ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER
By Darcy Gomez
THE MAN
Lived from 1788-1860
German
Schopenhauer rejected most of his
predecessors in philosophy
He only recognized two
philosophers• Kant• Plato
He also drew from some
philosophies of the East
THE WORLD AS IDEA
There is the noumenal world outside of the mind
He believed that the mind cannot know the real
reality (noumenal world)
What we see as the world are only our perceptions
Our perceptions are filtered through time, space,
and finally our mind until we see what we perceive
Every perception is just a manifestation of the Will
EXAMPLE
FILTERWill
THE WORLD AS THE WILL
Schopenhauer believed in the Will
The Will is the actual and ultimate reality of the world and
ourselves
It is “the-thing-in-itself”
We cannot know the Will itself but we every individual is a
manifestation of the Will
The Will can be seen in every action of the body and impression on
the body (emotions, ect)• Pain= impressions against the Will• Pleasure= impressions in in agreement with the Will
NATURE OF THE WILL
The Will is violent
Every act (manifestation of the Will) is either an
act of procreation or destruction
The mind is “self-deceiving” of the Will• The real world is destructive and cruel but as we
perceive things in our minds it becomes distorted as good or neutral
EXAMPLES
The Human Body• Once we reach the age of 18 our body
begins to deteriorate• The body is simply a vessel for reproduction• Once we reproduce we continue to die
Luna Moth• The Moth is born to reproduce and digest,
but has no mouth• It lays its eggs then starves to death• Cycle continues
ULTIMATE REALITY
There is no hope in life
Happiness is unattainable
Any arts, morals, or sciences are
only distortions of the will• Seen as good, but are actually the
manifestation of the Will
Suicide may seem like the perfect
escape, but suicide is just a final act
of the Will and thus another
manifestation
ESCAPE FROM THE WILL
There is only one way to counter the Will
The only way is to dedicate yourself to pure formal
music; music without words or emotion
To Schopenhauer this music was a type of Baroque
style that was purely “mathematical”
Through this music you can escape from the world
and escape the Will
NO ESCAPE…
Sadly other Philosophers say that wanting to
dedicate yourself to the music is just another desire
and in turn a manifestation of the Will
Even so, Schopenhauer’s philosophy helped
influence future philosophies
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