When being Optimistic is admirable, What is the precise X that is the root of its being admirable?
Beginning pair of stories:
Story #1: Ed is an optimist, partly motivated by his hope that, all in all, things will be okay. He has been applying for jobs that would pay decently and which he thinks would satisfy his desire to help less fortunate folks in his community. He is hopeful that he'll find such a job soon, but so far he hasn't. He is realistic that his job search could take a while, but for now he's not taking rejections personally. He also knows that no job could be expected to be perfect. Ed is optimistic that he'll be successful in finding a good job partly because he is appropriately skilled and partly because he's putting forth a persistent job -hunting effort.
Story #2: Jasper is a professional politician. He is running for political office as the Republican candidate in a district that so automatically votes Democratic that he is practically assured of losing. But for the effort of presenting the Party's platform to the district's voters, Jasper will be rewarded by the Republican Governor with a plum political job after the election even if he loses.
Reflections on stories: Even though both Ed and Jasper have confidence that their efforts will be rewarded, Jasper's confidence stems from the knowledge that his next job is assured, no matter how the election turns out. He's in a no-lose situation. Jasper can easily project that care-free image that we often associate with optimism. In fact, Jasper is free of the concerns facing Ed. Ed's optimism must be generated from within himself and is a trust that he can improve his future he so chooses. Ed's optimism also stands in the face of risking failure at least a number of times before success. Jasper's optimism, then, differs from Ed's in at least a couple of significant ways. First, Jasper isn't really risking anything, not even his time. Secondly, Jasper's success is being assured by an outside agent - the Party- while Ed's fortune depends to a much greater extent upon his own efforts. I think it can be fairly said that the more self-reliant, riskier nature of Ed's optimism is more admirable considering the importance that taking risks has in supporting human progress.
Clarifying Refinement #1: the largely, self-motivated willingness to continue working towards a goal in spite of the risk of failure. Let's look at some other stories to try to see more clearly the qualities that would make any optimism more admirable.
[This student now takes this clarifying refinement #1 as the W to be critically examined and clarified]
Counterexample to refinement # 1: Mary is a wonderful, kind-hearted woman who lives with the constant psychotic delusions that she will be elected President at the next national election. She spends all day downtown shaking hands and passing out pamphlets that describe her hopes and dreams.
Reflection on this counterexample: Even though Mary knows that she has to make an effort to talk with people if she's to have any chance at being successful, she not really in touch with reality.
Clarifying refinement #2, a revision of refinement #1: Optimism, then, should be connected to a goal that is possible and realistic with reasonable effort.
[This student now takes this clarifying refinement #2 as the W to be critically examined and clarified]
Counterexample to refinement # 2: Sam is optimistic that he will win the Megabucks lottery soon and so is quite happy to be waiting for that and watching daytime TV. Reflection: We see again that optimism is more admirable when it is reasonably connected to reality; further, even if Sam were to win, the event seems so unusual, so unearned, and so unexpected that Sam's optimism seems far from admirable. Another refining story: Sam gives up the lottery and decides to begin robbing banks. He is sometimes successful and sometimes not. But he goes into every robbery thinking that success is likely if his plan is good and his efforts are focused. He probably does have a better chance of making money by robbing banks than by playing Megabucks, and he is indeed taking a risk like our optimist Ed, but is this optimism what we would call admirable?
Clarifying refinement #3, a revision of refinement #2: the largely, self-motivated willingness to continue working towards a realistic, constructive goal in spite of the risk of failure.
W = "realistic"
Counterexample: Zack has grown into middle age still holding onto those ideals of social justice and equality he grew to cherish in his youth. He is optimistic that those promises will be achieved, some of them quickly, some of them more slowly. His entire life has been devoted to social activism, even though it has meant being disinherited by family and ostracized by much of society. Zack has held onto his beliefs. He has committed his life and actions to them.
