Do you find optimistic people to also be naive?

[Still-alive]

I like to call myself 'cautiously optimistic' where im hopeful about the future and see great things still but prepared jic things do go bad. and will deal with those circumstances accordingly.

Generally yes

Generally no I don’t. It depends

I have different thoughts about optimists (say yours)

[nightdrot]

Put me down as a "yes." As J. Robert Oppenheimer once said, "The optimist believes we are living in the best of all possible worlds - and the pessimist fears that he is right."

That is not cause for despair, however. Rather, it is a call to recognize the limits of human ambition and ability. To recognize such limits is to prevent the danger of overreach and promethean pretensions.

The optimist is prone to assume that his plans and strategies will succeed. He therefore often draws overly ambitious goals and makes too little alternative planning should things go wrong.

In the world of politics - the world in which I work - this was seen in the crumbling of the "Great Society" agenda. The underlying premise of that agenda was that man had it within his power to shape society by a predetermined course. (Indeed, at a darker level, this was also an underlying premise of Socialism.)

The economy could be managed, society shaped and therefore individual character be formed in a predetermined and presumably virtuous direction. "If ye eat of the Fruit of the Tree, ye shall be as gods." ... with the power to perfect man and society.

Of course, all sorts of ill fated consequences came from that philosophy. The economic calamities of the 1970s, rising crime rates, a tendency - always there but more pronounced - to political extremism as was seen in the riots and other turmoils of the 60s and 70s.

Pessimism is a guard against overweening ambition. It recognizes the limits of human nature and man's knowledge. In so doing, it is a protection against the belief "that we shall be as gods."

It is also a recognition - at the individual level - of life's limits. There are not always happy endings and therefore the individual can be happy. "Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he is never disappointed." The paradox being that, in recognizing the limits of life, man has a greater capacity to be happy.

[Julie4]

"The optimist and the pessimist both contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane while the pessimist invents the parachute". 😅

[nightdrot]

@Julie4 Good One!!!

[Soteris]

Perhaps, but I think people who are pessimistic is also naive since having a positive and optimistic outlook can be the difference between accomplishing a task or not. As such, even though they are arguably naive I would still say that optimistic people are generally more successful which makes everyone else naive for not being more optimistic themselves for fear of negative consequences.

[menina]

I would say it depends. If they're extremely optimistic, then they can be naïve. Otherwise, I see it as a good thing.

[mandyfire98]

I'm like you, I'm normally optimistic to a point. But I do recognize that life can toss you obstacles in your way.

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

Generally, I don't think so.

[bededazzle]

as a depressive, i always think of it is this:

they say there is a black veil over my face

yet i say the veil has been lifted, and now i can see the true world

but my life is also pretty sad lol