Category: Schopenhauer
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Schopenhauer: How I became a hardcore realist
I didn’t become a hardcore realist because life became harder. I became one because two philosophers forced me to question almost everything I believed. Their names are Kant and Schopenhauer. For years, I believed the world worked the way I had been told. And I did what I had been told to do. Work hard.…
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Schopenhauer’s philosophy in three and a half minutes
What is the key to a fuller, happier, and more meaningful life? That’s the question Arthur Schopenhauer asked. While other philosophers focused on changing the world, Schopenhauer focused on something even more important: understanding human nature. He believed that once we understand what truly drives us, we can make wiser choices. We can enjoy life…
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Schopenhauer: Comfort and passivity are the bottleneck
What if the biggest obstacle in our lives isn’t a lack of talent… Or lack of intelligence… Or lack of opportunity… What if it’s something much quieter… Passivity. I main, not making a decision. Not trying to get things done because of fear of failing. Just… doing nothing. There are wonderful excuses for passivity. Waiting…
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Schopenhauer: How to massively improve our decisions
We like to believe we are rational beings. We tell ourselves that we analyse, choose, and control our lives through conscious decisions. But what if this belief is one of our greatest illusions? The philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer challenged this comfortable idea centuries ago. Schopenhauer argued that beneath our thoughts and explanations exists a deeper force—a…
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Schopenhauer: Do not follow your heart
Everyone tells us, ‘Follow your heart.’ But what if our heart is actually leading us in the wrong direction? The philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer believed that blindly following our desires was one of the biggest mistakes we could make. He said that there is a hidden force inside all of us—a constant drive he called the…
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Schopenhauer: Do not confuse realism with pessimism
We have all been told that Arthur Schopenhauer was the most pessimistic philosopher in history. But I think that’s wrong. In fact, I think most people who call him a pessimist have not understood what he was saying. Here’s the real question. If a glass is only 20% full, is saying “it’s almost empty” pessimistic?…
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Schopenhauer: How to stop making the same mistakes twice
How do we stop making the same mistakes twice? I used to think that the answer was simple, that all it takes is to have more discipline and try harder. But that didn’t work. Then I came across Schopenhauer, and he said something that changed how I see things. He said that human beings cannot…
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Schopenhauer: The biggest lie we tell ourselves every day
The biggest lie we tell ourselves every day is that we are thinking rationally, but in reality, we are not as logical as we think. Arthur Schopenhauer, one of history’s most crucial thinkers, argued that most of our decisions are not driven by logic. They are driven by something that he called “the Will”, an…
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Analysis of Schopenhauer’s views on the role of reason
The views of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) on the role of reason differ from those of prior philosophers. On the one hand, Schopenhauer is more realistic. He does hold reason in high regard, but acknowledges the strong influence of impulses in human decisions. On the other hand, Schopenhauer observes that it takes substantial effort to use…
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Schopenhauer and the role of reason
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) rejected the unshakeable optimism of his contemporaries about the power of reason. He acknowledged that all individuals are potentially able to think, but pointed out that few people make the effort to assess facts accurately and draw logical conclusions. His book “On the fourfold root of the principle of sufficient reason” (1814)…
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Recent Posts
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- Schopenhauer’s philosophy in three and a half minutes
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