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Agathism: Beyond Optimism and Positive Thinking

What is agathism?

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it's "The doctrine that all things tend towards ultimate good, as distinguished from optimism, which holds that all things are now for the best."

Here's a quote from Charles Harrington Elster's There's A Word For It!: "The agathist is like an optimist, but more rational and profound. Like the inane 'happy face' we see everywhere today, the optimist sports an unflappable smile and blithely believes things will work out or that good will triumph over evil. The agathist, on the other hand, accepts evil and misfortune but believes it is the ultimate nature of things to tend toward the good and improve."

Finally, here's a quote from David Grambs' Dimboxes, Epopts, and Other Quidams: agathist. The meliorist, or forward-looker who believes that the world and things in general are heading for the better. Thus in things that most people regard as evil or tragic, such as virulent diseases, calamitous earthquakes, or wars, the agathist can find some ultimate purpose. The optimist (in the word's purest sense) sees the present as pretty much for the best; the agathist, less content with the present, nonetheless thinks things are inevitably tending towards good--'though perhaps not,' as one dictionary explains, 'along the best road.'"

What's At This Site: Stories from people who have experienced agathism in their lives - click here News articles that show agathism exists - it's there if you look - click here Thoughts on the terrorist attack on 9/11/01 - click here A request for you to share your story with the world - click here Info about Brian Jones, who created this site - click here Have Brian come to speak to your group about agathism - click here

Why Did I Create This Site?

Well, we'll have to have a philosophical discussion about that. The short answer is I got tired of watching the news and hearing mostly mayhem, death, and destruction. The long answer involves my psychology studies and taking statistics, of all things. Finally, I first heard the word agathism early in 2001, when it came to me in one of the word-a-day e-mails I subscribe to. As soon as I read it, I said, "That's what I believe!" Yes, bad things happen. Sometimes bad stuff happens to good people and there's no reason why. Still, I believe things are improving and decided to create a web site for those who see things similarly.

This site is also a allergic reaction to my psychology studies. For those who are unfamiliar with how psychology is taught in America, it's based on a medical model, which means we look for and treat disorders. Little effort is spent on how to improve life for the vast majority of people who are not afflicted with a terrible disorder. Nor does the medical model take into account that life is hard for everyone at times. There's plenty of research on depression but almost none on joy. Why not? I suppose one answer is people get paid to solve problems, and few people would consider increasing joy to be a problem.

There is a movement in American psychology called "positive psychology" that aims to increase the quality of life for the majority of regular Joes and Janes who are not clinically disturbed. Martin P. Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania is probably the best known proponent of positive psychology. See, things are getting better!

I am tired of doomsayers and pessimists saying the sky is falling. Here's an example: Told that Airbus is building a plane that will hold 800 people, a person I know immediately replied, "Boy, a lot of people are going to die when one of those planes crashes." Every year, over 60 million passengers safely pass through Los Angeles International airport alone. In 1997, over 42,000 Americans died in car crashes, about 115 a day. I never understood why folks could be so afraid of flying, which is very safe, yet drink a few beers, then drive a car, which is quite dangerous.

If you read and watch the news too much, you might come to the conclusion that the world is in a terrible state. Not true, in my view. I've given a fair number of speeches at local service clubs. What struck me at those meetings was how active the membership is in improving the lot of their fellow humans. There are many people working on a wide variety of projects, yet they seem to be invisible. Apparently it's not big news when the Lions Club collects old eyeglasses to give to the less fortunate. There are more people working on solutions than you might think.

In psychology, there's a phenomenon known as "confirmation bias," which basically means you find what you're looking for. If you think crime is going up, you will be able to find facts to support your view. The odd thing is the opposite is also true: you can find facts that show crime is going down. It comes down to a choice about what you want to believe. For example, if you believe your spouse is the greatest person on the planet, you will notice things about him or her that confirm your bias. That kind of attitude is a great advantage in a relationship. It's like the "catch them doing things right" school of management. The flip side is thinking your spouse is doing things just to make you mad, or your staff is a bunch of idiots. You'll see the things that "prove" you're right. Notice it's the same people, the same events. Our interpretation of those events is what makes them good or bad for us.

