Pragmatic

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