Optimism

It is claimed that human beings are able to improve themselves individually and the human condition in general; this improvement may arise under the guidance of an ultimate reality which is good. The religious believer holds that God, in His goodness, wisdom and power, has created everything to be the best it can possibly be. The unbeliever holds that human beings of themselves can enrich human life, for example by applying scientific knowledge. Whether human beings are basically good, or capable of improvement and achieving wellbeing and happiness, or good through God's guidance and grace, performing good works and achieving saintliness, the future will be better than the past. Teleologically, this implies that the end to which history is moving is both rational and good.

Arguments levelled against optimism point to: the evil co-existing with good in individual lives, with despair often triumphing over hope; the existence of original sin which makes each human being a sinner, who may be forgiven but is always capable of sinful and cruel acts; the capacity of mankind for mass destruction. The Christian answer to this is that Christ has "overcome the world", that the victory is already won, that there are indeed grounds for hope and joy.