Optimism has always been the regnant
DOCTRINE in european philosophy. Pessimism was only recently
introduced by Schopenhauer and counts few systematic defenders as
yet. Meliorism treats salvation as neither inevitable nor
impossible. It treats it as a possibility, which becomes more and
more of a probability the more numerous the actual conditions of
salvation become.
It is clear that pragmatism must incline towards meliorism. Some
conditions of the world's salvation are actually extant, and she
cannot possibly close her eyes to this fact: and should the residual
conditions come, salvation would become an accomplished reality.
Naturally the terms I use here are exceedingly summary. You may
interpret the word 'salvation' in any way you like, and make it as
diffuse and distributive, or as climacteric and integral a
phenomenon as you please.
Take, for example, any one of us in this room with the ideals which
he cherishes, and is willing to live and work for. Every such ideal
realized will be one moment in the world's salvation. But these
particular ideals are not bare abstract possibilities. They are
grounded, they are LIVE possibilities, for we are their live
champions and pledges, and if the complementary conditions come and
add themselves, our ideals will become actual things.
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