German Philosophy.

Arthur Schopenhauer
Dateline: 01/08/99 With this story we open a cycle of features on German philosophy. It will be a door to understanding the modern German line of policy in the world, and an opportunity for everyone to learn more about the most famous thinkers of the past. Today we will talk about Arthur Schopenhauer, one of the greatest philosophers of the 19th century, known for his philosophy of Pessimism and for his emphasis on the Will. Arthur Schopenhauer is the author of famous sayings like: "I have long held the opinion that the amount of noise that anyone can bear undisturbed stands in inverse proportion to his mental capacity and therefore be regarded as pretty fair measure of it." --Schopenhauer "There is no more mistaken path to happiness than worldliness, revelry, high life." --Schopenhauer, Essays, Our Relation to Ourselves, sec. 24 "The two foes of human happiness are pain and boredom." --Schopenhauer, Essays, Personality; or What a Man Is. "To marry is to halve your rights and double your duties." --Schopenhauer He had a very strong impact on philosophy, literature and human minds of that time. Written in a simple language unusual for philosophy, his works reflected concerns and tragedies of the real life, not just usual empyreal problems all philosophers used to deal with. He was the first European thinker to study the Upanishads, Indian teachings, and Buddhism, which deeply influenced his thought together with the works of Plato and Immanuel Kant. Like the majority of philosophers, Shopenhauer was up to build a proper philosophy of representation. He made an attempt to do it in 1819 in his famous work The World as Will and Idea, where he characterized the Will as a nonrational force driving the ultimately meaningless struggle for existence. Even if we were able to satisfy all of the Will's demands, we would still be unhappy; because everything ends in disappointment and, finally, in death. In his view, reality is a representation of the Will, not God. He was the first to speak of life as suffering, and his own life was full of it. Schopenhauer's works influenced those of Nietzsche, Freud, Wittgenstein, and Richard Wagner. The following links will provide you with more info on Arthur Schopenhauer: The 19th Century: Mind and Brain Philosophy of the 19th century, main trends.

Arthur Schopenhauer A brief introduction to Schopenhauer's theories, with easy-to-follow charts. Arthur Schopenhauer 1788-1860 Outline of Schopenhauer's life and works plus some excerpts from Parerga and Paralipomena. Arthur Schopenhauer. An Introduction Philosopher's short biography starting with his quote on genius. Arthur Schopenhauer - Kurzbiografie A short biography of the great thinker. Eristische Dialektik oder Die Kunst, Recht zu behalten By Arthur Schopenhauer adhering to the author's original orthography. In German. John S Moore's SCHOPENHAUER NOTES Some notes on Schopenhauerian aesthetics. Philosophers Corner Presents Arthur Schopenhauer Get to know the thinker's biography. Schopenhauer's Ethics Short description of Schopenhauer's philosophy and Schopenhauer's Metaphysics. Schopenhauer und Nietzsche. Zwei Arten Mystik Negation and affirmation of the world by Ruediger Safranski. In German