Tag: happiness
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Michel de Montaigne and the concept of virtue
Ethical aspects are often underrated by individuals seeking personal growth. Psychology discussions tend to focus on pre-conceptions, personal history, and logical errors rather than on virtue. As a result, happiness is randomly defined, haphazardly pursued, and serendipitously achieved. Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) held a different view. At an early age, he had discovered the strong…
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Michel de Montaigne and human nature
Seldom has a philosopher devoted so much effort to writing about human nature. Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) spent two decades doing research about philosophy and psychology, gathering lessons about happiness. Montaigne’s objective was to identify the best patterns of behaviour, those that promote individual and social happiness. He read everything about Socrates (470-399 BC), as…
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Accuracy of Michel de Montaigne’s personal reflections
The insertion of personal reflections is the most innovative aspect in the essays of Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592). The previous centuries had relegated personal reflections to poetry. Montaigne is the first author who gave his personal views on a wide range of subjects, placing his reflections on equal level to quotations from Plato, Aristotle, or…
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Michel de Montaigne’s thoughts
Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) was more a gatherer than a creator of philosophical ideas. He devoted twenty years of his life to writing essays on history, literature and morality, but all his conclusions are based on prior philosophers. Montaigne’s contribution is the personal touch that he gave to his compilations of knowledge. He mixed up…
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Schopenhauer’s key ideas on ethics
I am going to summarize the moral philosophy put forward by Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) in seven key ideas. The presentation of those key ideas will identify, when relevant, the difference between Schopenhauer and other philosophers. Schopenhauer’s ethics don’t rely on revelation by God or prophets. His ethics overlap with Christianity in some areas, especially in…
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Analysis of Schopenhauer’s views on ethics
The uniqueness of the ethical system put forward by Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) becomes clear when we compare it with other philosophies. I regard it as particularly enlightening to compare Schopenhauer’s ethics with Taoism and Stoicism. Taoism was created in ancient China. It predicates harmony with nature, spontaneity, modesty, simplicity and steering away from violence. Lao-Tzu…
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Schopenhauer on ethics
The ethics system proposed by Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) is similar to Ancient Stoicism in some aspects, but offers more complex explanations on the workings of nature, society, and human motivation. Schopenhauer theorized that life is fundamentally marked by the influence of the will (“life force”) which will generate a large amount of suffering and dissatisfaction…
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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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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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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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