The life and works of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) are giving us crucial insights on how to achieve happiness. To this end, he devoted years to studying Western and Eastern thinkers and compiling their best recommendations. Then he put them into practice and recorded what works and what doesn’t.
Schopenhauer regarded the achievement of happiness as a sequence of steps. The very first step consists of steering away from disaster. You absolutely want to avoid mistakes that cause severe harm to yourself and other people.
How do you prevent or minimize large mistakes? By getting familiar with the theory of the will (“life force”) and adopting countermeasures to protect yourself.
According to Schopenhauer, the will constitutes the largest obstacle to human happiness. Why? Because it prompts people to take short-sighted actions in the pursuit of pleasure. Thereby they expose themselves to high risks and forfeit their chances of a solid future.
Schopenhauer’s path to happiness
Schopenhauer outlined his philosophy in two books: “About the fourfold root of the principle of sufficient reason” (1808) and “The world as will and representation” (1818). In his later essays “Parerga and Paralipomena” (1851), he provides advice based on his philosophy.
The theory of the will is Schopenhauer’s key contribution to the history of philosophy; he sustained that the will prevents us from attaining happiness because it drives us to chase one goal after another, endlessly and without limit. It pushes us forward without paying attention to risks, costs and feasibility.
The very first step to happiness, argued Schopenhauer, is to take control of your life. Don’t allow the will to push you in the wrong direction. Don’t allow it to drive you always further and further, until you eventually drop dead from exhaustion.
According you Schopenhauer, we can increase our chances of happiness if we avoid excessive risk, exercise self-discipline and make rational decisions.
Schopenhauer on prudence and frugality
Chasing rainbows may sound romantic, but it’s not the right way to live. Happiness is more easily achieved through steady, prudent action, argued Schopenhauer.
The relentless pursuit of possessions and pleasures usually ends in disappointment. Instead of heavy stress, Schopenhauer favoured a balanced lifestyle.
Work should be alternated with activities such as meditation or artistic contemplation. I personally prefer the latter. My taste in artworks is different from Schopenhauer’s but the relaxation effect is the same.
Prudence and frugality, argued Schopenhauer, can also help reduce stress. Why? Because they help reduce professional and financial vulnerability. By living below your means and saving money, you can accumulate a financial cushion for bad times.
Schopenhauer himself was a great example of frugality and financial prudence. He lived modestly but travelled abroad as often as he could afford it. He particularly loved Italy, but even then, he carefully planned his trips to keep them affordable.
By adopting a modest lifestyle, you can increase your inner peace, self-reliance and self-confidence. Schopenhauer viewed frugality as a virtue because it helps augment happiness.
Simplicity and frugality go together, argued Schopenhauer. I commend you to simplify your professional and private life; do not underestimate the emotional benefits of having your daily life under control. Some accidents and setbacks are inevitable, but if you have a solid basis, the harm will be much smaller.
Schopenhauer compared with Diogenes of Sinope
Nonetheless, Schopenhauer wasn’t recommending a radical withdrawal from the world and the renunciation of all pleasure. He did not endorse the advice of Diogenes of Sinope (410-320 BC), an ancient Greek philosopher who had favoured extreme frugality.
Diogenes had advised extreme simplicity, detachment from societal norms, and the rejection of wealth. His contemporaries used to called him “the dog” because he had chosen to live on the street. He was homeless by choice, he said, because he did not want to deal with the encumbrances of a house.
Schopenhauer never advocated a poor, miserable lifestyle. It is crucial, he said, to avoid financial risks leading to a total loss of your savings and home. Diogenes is not a good example to emulate.
According to Diogenes Laertius (the author of “Lives of the philosophers”) a wealthy man offered a large sum of money to Diogenes if he renounced his asceticism, but Diogenes said no. He feared that wealth would snare him and make him unhappy.
Laertius composed “Lives of the philosophers” in the times of Marcus Aurelius or possibly a bit earlier, but in any case, six centuries after Diogenes had lived. I wonder if Laertius had not concocted those anecdotes to make his book more entertaining.
Although Schopenhauer was not sharing Diogenes’ devotion to poverty, he held self-sufficiency in high esteem. He also had positive words for the self-discipline preached by Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism.
Schopenhauer compared with Marcus Tullius Cicero
In Ancient Greece and Rome, Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) held the ideal of happiness closest to Schopenhauer’s. I see in Cicero’s insights on frugality, temperance and balance a direct predecessor of Schopenhauer’s aphorisms.
For Cicero, happiness results from living in accordance with nature and reason. Like Schopenhauer, he rejected all excesses and advocated frugality, self-discipline and moderation.
Although Cicero had not come up with something similar to Schopenhauer’s theory of the will, he called for simplification, temperance and balance. He warned against fleeting pleasures, extravagant expenditures and disproportionate risks. Those are the same points that Schopenhauer raised in his works.
In his essay “On the purpose of human life,” Cicero called for finding joy in the present moment. His advice indirectly anticipates Schopenhauer’s love for artistic contemplation as a means for increasing happiness.
If you are interested in applying rational philosophy to your own life here and now, I recommend you my book titled “On becoming unbreakable.”