“Critics have often mistaken a depiction of the world for a choice about our future, as if philosophers had rejoiced at the decline or decay that they described. But this is like deriding scientists who warn of global warming because their models give apocalyptic predictions. . . . this assumption says more about the critics than about their targets. Who is it, exactly, that cannot bear a story unless guaranteed a happy ending?”
—Joshua Foa Dienstag, Pessimism: Philosophy, Ethic, Spirit
Why are we afraid to make our clients sad? (It’s because we are also afraid to be sad ourselves.)