Philosophical Pessimism

Existence is a problem to be endured, not a gift to be celebrated.

Schopenhauer's conclusion from his metaphysics: life is suffering because desire is endless and satisfaction temporary. Optimism is, in his words, "a wicked way of thinking." The position is bracing, often funny, and has been formative for thinkers as different as Nietzsche (who agreed about suffering but disagreed about the response) and Freud.