation of life itself, against which skepticism serves as a soothing antidote.