The philosophy of Despair

David Starr Jordan's essay, "The Philosophy of Despair," serves as a strong counter-argument to philosophical pessimism, the sentiment of which he notes is often beautifully expressed in poetry like Omar Khayyám's Rubaiyat. While conceding that science is "dumb" regarding ultimate cosmic riddles, Jordan asserts that it offers a definitive solution to despair concerning human conduct and experience. He analyzes the sources of pessimism, ranging from the intellectual's paralysis due to knowledge unapplied, to the discouragement of social problems like war, and physical causes such as drug use or poor health. The core of his argument, rooted in the philosophy of Evolution, is that the reality of life is action and love, not pain, and that suffering is merely incidental to the greater capacity for action and joy. Jordan urges the reader to embrace the present moment (today) as the most important time, live a "strenuous life," and view optimism as the "open-eyed faith that force exerted is never lost". He concludes by emphasizing that wisdom is knowing what to do next, and virtue is doing it, stating that we must play our part in leaving the world a little better through human helpfulness