Response: Inverted Viewpoints

In response to Corey Sloane's post "Where Are You From?" (March 22, 2012):

The idea that people in situations of poverty or other unpleasantness sometimes have more optimistic views on humanity is, I think, quite accurate.  Furthermore, I think that the opposite can often be true of rich or otherwise prosperous people.  Perhaps this is because people in bad situations tend to either maintain an optimistic attitude, or give in to their circumstances and either numb their emotions with alcohol, drugs, or other addictions, or kill themselves.  The number of people in bad situations who have a pessimistic outlook, yet persevere in spite of it, seems likely to be relatively small.  In contrast, people who are well-off do not need such faith in their fellow humans.  Of course, prosperous people can still take pessimism to the point where they give up, and perhaps that is why a surprising number of rich people are alcoholic or addicted to drugs.

Schopenhauer and Melville, as literary and philosophical men from relatively prosperous families, fell closer to the latter type of person.  While of course being rich or prosperous is hardly a foolproof indicator of pessimism, it seems possible that Schopenhauer's and Melville's backgrounds could have contributed to their rather negative views of humanity.