A philosophical or ideological belief in or emphasis on deterioration, decline, or the worsening of conditions over time.
From deteriorate + -ism (suffix for belief systems or movements), from Latin deteriorare (to make worse).
Deteriorism as a philosophy appeared in reaction to Enlightenment optimism—thinkers like Schopenhauer embodied deteriorism by arguing that suffering and decline were fundamental to existence, influencing pessimistic literature forever.
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