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Pragmatic Optimism
Pragmatic Optimism
Pragmatic Optimism
Optimism
Voltaire
was
a
Satirist;
he
used
humor,
shaming,
irony
and
sarcasm
to
encourage
social,
political
and
religious
change
to
the
injustices
and
inadequacies
of
his
time.
In
the
novel,
Candide,
the
protagonist
of
the
same
name,
begins
as
an
Optimist.
The
lesson
of
the
novel
is
that
Optimism
for
its
own
sake
is
not
a
valid
philosophy.
One
must
tend
the
gardencultivate
a
reason
to
be
optimistic;
or
more
safely
perhaps,
to
teach
pessimism.
I
assert
that
Fact,
Reason
and
Belief
are
the
antidotes
to
what
ails
Voltaire
garden:
Pragmatic
Optimism.
Pragmatic
Optimism
is
the
theory
that
dealing
with
things
sensibly,
realistically
and
in
a
way
that
is
based
on
the
practical,
rather
than
the
theoretical,
creates
the
ideal
state
of
Optimism.
Considering
iBelief
to
be
vital
in
the
quest
to
obtaining
iiOptimism
does
not
sound
strange.
Its
not
a
foreign
idea
for
people
to
have
optimistic
beliefs.
But
these
refer
to
unsubstantiated
feelings,
which
show
to
be
the
weaker
relative
of
capital
B
Belief
-
a
state
of
invested
hope,
educated
by
Fact
and
Reason.
Here
we
hit
upon
the
first
cornerstone
of
successful,
fully
fleshed
out,
Pragmatic
Optimism.
Belief
must
exist
in-order
for
iiiFact
and
ivReason
to
come
to
fruition.
A
Fact
may
exist,
and
so
might
Reason,
but
without
recognizing
a
vNeed,
and
exerting
Belief
on
that
Need,
there
would
be
no
purpose
to
invoke
Fact
or
Reason.
As
such,
Fact
and
Reason,
can
almost
seem
to
be
given
the
same
weighting
so
that,
despite
a
vast
difference
in
definition,
they
almost
seem
interchangeable,
but
they
are
not.
With
all
certainty
however,
they
are
mutually
dependent.
Without
Reason,
sound
judgments
are
not
made.
Reason
is
educated
by
Fact.
It
should
be
noted
though,
that
Reason
is
not
informed
by
Fact
alone.
As
mankind
is
constantly
and
inherently
embroiled
in
its
own
Nature/
Nurture
debate,
Reason
is
also
necessarily
affected
by
an
individuals
conditioning.
So
much
so
that
at
times
it
is
possible
for
the
greater
part
of
reasoning
to
be
projected
through
a
flawed
or
imperfect
lens.
This
has
the
danger
of
warping
Fact
and
leading
an
individual
to
a
false
viIdeal.
But,
it
also
has
the
benefit
of
making
the
Ideal
an
ambition
to
reach
for
impossible
and
improbable,
sometimes,
but
it
keeps
one
striving
and
leaves
room
for
tender,
human
improvement,
where
an
obtainable
Ideal
would
not.
Though
the
human
lens
does
warp
Reason
necessarily,
the
steadfast
rule
that
Reason
must
be
based
on
Fact
is
still
necessary.
Without
substantiated
Facts
we
have
no
opportunity
to
exercise
any
kind
of
Reason
to
shape
the
Ideal,
hence
no
peg
upon
which
to
hang
our
Beliefs.
The
greater
the
number
of
Facts,
the
greater
the
opportunity
to
invest
Belief,
and
from
it,
Optimism
springs
to
life,
repeating
the
process
and
fueling
further
and
greater
Optimism.
Therefore
any
endeavors
pendulum
apex
should
be
considered
to
be
Optimism.
EXAMPLE:
Facts:
I
want
to
work
in
Health
Care.
I
have
no
credentials
in
Health
Care
so
I
need
to
go
back
to
school.
I
cant
afford
Collage.
Reason:
I
can
volunteer,
and
there
are
some
courses
I
can
take
so
that
I
can
get
in
at
an
entry-level
position,
where
the
pay
is
much
better
than
I
make
now.
Belief:
I
believe
I
can
work
in
Health
Care.
Optimism:
Im
taking
the
right
steps
to
get
the
career
I
want,
and
can
start
applying
to
jobs
soon.
