Are You an Optimist or a Pessimist? Confucius Says Yes
We often seek to define ourselves and understand our place in the world through the lens of certain worldviews and to make those worldviews our identities, such as optimist, pessimist, or realist. But just as we categorize ourselves, we categorize others and all the other parts of our world. Likewise, the world, its people, and its institutions categorize us.
Capitalism invents cottage industries to help us find ourselves while collecting our data. We take quizzes to tell us who we are and what we think because our senses tell us we are messy and complicated, yet we somehow have it in our heads that we are simple and neat. Even the data that's collected categorizes and reduces us. We are a consumer type.
But what if we perceive a complex self because we are indeed complex? What if we are complex truths rather than simple delusions? What if we are fluid rather than straightforward? What if we are like water rather than a rock?
Yet according to Confucius (551 – 479 BCE), our identities are plural and fluid. This means we have the potential to adapt and change with our evolving circumstances.
As living beings capable of change, we can also change our conditions. Rather than expending all our energy on solving ourselves, we should focus on solving structural problems in our world. After all, solving ourselves does not ensure we solve structural problems. In fact, it only reinforces the idea that we are problems to be solved.
In logic, a "false dichotomy" is where a spectrum of possible options is misrepresented as an either-or choice between two mutually exclusive things. Right or wrong. But 2+2 is not the only path to 4; there's also 5-1, 3+1, 4+0, and more. There is variability in the world, and within ourselves, with numerous interchanging and moving parts.
Although limiting ourselves to one straightforward category can temporarily relieve uncertainty and confirm our biases, it's ultimately incompatible with our complex and uncertain world.
Confucius would say:
You are not one type or label. Instead, you are a being of great potential and trajectory. What you believe yourself to be is merely a reflection of your current feelings, but you have the capacity to become something different. Your course is not fixed but rather one that can be altered as you navigate life's journey.
In any given circumstance, you must be what is necessary for the moment, and you must become who you need to be in order to change those circumstances. The world is messy and capricious, and you are no different, and that's okay.
Don't despair.
If you seek consistency, then find it in your practices. Embrace the journey of self-discovery and growth, for it is through this process that you will come to understand your potential and find meaning in life.
Whether you consider yourself an optimist, pessimist, or realist, the answer is yes. Our worldview is just one aspect of our complex and multifaceted identity, and embracing our fluidity and potential allows us to better navigate the messy and unpredictable world around us and potentially even improve it. Especially if we change, grow, and improve together.
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