9 
DECEMBER (4th, 1887. 
PHSSIMIS™M. 
Mr. J. E. HASELWOOD. 
In the course of some prefatory remarks, Mr. Haselwood 
_ intimated that the work to which he had been mainly indebted 
for the substance of his paper was James Sully’s “ Pessimism.” 
The words “ pessimism,” and ‘‘ optimism ” have passed 
as common places into our ordinary language. The founder of 
philosophic Pessimism was Arthur Schopenhauer who was born 
at Dantzig in 1788. 
WILL is at the bottom of his philosophy. In his own words 
“‘ All willing arises from desire, that is from want, that is 
from suffering. Satisfaction makes an end of this : but 
nevertheless for every wish that is gratified there re- 
main at least ten unfulfilled. Lasting, unfailing satisfaction, 
no desired object of the will can afford.” No rest or 
happiness is possible therefore to man while thus for ever striv- 
ing to reach a goal which it is impossible he ever can attain. But 
_ Schopenhauer gives to WILL a wider meaning than is found in 
_ the common acceptation of the word. He identifies it with all 
_ those forces of nature which are for ever working to maintain or 
_ produce all things that exist. These blind forces of nature, as 
we term them, in all their manifold activity, are guided by a 
definite purpose—and this also is will. 
¥ In man this great force of Nature in all its varied manifes- 
a ‘tations becomes self-conscious. 
Von Hartmann differed from Schopenhauer in thus making 
_ the Will the primary principle. To Will he joins Intelligence or 
Each successive step in the evolution of living beings is a 
vi tory of Intelligence over Blind Will or Force. In man, as 
th being in which evolution culminates, we have the final 
emancipation of the Reason from its bondage to the Will. That 
