Passing over the Italian Leopardi we may notice two leading modern pessimists, Schopenhauer and von Hartmann.
Pessimists can learn to be more optimistic by distracting themselves from negative thoughts and looking for the humor in life.
The Epicureans, on the other hand, were empirical pessimists.
He opposed throughout the war a firm front both to pacifists and to pessimists.
First, in the magnitude of what it claims, and second, in the degree to which it differs from what pessimists predict.