A Form Of Optimism
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The Optimism Bias
Psychologists have long been aware that most people maintain an irrationally positive outlook on life—but why? Turns out, we might be hardwired that way. In this absorbing exploration, Tali Sharot—one of the most innovative neuroscientists at work today—demonstrates that optimism may be crucial to human existence. The Optimism Bias explores how the brain generates hope and what happens when it fails; how the brains of optimists and pessimists differ; why we are terrible at predicting what will make us happy; how emotions strengthen our ability to recollect; how anticipation and dread affect us; how our optimistic illusions affect our financial, professional, and emotional decisions; and more. Drawing on cutting-edge science, The Optimism Bias provides us with startling new insight into the workings of the brain and the major role that optimism plays in determining how we live our lives.
Cultures of Optimism
What are the functions of optimism in modern societies? How is hope culturally transmitted? What values and attitudes does it reflect? This book explores how and why powerful institutions propagate 'cultures of optimism' in different domains, such as politics, work, the family, religion and psychotherapy.
Optimism and the Best Possible World
This volume presents original essays on the ideas of philosophical optimism and the best possible world. It highlights the historical and philosophical nuances of an idea that remains under-treated within the literature despite its long and influential history. Optimism—broadly, the thesis that God does the best, or that this is the best possible world—is often associated with the philosophy of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. However, there exists a rich tradition of philosophical optimism not only after Leibniz but before him as well. The chapters in this volume address the philosophical nuances of optimism within the ancient, medieval, enlightenment, modern, and contemporary eras. They cover a variety of thinkers ranging from Plato, Aquinas, Rousseau, Voltaire, Jonathan Edwards, the new optimists of 19th-century France, and the non-theistic optimists of the 20th century. Optimism and the Best Possible World will be of interest to scholars and advanced students working in philosophy of religion, history of philosophy, religious history, and intellectual history.