Category: Schopenhauer
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Idealism in Schopenhauer’s views on love and relationships
In his works, Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) pointed out that love relationships often fail because people will initially idealize their beloved, and experience disappointment when they realise that their expectations do not match reality. Schopenhauer presented those views in “The world as will and representation” (1818) and in “Parerga and Paralipomena” (1851). He warned readers against…
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Refutation of Schopenhauer’s views on love and relationships
The ideas of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) on love and relationships contain fundamental mistakes. Schopenhauer did not devote sufficient attention to these matters. As a result, his observations and conclusions leave a lot to be desired. His conception of love and relationships is instinctual. They are driven by the will (“life force”), argues Schopenhauer, and this…
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Schopenhauer’s views on love and relationships
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) had unduly pessimistic, gloomy ideas on love and relationships. The study of his ideas in this respect serves an educational purpose because it enables us to learn from Schopenhauer’s mistakes. Schopenhauer’s theory of the will (“life force”) underlies his views on love and relationships. This theory predicts that the will is constantly…
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Schopenhauer’s philosophy of life compared with Taoism
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) was deeply familiar with Eastern philosophy, in particular Buddhism and Hinduism. He held in high regard the Eastern approach to stress reduction by reducing one’s emotional engagement. In Schopenhauer’s books, you won’t find a call for “nirvana” and other Eastern philosophical concepts. Nonetheless, he put forward recommendations that are similar to “nirvana.”…
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Effectiveness of Schopenhauer’s philosophy of life
The art of getting things done effectively and inexpensively underlies the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860). His theory of the will (“life force”) warns us against the lethal consequences of giving way to our instincts without looking at the cost and at the long-term consequences. How do you protect yourself against the negative influence of…
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Schopenhauer’s philosophy of life in daily practice
Epictetus, a philosopher from the 1st century AD, provides excellent guidance for the daily practice of the ideas of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860). Schopenhauer was focused on the attainment of happiness, and Epictetus pursued tranquillity and virtue, but in practical terms, their ideas are very close. Epictetus emphasised the distinction between internal and external events. Internal…
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An example of Schopenhauer’s philosophy of life
History provides excellent examples of the philosophy put forward by Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860). I can point for instance to the life of Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD) who had favoured living in accordance with nature. Aurelius’ recipe for happiness is understanding the order of the universe and aligning our actions with it; however, when he talked…
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Happiness and Schopenhauer’s philosophy of life
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) had no problem accepting that he was eccentric. In fact, he considered it a privilege to be categorised as an eccentric. He considered it a confirmation of the originality of his ideas. Schopenhauer’s key contribution to philosophy is the theory of the will, that is, the belief that the will (“life force”)…
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Analysis of Schopenhauer’s philosophy of life
Although his lifestyle was unpretentious, modesty was not a characteristic of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860). He did not hide that he regarded himself as a genius. He considered other philosophers, with few exceptions, as misguided fools. Why did Schopenhauer consider himself a genius? Surely not because of his productivity. In terms of output, he was not…
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Schopenhauer’s philosophy of life
I can summarise in one sentence the philosophy of life put forward by Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860); my summary is the following: “Unless you make steady efforts to improve and protect yourself, chances are that bad luck will wipe you out.” Mainstream philosophers call Schopenhauer a pessimist and consider his work uninteresting. They argue that Schopenhauer…
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