2007-08-09 05:59:29 · 9 answers · asked by kit walker 6 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
Reality in and of itself is a blank slate. It is impressionable and your interactions with it determine how it fits itself around you. I believe true despair is the result of the full realization that you and you alone are in control of you. People have a tendency to say things like 'She made me do this', or 'the weather forced me to stop'. Anything outside yourself is an influence, it has no control. But when people say this it is more than simply a vocabulary flaw, or some kind of ill conveyed expression of something they've known and/or accepted already, but it is actually a deep seated belief that other things control them. This brief shining instance of clarity is irrefutable if you attain it, and therefore just as quickly, (more often than not) forgotten. Who wants to constantly acknowledge that they are in control of things in their life yet they have allowed others to have such powerful influence upon them? We often times subjugate ourselves to an improper authority b/c of this crucial flaw in our thinking. This is a concept we dismiss all too often, whether the consequences of this illusion of outside controllers wields good or bad consequences is completely disregarded. It's the narcissist in all of us. Once such a huge part of our being is shut down, why wouldn't that be detrimental to our ego? Optimism is an inward force that we may choose to radiate. So is pessimism. Reality without optimism is reality. Your portion of reality without optimism ultimately amounts to the influence you have on your environment, and this is what you make of the world.
2007-08-09 06:38:10 · answer #1 · answered by Rick R 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Reality without optimism? Reality just is. It's not optimistic. I think you mean "What is despair,if not a complete realisation of the hopelessness of your life and what is your life without optimism?
There are people out there that have ruined their lives...people that won't fight to improve their lives. They have given up and there must be some level of realization that they have thrown away the most precious think in the world...their life. They have no optimism.
My husband just got back from India, where people live on the streets, starving, no hope of anything better. They have no optimism.
So, living your life without optimism results in despair.
2007-08-09 13:11:29 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Fantasy Island??
But seriously, in todays world, despair seems to be much more prevalent that at anytime in recent memory. With terrorism, war and the slow breakdown of society, the fact that many people are overcome with futility really doesn't surprise me in the least.
Realism, dispositional optimism along with situational optimism all exist cohesively, and cannot exist without a degree of pessimism.
Here's a famous quote by famous American author, teacher and pastor, 'William Arthur Ward' :
"The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails".
This is SO true!
2007-08-09 14:38:55 · answer #3 · answered by ramboweasle 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Despair is To be hopeless; to have no hope; to give up all hope or expectation; --
It is not realization at all as realizations referes to knowledge gained from personal experience, as opposed to book knowledge.
However Optimism is an outlook on life such that one maintains a view of the world as a positive place
Which defies your question..... And I say
DISAGREE
2007-08-09 13:09:57 · answer #4 · answered by mscute1lori 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Free will I am given,
Free will I will use,
My soul belongs to me,
And for my soul I'll choose,
Some live with daily Horror,
Some monsters live for Pain,
In turn, they make more monsters,
It's hard to break the chain,
Who said that Life was Fair?,
Some live to make Life better,
We all do what we can,
Some can write a letter,
I CHOOSE what I desire,
I choose what makes me glad,
How I spend my time,
Whether wise or mad,
My life a thermostat,
I'll set it where I will,
When I find the end,
I guess I'll get the bill...
2007-08-09 13:28:43 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Despair (Fortvivlelse) is to let one's life depend on conditions outside one's control ---Soren Kierkagaard
2007-08-09 13:10:14 · answer #6 · answered by QuiteNewHere 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
false assumption i think. reality exists - with or without optimism.
2007-08-09 13:11:12 · answer #7 · answered by sc29492 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
despair is the product of an undisciplined mined to problem which it cannot readily solve
2007-08-09 13:08:33 · answer #8 · answered by mary c 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
whether u are optimist or pesimist...you cant change reality...reality is independent of thought. Hoplesness is something we put on ourselves when we think we cant do something...and when we cant.
2007-08-09 13:11:05 · answer #9 · answered by CuriousG 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