An acclaimed writer of modern philosophy, Alain de Botton also spends some of his spare time designing thought-provoking stationery—such as these notebooks for Pessimists.
Part of the retail collection at The School of Life, “The Pessimists” notebooks showcase three of history’s greatest Pessimistic thinkers—namely Pascal, Chamfort and Schopenhauer.
“The Pessimists remind us that what ultimately plunges us into sadness and anger isn’t disappointment, but hope. They therefore counsel us to get sad before life dashes our hopes at a moment of its own choosing. […] At last, here are people who allow us to give full vent to our darkness and spleen, people who reassuringly inform us that life is fundamentally rather than incidentally miserable.”
Each notebook contains an introduction to a Pessimistic philosopher on the front page—the rest of the notebook is left blank for your own dark musings.
If pessimism does not appeal to you, de Botton has also designed similar notebooks for the Existentialists and Stoics.
[via The School Of Life]