Abstract

This dissertation examines the optimism of Leibniz, the pessimism of Schopenhauer, and the meliorism of James. I argue that on pragmatic grounds, one should adopt the position which is most suited to one's situation , and thus I make a case for the position which I call "flexible meliorism." Flexible meliorism advises one to move freely among optimism, pessimism, meliorism, and pejorism, and is arguably the position most suited to pragmatism. On pragmatic grounds, which position one takes should depend on the context and what one's purposes are, and one should not say, as is often done, that one position or the other is always the correct stance. Psychological research and sound judgement converge on the view that all of these positions have a role to play in a well-ordered life