A cynical optimist rejects the position that 'realism' is the only alternative to the extremes of pessimism and optimism. Instead, cynical optimism emphasizes that a reality can be sustained through a blending of the extremes. Indeed, cynical optimists would argue that the blending best describes the "reality" that "realists" have thus far failed to suitably articulate.
A: So, from a cynical optimists point of view - what IS the meaning of life?
B: We're all going to die. And many of us will die slowly and painfully. Then again, we're probably not going to die today. More importantly, MOST of our days, we're going to live; and only on one of them will we die. That's ... not such a bad deal. And, even if WERE a bad deal, it's the only deal in town. So, I'd make the most of the mundane while you still can.
A: How does that significantly differentiate you from existentialists?
B: Dude! Because I'm submitting to Urban Dictionary, not Cambridge University Press.
B: We're all going to die. And many of us will die slowly and painfully. Then again, we're probably not going to die today. More importantly, MOST of our days, we're going to live; and only on one of them will we die. That's ... not such a bad deal. And, even if WERE a bad deal, it's the only deal in town. So, I'd make the most of the mundane while you still can.
A: How does that significantly differentiate you from existentialists?
B: Dude! Because I'm submitting to Urban Dictionary, not Cambridge University Press.
by AKA GG March 28, 2022
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