The philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) about the nature of evil stands in sharp contrast to other thinkers. For Schopenhauer, evil is a natural phenomenon. It’s the inevitable outcome of the will (“life force”) when left to operate freely.
Schopenhauer attributes evil to the life force the prompts all living creatures to secure their survival and reproduction, seek pleasure and maximize short-term gains. This life force doesn’t care about risks, costs, and consequences.
According to Schopenhauer, the nature of evil is decoupled from religion. In “The world as will and representation” (1818) and other writings, Schopenhauer opposes the Christian belief that evil has its origin in the human disobedience retold in the first book of the Bible.
Christians believe in a benevolent, omnipotent, eternal God that oversees every event in the cosmos. If God wanted to stop evil, he could do it right away, but he allows evil to exist for a greater purpose, namely, giving individuals the freedom to find the right path.
Schopenhauer and consolation against evil
Victims of evil can find consolation in Christianity. When a crime or injustice is committed, Christians believe in a higher divine purpose that escapes human comprehension. They view evil as part of God’s overarching plan, from which we can only perceive bits and pieces.
While Christianity attributes evil to human actions that don’t follow God’s commandments, Schopenhauer is attributing evil to human inaction. It is crucial to understand this difference.
Christians view the world as good by default and evil as the exception. Schopenhauer holds the opposite view: he considers nature as wild, irrational, chaotic and dangerous; harmony and peace come only from rational human action against nature.
Schopenhauer is more interested in combating evil than in offering consolation to its victims. He does not see any higher divine purpose in evil. Injury and destruction cause pain, and it is pointless to give them obscure theological interpretations.
According to Schopenhauer, efforts should be concentrated on avoiding and minimizing evil. His plan of action against the will requires self-awareness. It’s up to each individuals to learn about the will, notice its influence, and adopt countermeasures.
Schopenhauer and salvation from evil
Christianity considers humans created in the image of God, but later fallen under the dominance of evil. Humans fell from the original grace when they disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden.
The story of the human fall from grace is retold in the first book of the Bible. Each Christian can redeem himself through his faith in God and attain salvation after death.
In contrast, Schopenhauer calls for earthly salvation; he tells readers to improve their lives by counteracting the will; it is all about increasing one’s self-awareness, prudence and foresight.
Schopenhauer regards passivity as the worst sin. Unless you take action, nature is going to continue its wild, chaotic course of destruction; evil is the normal outcome of letting nature take its course.
Animals kill each other. Floods and storms cause massive destruction. Famine and sickness reoccur regularly. Rational human action, argued Schopenhauer, is the only way to prevent and minimize nature’s killings and disasters of all sorts.
Schopenhauer’s explanation of evil
Schopenhauer rejects scepticism, relativism and immobility. While the Bible says that “the heart is deceitful, sick, and hard to understand” (Jeremiah 17:9), Schopenhauer is setting a clear course of action. He doesn’t regard the human heart as hard to understand.
He encourages people to become aware of the will, and take it for what it is. Nature is wild and irrational by default, but it’s not Satanic. Schopenhauer rejects the Christian idea of Satan because it distorts the perception of nature.
The Bible speaks against overcoming evil by evil, and asks to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). Schopenhauer is giving a different recommendation. Instead of overcoming evil with good, he advises to counteract evil with prudent action.
Schopenhauer justifies his advice with solid arguments, but doesn’t promise heaven. His book “Parerga and Paralipomena” (1851) explains the advantages of prudence, foresight, margins of safety, parsimony, and self-awareness. Those advantages are tangible, but success remains a question of probability.
Schopenhauer’s measures against evil
For this reason, Schopenhauer can be considered endorsing, to a limited extent, the Bible’s prediction that each person shall reap what he has sowed (Galatians 6:7); the endorsement is not total because Schopenhauer offers probabilities, not certainty.
When it comes to defining the nature of evil, Schopenhauer employs only objective terms. Nature causes evil and damages by default, not because it is meaning to hurt you personally. In contrast, Christians believe that evil takes place when they are led into temptation (Matthew 6:13), not by default.
There is a crucial lesson to be drawn from Schopenhauer’s views on the nature of evil. I am summarizing the lesson in six words: Become self-aware and take action now. If you choose immobility, the will is going to control your life and wipe out your dreams, your potential and your sanity.
Unlike the Bible, Schopenhauer doesn’t give assurances. He doesn’t tell us that we just need to pray and that everything will be fine (Philippians 4:6). He is telling us the opposite, namely that, unless we take action to ensure success, nature will surely bring about chaos and failure.
If you are interested in applying rational philosophy to daily life, I recommend you my book titled “Rationality is the way to happiness.”
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