Reflection: Zack stretches us to the edge of what we would call "realistic optimism" so long as we use tangible, fully achievable goals as our guidelines for being considered realistic. Perhaps we want to think in terms of what is "practical" and achievable in a certain length of time. Or perhaps not. (And do we limit ourselves to what is possible within one lifetime? Or the lifetime of a single species? Or...) Certainly the notion of "realistic" has opened up. Can we say that Sam the lottery player is completely unrealistic if we consider that his goal is to have a large sum of money at some time or other in his life, and he is incapable of saving money gradually? Perhaps he'll live to be a hundred and twenty. Or perhaps we're getting off track. Maybe being realistic plays less a part in determining whether optimism should be seen as admirable. We did, after all, call Mary the Psychotic good-hearted even if doomed to failure.
Clarifying refinement: The essence that is at the root of admirable optimism has less to do with whether something is realistically possible than with whether that possibility is something admirable. In Zack's story - especially contrasted with Sam or Jasper - selflessness and sacrifice contribute to the kind of admirable optimism we're looking for.
Our stories have pointed towards some notions about the qualities of admirable optimism. Perhaps it would help to look at some words that we would associate with good optimism to try to see the relationships more clearly.
The List: Productive Creative Inspired Stirred Aroused Elated Encouraged Empowered Hopeful Positive Expectant Enthusiastic Vital Better Spirit Forward Possibilities Risk Growing Sharing Communal Upbeat Joy
Some of these words seem connected to optimism as being good and helpful but perhaps not critical. A person could be expectant, productive, aroused, and have power without necessarily being optimistic. She might have power and be productive while still not feeling she can achieve what she really wants. She might even be moving forward, but it could be happening against her wishes or consent. There could be a sense of resignation because of it seeming like there aren't really any choices, like she is only acting out someone else's wishes. Certainly optimism is an idea that ought to include enthusiasm on the part of the optimist. In the same way, arousal, growing, risk, and even creative could describe activities requiring less than complete emotional commitment. Creation's goal can be something that is only the least undesirable possibility. Forward doesn't have to be better, even if it is more often than not. But it is probably fair to say that possibilities offers more freedom of choice.
What comes closer to what I ordinarily think of when thinking of optimism are the words connected to a hopeful attitude: positive, inspired, encouraged, upbeat, and enthusiastic. These words come closer to describing how optimism is the opposite of pessimism. It speaks to the outlook of person who will be less likely sidetracked from a goal by a single obstacle, someone who will have enough energy and momentum to continue on past a single setback. In fact, with the words enthusiasm and inspired we move even closer to a more admirable type of optimism. Enthusiasm, it was once pointed out to me, is a word etymologically derived from the Greek roots of "playing as if with the gods." And with inspired bringing us closer to spirit, optimism takes on a new quality. Let's stop for a moment to see if we've refined our idea of the precise X that is the root of optimism's Goodness.
A refined theory of the essence: the "self-inspired enthusiasm that encourages us in the face of obstacles and setbacks." The word "willingness" we used before could could be motivation based on the carrot as much as the stick. "Enthusiasm" is an improvement. Further, I think that "encourages us" speaks to a state of mind that would be optimistic more than the phrase "continue working toward a goal." And while "...in spite of the risk of failure" seems connected to a one-time event that finally concludes with either success or failure. I'd rather think of optimism as being more admirable when it is an ongoing approach to all life's events, knowing that life is by its very nature an unending process of giving and getting.
Some of the words gathered earlier for our list might now suggest a further improvement upon our concept of admirable optimism. Until now we might well have been speaking of the optimism of an individual. In fact, we even spoke of "self- motivation" at one step in the refinement of our theory of the X. Now we can consider whether optimism would be of a higher quality if it is connected to something greater than individual "self." Enthusiasm, spirit, and vital hope suggest a "Greater Self." A hope that provides for a communal sharing of joy and possibilities brings us to the real strength of optimism. Short term, individual considerations take second place to the needs of the whole. And purpose that's designed around individuals - even individual generations - gives way to perspective that can accommodate rules and sacrifice. Optimism at it's best is creative, productive, and powerful. It is that way because of its nature of encouraging us to be the best possible human beings, each of us a part of a Greater Self.
Let me move toward one more refinement in this theory of the precise essence that is the root of its Goodness when being optimistic is Good: "the Greater Self-inspired enthusiasm that encourages us in the face of all life."