What's wrong with optimism? Well, here's the Oxford English Dictionary definition of optimism: "A name given to the doctrine propounded by Leibnitz, in his Théodicée (1710), that the actual world is the 'best of all possible worlds,' being chosen by the Creator out of all the possible worlds which were present in his thoughts as that in which the most good could be obtained at the cost of the least evil." Webster's has another, "a doctrine or opinion that reality is essentially good, completely good, or as good as it conceivably could be." Somehow those definitions appeal less to me than the ones for agathism. I suspect more people would declare themselves agathists if the word were better known.

Thoughts on the 9/11/01 Attacks

The World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks are certainly a case for agathism. When I first saw the pictures, one of the initial thoughts that went through my mind was, "They'll rebuild the towers."

You likely know Newton's Law of Motion: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In this case, I believe Newton was incorrect. Such evil creates a response of good 100 times that of evil. So many people are helping. The good will triumph.

Cardinal Egan of NYC spoke on TV about how inspired he was by all the people he saw helping and their generosity. He'd never seen anything like it in his life. The reporters told of a couple of young people from Arkansas who drove non-stop to NYC to give flowers to the victims' families. What compels people to travel such distances to comfort strangers? There was a story about a volunteer waiting on the sidewalk by the Javitts Center. Told on Saturday there was no need of volunteers until Tuesday, she replied, "I don't care. I'm going to wait here until they can use me." Why would someone wait on the sidewalk for 3 days to help strangers? I watched a report about a couple who thought it was wrong that any volunteers were sleeping on the sidewalk, so they organized other volunteers to take them into their homes. Perfect strangers opening their homes to help those who were helping. The TV announcers mentioned the rescuers needed socks and underwear. People immediately went out to buy clothes and bring them to the center. A short time later, they asked people not to bring any more - they had too much. I saw a young boy in the Midwest who was collecting work gloves for the rescuers because of their bloody hands. There are so many of these stories. While they won't bring back the dead, they will create a better world for the living.

Here's an e-mail excerpt from an American I know who lives in Nova Scotia:

We have been busy here helping with the stranded plane passengers. There were 44 planes forced to land in Halifax, so there were thousands of people who needed someplace to stay. There were 7 facilities that housed them all. The one closest to us had 1,300 people. It is amazing to see how orderly and organized something like that is. I have no idea where they got all the bedding. Volunteers were pouring out of the woodwork to help in any way possible. At first we were being asked to house people, but they wanted to stay together, and they felt they were being looked after very well. I brought our dog Brogan out there Wednesday afternoon as a therapy dog, and the passengers just loved him. I talked with so many people from all over. We took two couples from North Carolina out for a beer and dessert Wednesday evening, out to Peggy's Cove Thursday morning, and then for a barbecue at Wayne's brother's house in the evening.

Once again, we have strangers reaching out to help others in need.

Whatever the terrorists wanted to accomplish with their attacks, the rule of unintended consequences tripped them up. There has been a great and opposite response to their crime. People are bonding together, supporting one another, and treating strangers with greater kindness. So much love and goodness have come bursting out. It's as if the terrorists had destroyed a dam. Instead of water, altruism, good will, love, compassion, patriotism, money, and support have come rushing out. People take less for granted. They hug their loved ones more frequently and with greater passion.

During one of his many press conferences, Mayor Giuliani was asked how the attack had affected his faith. "It's made it much stronger," was his reply, without hesitation. How could that be, based on what happened? Instead of doubting his beliefs, the opposite took place. Could it be that he sees the good in people more clearly than before? Certainly the public's opinion of the Mayor has changed for the better.

Likewise, I believe the grim talk about the economy is off the mark. Certain industries will have short-term difficulties, no doubt. Others, such as cell phone and flag manufacturing companies, will see near-term gains. Overall, it's likely the cycle of economic ups and downs will continue forever.

Bottom line: Despite the gruesome crime, the good far outweighs the evil. I have to leave now. It's time to hug my wife again.

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