First Published in 1988. Pessimism is a peculiar idea. It is either seen as a psychological problem or as a metaphysical issue, but in neither sense is it treated as useful or illuminating or in any way relevant to our understanding of the world. It is the thesis of this book that pessimism and optimism are unavoidable kinds of social judgment of the future which we all display and act upon.

First Published in 1988. Pessimism is a peculiar idea. It is either seen as a psychological problem or as a metaphysical issue, but in neither sense is it treated as useful or illuminating or in any way relevant to our understanding of the world. It is the thesis of this book that pessimism and optimism are unavoidable kinds of social judgment of the future which we all display and act upon.