The reflections of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) are to be found in his work “The world as will and representation.” I consider equally interesting the observations contained in his “Aphorisms on the art of living,” published in 1851.
In contrast to Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831), Schopenhauer is not a philosopher of history. He didn’t develop an all-inclusive vision of history nor theorized about the end of times.
He did not regard the course of history as one unequivocal path pointing into a single direction. There is no single destiny where humanity is headed. History is made by people’s choices every single day.
The will (which I translate as “life force”) influences how a man or woman take decisions; however, the will is not pushing people right or left. It is not exercising overwhelming power to the extent that each person can say “I could not help it.”
Schopenhauer declines presenting history as an imposition of destiny. Conversely, he underlines the importance of how a human being behaves over time. Life is essentially temporary. Every success and possession is naturally limited.
Happiness in Schopenhauer’s philosophy of time
In his work “The world as will and representation”(1818), Schopenhauer wrote that “each experience of happiness should be regarded as contingent on the passage of time.”
There is no guarantee that today’s happiness is prolonged in the nearby future. As a result, a wise man will take measures to reduce the risk of total loss, and increase the chances of stable, repeated pleasure.
Good health helps prevent pain. Schopenhauer formulated this principle in a beautiful manner: “It is the greatest of follies to sacrifice one’s health for any other type of pleasure.”
I must point out that few individuals realize the long-term impact of today’s health dissipation. It requires knowledge and imagination to link today’s smoking and fast-food consumption to illness ensuing ten years down the road. Yet, the capacity to think in these terms will save you lots of unnecessary trouble.
Schopenhauer’s philosophy of time focuses on character and personal taste. Each man is the builder of his own personality. I cannot accept excuses from people who blame their character on external circumstances. Those can generate annoyance, pain or disappointments, but cannot force you to become evil.
Character in Schopenhauer’s philosophy of time
“Character is what you are in the dark, when you are alone and nobody is watching,” wrote Schopenhauer. That’s the main component of human action over time. Character plays the key role in the decisions you will make and on your daily habits.
Human life (and I mean, the life of the individual) is driven by his character; to a lesser extent, circumstances and luck play a role in how you life will turn, but character remains central.
Schopenhauer had little patience with individuals of poor character. He reacted immediately, often emphatically, to signs of bad personality because he expected bad traits to propagate.
If someone is cheating you on some minor issue, chances are that he’ll cheat you again. The next time, the damage may be larger. You will be better off if you take notice of his poor personality and stay away from that person; don’t expect things to improve without reason.
Schopenhauer’s philosophy of time rests on a solid principle that says: good character traits will build upon each other, and bad ones will undermine each other. Good personalities tend to grow even better while bad characters hasten towards collapse.
I particularly like the way Schopenhauer presented this idea in “The world as will and representation” (1818). He said that human life, “when it is over the hill, tends to pick up speed.” It refers to observation that good individuals will remain reliable all their lives, while evil people will fall apart and disintegrate.
Determinism in Schopenhauer’s philosophy of time
Human life is projected over time by pursuing desires, goals and projects of all sorts. Schopenhauer partly attributed desires to the influence of the will, but didn’t absolve individuals from the responsibility of making choices.
He distinctively despised Hegel’s view of the absolute spirit as a driver of history. If Schopenhauer called Hegel delusional, it’s because he realized the drawbacks of placing responsibility on external forces.
A philosophy of time that puts the blame on absolute spirits is a sorry excuse for personal laziness, confusion or evil. Don’t accept Hegelian arguments as valid excuses for people who are not deploying their best efforts.
In his philosophy of time, Schopenhauer remarked how we tend to be motivated primarily by deficiencies. We identify one or several areas where we want to do better, and we deploy our efforts to achieve improvements in those areas.
Schopenhauer cleverly observed that people might do better if they devote efforts to protecting what they already have. It is not a colourful, exciting type of motivation, but it can earn you large rewards. Misery can be avoided by adopting measures to protect one assets instead of trusting luck to deliver its charms.
Prudence in Schopenhauer’s philosophy of time
Dire errors are often committed by “confusing one’s desires with real probabilities.” Before engaging major resources, one should devote efforts to scouting the field. Unless you’ve done a proper due diligence, don’t assume things will run smoothly.”
The great lesson from Schopenhauer’s philosophy of time is the important of maintaining margins of safety. Schopenhauer’s books remind us over and over that it is better to be safe than sorry. If you take margins of safety, Schopenhauer didn’t vouch for your happiness, but he correctly predicted stability.
Margins of safety prevent bitter misery and disappointments in life. They create a cushion of resources for bad times. Their reason for existence is the statistical certainty that every person is bound to face challenges sooner or later. If you are prepared, the damage will be contained and soon repaired.
Good character and good habits tend to build in your favour. Schopenhauer wrote that “the initial forty years of a man’s life are supplying the text, while the subsequent three decades are just supplying the commentary.”
Indeed, time allows people to build for the better or for the worse. If you have cultivated solid intellectual habits and know who to enjoy artistic contemplation, you’ll earn large rewards in the later decades of your life, when things accelerate.
If you are interested in applying rational ideas to improving you life here and now, I recommend you my book “Rational living, rational working.”
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