I
can
even
tuck
away
some
money
to
take
more
courses
to
better
myself
more
quickly
at
a
later
date.
When
Voltaire
supposedly
illuminates
Optimism
as
lazy,
nave,
backwards
thinking,
he
inadvertently
shows
his
true
hand,
which
is
not
that
he
is
a
viipessimist,
as
some
suggest,
but
that
he
has
little
faith
in
viiiHumanism.
Facts
are
Facts
and
their
only
danger
lies
in
their
interpretation,
which
begs
the
question
of
mankinds
inherent
good
nature.
Facts
are
ever
present,
and
Belief,
on
the
way
to
Optimism,
comes
naturally,
as
long
as
the
Reason
that
is
exerted
upon
them
is
right
and
true,
but
to
doubt
Reason
is
to
doubt
mankinds
ability
to
rationalize,
which
speaks
to
humanities
core
values
and
intelligence
in
general.
Without
Reason
and
rationality
the
wheels
of
Pragmatic
Optimism
stop
turning
cold.
Likewise,
Voltaires
work
attempts
to
dispel
Leibnizs
theory
that:
This
is
the
best
of
all
possible
worlds,
bats
at
beliefs
in
ixSpirituality
and
xFatalism.
Conversely,
Leibnizs
school
of
thought,
is
deliciously
inclusive,
and
allows
for
the
fallibility
and
conditioning
of
the
human
spirit,
the
growth
of
Spirituality
and
even
the
security
in
a
nod
to
the
possibility
of
Omnipotent
or
temporal
guidance
that
Fatalism
requires.
In
this
way
Leibnizs
Optimism
is
also
superior
to
Pragmatic
Optimism,
which
this
author
purported
as
a
remedy
to
Voltaires
uncultivated
garden
quagmire.
Pragmatic
Optimism
is
useful
only
as
a
model,
to
explain
the
route
towards
a
more
pure
Optimism.
Without
supporting
Humanism,
Spirituality
or
Fatalism,
there
is
a
marked
disparity
that
cant
be
reconciled
without
a
new
revelation.
Could
it
be
possible
that
Voltaire
was
offering
pessimism
as
a
preventative
cure
to
Optimism
for
the
masses,
because
he
thought
them
too
base
as
to
be
rational
enough
to
manage
the
tenets
of
pure
Optimism?
Certainly
he
cites
war,
barbarism
and
idiotic
reasoning,
such
as
the
example
of
the
nose
and
the
spectacles,
as
examples
of
Optimistic
thinking,
but
going
no
further
than
that,
only
serves
to
mock
faults
of
humanity
which
we
have
seen
are
necessary
and
inherent.
This
simplistic
view
cannot
have
been
lost
on
Voltaire.
Hence
he
must
have
believed
that
there
was
something
so
delicate
about
Optimism
that
it
must
be
protected
from
the
unwashed
masses.
In
this
way,
Voltaires
work,
Candide,
purposely
served
to
mock
and
hence
divert
attention
and
validity
from
Optimism
as
a
valid
school
of
thought.
GLOSERY
OF
TERMS
i
Trust,
faith,
or
confidence
in
someone
or
something.
ii
The
doctrine,
especially
as
set
forth
by
Leibniz,
that
this
world
is
the
best
of
all
possible
worlds.
iii
A
thing
that
is
indisputably
the
case.
iv
Think,
understand,
and
form
judgments
by
a
process
of
logic.
v
Circumstances
in
which
something
is
necessary,
or
that
require
some
course
of
action;
necessity.
vi
Satisfying
one's
conception
of
what
is
perfect;
most
suitable.
vii
An
individual
with
the
belief
or
tendency
to
see
the
worst
aspect
of
things
or
believe
that
the
worst
will
happen;
a
lack
of
hope
or
confidence
in
the
future.
viii
An
outlook
or
system
of
thought
attaching
prime
importance
to
human
rather
than
divine
or
supernatural
matters.
Humanist
beliefs
stress
the
potential
value
and
goodness
of
human
beings,
emphasize
common
human
needs,
and
seek
solely
rational
ways
of
solving
human
problems.
ix
A
process
of
personal
transformation,
either
in
accordance
with
traditional
religious
ideals,
or,
increasingly,
oriented
on
subjective
experience
and
psychological
growth
independently
of
any
specific
religious
context.
x
The
belief
that
all
events
are
predetermined
and
therefore
inevitable.
Published:
Thursday
February,
5th,
2014