Colin Feltham’s wide-ranging and thoughtful book, Depressive Realism, is writ- ten in his characteristically engaging and accessible style. This makes for an easy read on a topic that many people find difficult to contemplate. David Benatar, Head of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Cape Town, South Africa Life is to a first approximation depressing and without meaning. In his latest book, Colin Feltham takes the reader on an interdisciplinary journey through this dark worldview of ‘Depressive Realism.’ Feltham’s conversational prose is engaging and encouraging, shepherding the reader gently but confidently through a masterful tour of the reaches of Depressive Realism. Feltham patiently guides the reader through historical and current applications of Depressive Rea- lism to the realms of religion, philosophy, literature, film, psychology, psycho- therapy, politics, and science and technology. Feltham’s latest offering is the best one-stop review of this worldview and its applications and implications. Learning about the depressive meaninglessness of life has never before been so entertaining and enjoyable. Todd K. Shackleton, Distinguished Professor and Chair, Co-Director, Evolutionary Psychology Lab, Oakland University, United States of America Depressive Realism is a welcome antidote to the happiness industry. Through deep and rich investigation, Colin Feltham explores how Depressive Realism is threaded through psychology and philosophy, and in art and in science, in poetry and in politics, in history and in health. Feltham’s book will be a revela- tion for anyone interested in the redressing of this imbalance, in realising how the negative is a critical component of our existence. Jacky Bowring, Professor of Landscape Architecture, Lincoln University, New Zealand A brave and challenging examination of the human condition that refuses to take refuge in a false optimism about our prospects. Probing into areas of our experience that most of us are reluctant to acknowledge openly, Feltham boldly recasts depression as both an unavoidable, and a necessary, part of social exis- tence. A book to make you reconsider your worldview. Stuart Sim, author of A Philosophy of Pessimism Depressive Realism Depressive Realism argues that people with mild-to-moderate depression have a more accurate perception of reality than non-depressives. Depressive realism is a worldview of human existence that is essentially negative, and which challenges assumptions about the value of life and the institutions claiming to answer life’s problems. Drawing from central observations from various disciplines, this book argues that a radical honesty about human suffering might initiate wholly new ways of thinking, in everyday life and in clinical practice for mental health, as well as in academia. Divided into sections that reflect depressive realism as a worldview spanning all academic disciplines, chapters provide examples from psychology, psycho- therapy, philosophy and more to suggest ways in which depressive realism can critique each discipline and academia overall. This book challenges the tacit hegemony of contemporary positive thinking, as well as the standard assumption in cognitive behavioural therapy that depressed individuals must have cognitive distortions. It also appeals to the utility of depressive realism for its insights, its pursuit of truth, as well as its emphasis on the importance of learning from negativity and failure. Arguments against depressive realism are also explored. This book makes an important contribution to our understanding of depres- sive realism within an interdisciplinary context. It will be of key interest to academics, researchers and postgraduates in the fields of psychology, mental health, psychotherapy, history and philosophy. It will also be of great interest to psychologists, psychotherapists and counsellors. Colin Feltham is Emeritus Professor of Critical Counselling Studies at Sheffield Hallam University. He is also External Associate Professor of Humanistic Psy- chology at the University of Southern Denmark. Explorations in Mental Health series For a full list of titles in this series, please visit www.routledge.com Books in this series: Therapeutic Assessment and Intervention in Childcare Legal Proceedings Engaging families in successful rehabilitation Mike Davies Trauma, Survival and Resilience in War Zones The psychological impact of war in Sierra Leone and beyond David A. Winter, Rachel Brown, Stephanie Goins and Clare Mason Cultural Foundations and Interventions in Latino/a Mental Health History, Theory, and within Group Differences Hector Y. Adames & Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas Indigenous Cultures and Mental Health Counselling Four Directions for Integration with Counselling Psychology Edited by Suzanne L. Stewart, Roy Moodley, and Ashley Hyatt The Comprehensive Resource Model Effective therapeutic techniques for the healing of complex trauma Lisa Schwarz, Frank Corrigan, Alastair Hull and Rajiv Raju Respect-Focused Therapy Honoring Clients Through the Therapeutic Relationship and Process Susanne Slay-Westbrook Depressive Realism Interdisciplinary perspectives Colin Feltham Depressive Realism Interdisciplinary perspectives Colin Feltham First published 2017 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2017 Colin Feltham The right of Colin Feltham to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data CIP data has been applied for. ISBN: 978-1-138-82354-9 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-74199-4 (ebk) Typeset in Bembo by Apex CoVantage, LLC Contents Abbreviations ix Acknowledgements xi Epigraph xiii Introduction 1 1 Big history, anthropathology and depressive realism 10 2 Religion, spirituality and depressive realism 23 3 Philosophy and depressive realism 35 4 Literature, film and depressive realism 53 5 Psychology and depressive realism 68 6 Psychotherapy and depressive realism 80 7 The socio-political domain and depressive realism 99 8 Science, technology, the future and depressive realism 118 9 The lifespan, everyday life and depressive realism 132 10 Arguments against depressive realism 156 11 Lessons and possibilities for individuals and society 172 Index 189 Abbreviations BCE Before the common era BPS British Psychological Society CERN Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire CBT Cognitive behaviour therapy DNA deoxyribonucleic acid DR Depressive realism; depressive realist DSM Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IAPT Increasing Access to Psychological Therapies ISIL/ISIS Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant /Islamic State JRF Joseph Rowntree Foundation KYA Thousands of years ago LGBTQ Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, questioning LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide MYA Millions of years ago NHS National Health Service NICE National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence NLP Neurolinguistic Programming OCD Obsessive compulsive disorder PDR Personality dependent realism PTSD Post traumatic stress disorder REBT Rational emotive behaviour therapy STEM Science, technology, engineering, mathematics TMT Terror management theory ToM Theory of mind Acknowledgements Those who have actively and personally helped in either small or larger ways in terms of support, ideas and references include David Benatar, Rune Lacroix Hansen, Andreas Nilssen Moss, Rachel Msetfi, Matt Sarraf, Todd Shackelford, Chip Smith and Gisle Tangenes. Michelle David Hansen has proved a loving presence, sounding board, curious interlocutor and practical help throughout. I am grateful to everyone at Routledge who has assisted in the publication of this book. Finally, my thanks to all those ‘sorrowful investigators’ now and through- out history, who have held on to and passed on their dark insights. Thanks are due to Bloodaxe Books for permission to quote from Frieda Hughes’ poem The Reason for Not Being from the collection The Book of Mirrors. ‘Abandon all hope, you who enter here.’ Alighieri Dante, Inferno , approx. 1314 Introduction One could declare this to be simply a book about pessimism but that term would be inaccurate and insufficient. A non-verbal shortcut into the subject could be had by listening to Tears for Fears’ Mad World or Dinah Washington’s This Bitter Earth , or perhaps just by reading today’s newspaper. Depressive real- ism is the term used throughout this book but it will often be abbreviated to DR for ease of reading, referring to the negative worldview and also to anyone subscribing to this worldview (a DR, or DRs). DRs themselves may regard the ‘depressive’ part of the label as gratuitous, thinking their worldview to be simply realism just as Buddhism holds dukkha to be a fact of life. Initially,