Centre of Excellence in Meliorist Philosophy of Suffering

Pihlström, Sami UH; Kivistö, Sari TU; Koistinen, Timo UH; Mäkinen, Virpi UH; Utriainen, Terhi UH

According to meliorist philosophy (Lat. melior, better), the world is neither the worst nor the best that we can have but it can be made better through human actions. According to meliorist thinking, a positive outcome is neither guaranteed (optimism) nor impossible (pessimism) but something we may hope for if we do our best to actively make it real. Serious hope in our times must recognise the realities of the human condition, criticising the illusory promises of naive optimism. Given the significance of suffering as constitutive of the human condition, the philosophy of suffering does not occupy an adequate place within philosophical research.

The interdisciplinary Centre of Excellence in Meliorist Philosophy of Suffering will place suffering at the centre of philosophical reflection and offer conceptual tools for a deeper understanding of suffering and our approaches to it. The starting point is the meliorist idea that the world can and should be made better by means of piecemeal human efforts. Integrating philosophy with more general humanities-based approaches, the unit will develop an empirically enriched, pragmatically meliorist philosophy of suffering. The research work of the CoE will renew both academic and societal discourse.