Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) was a German philosopher that pioneered the idea of metaphysical pessimism in his opus magnum “Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung“(1818), translated “The world as will and representation“. He was one of the most influential figures of philosophy in the 19th century. Contrary to most of his fellow philosophers and the Zeitgeist in philosophy at this time he was not an optimist such as Hegel (1770-1831) who was the most famous philosopher in Germany during Schopenhauer‘s lifetime.
Metaphysical Pessimism
Schopenhauer‘s idea of pessimism is contrary to what most people would call pessimism in everyday life not only an observation of the way the world behaved and an answer to this behavior. He developed a metaphysical framework with which one can derive the idea of pessimism by analyzing the fundamental way the world operates. One can say that this distinction is between empirical pessimism which is what normally people refer to and metaphysical pessimism which is the concept brought forward by Schopenhauer.
The fundamental concept
Schopenhauer’s view of reality can be described with two key words he used himself to describe it : will and representation. On one side the world is representation. As proof for this conclusion he uses the findings of Kant as a basis. Immanuel Kant(1724-1804) said that all observations made by humans are made through a subjective filter and therefore we can’t make any observation on reality itself, we can only speak of our perception of reality. Schopenhauer now uses the findings of Kant and concludes that when we look at the world from the outside our world is representation. On the other side Schopenhauer also says that our world is will. Will is the term he uses to describe the force that is the reason for movement is our universe. This means that will is what keeps the world moving from the inside. This means that from the outside our world is representation and from the inside it’s will.
His conclusion
Since the driving force behind everything that happens in our universe is the will of the world which isn’t rational in itself the fate of the world can not be changed. Every attempt of changing the trajectory of history will be crushed by the will of the world. This will can not be satisfied by anything. Every form of satisfaction is just temporary relief. This is where Schopenhauer sees the fundamental basis for his pessimism. A world ruled by an irrational force, the will, that can never be completely satisfied and one that can not undergo change on the fundamental level.
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Nice post Schopenhauer! I've always found his pessimism quite liberating - if the fate of the universe is out of our hands and unchangeable, then we are no longer responsible, in the ultimate, existential sense.
I found this old interview with Magee on Youtube is also a nice discussion of the old goat: Arthur Schopenhauer: Philosopher of Pessimism, where Frederick Copleston and Bryan Magee discuss Schopenhauer's work.
Also, this podcast episode by NIgel Warburton is quite good! Are we doomed to suffer or is extended happiness possible? On Schopenhauer's The World as Will & Idea
Enjoy!
Thanks for the post! I think you have a typo in Hegel's year of death.
Thanks for pointing this error out, I corrected it ;)
That's a very interesting article! I think Schopenhauer had a very unique view of reality.
Thanks for your comment, I highly suggest reading more about Schopenhauer, his ideas are groundbreaking!
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