Written by John Lounsbury
Why is Schopenhauer still so essential to understanding ourselves today?
Arthur Schopenhauer was a German philosopher who has been dubbed the artist’s philosopher on account of the inspiration his aesthetics has provided to artists of all stripes. He is also known as the philosopher of pessimism, as he articulated a worldview that challenges the value of existence.
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This documentary video features two videos: The first is a 9 minute summary of the thinking of Schopenhauer; the second is 39 minutes which focuses on the details of his philosophy. In this second video is presented, among other things, his struggle with the relationships between space, time, matter, and existence. This give insight into why he was so important to later scientists, especially Albert Einstein, who reduced the relationship between space, time, and matter to a mathematical form.
Schopenhauer was a primary influence on the thinking of Friedrich Nietzcshe who was the subject presented in this feature a few weeks ago. Schopenhauer’s philosophy has been compared to that of Bhudda in that he was preoccuopied with the conflict between passion and reason and argued for the advantages of controling desires and emphasizing reason. In fact, it was the study and interpretation of Bhudda which first inspired Schopenhauer’s thinking as a teenager.
From Wikipedia:
Arthur Schopenhauer (/ˈʃoÊŠpÉ™nhaÊŠ.É™r/ SHOH-pÉ™n-how-É™r;[14] German: [ˈʔaÉ̯tÊŠÉ̯ ˈʃoËpmÌ©ËŒhaʊ̯É]; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is best known for his 1818 work The World as Will and Representation (expanded in 1844), wherein he characterizes the phenomenal world as the product of a blind and insatiable metaphysical will.[15][16] Proceeding from the transcendental idealism of Immanuel Kant, Schopenhauer developed an atheistic metaphysical and ethical system that has been described as an exemplary manifestation of philosophical pessimism,[17][18][19] rejecting the contemporaneous post-Kantian philosophies of German idealism.[20][21] Schopenhauer was among the first thinkers in Western philosophy to share and affirm significant tenets of Eastern philosophy (e.g., asceticism, the world-as-appearance), having initially arrived at similar conclusions as the result of his own philosophical work.[22][23]
Though his work failed to garner substantial attention during his life, Schopenhauer has had a posthumous impact across various disciplines, including philosophy, literature, and science. His writing on aesthetics, morality, and psychology influenced thinkers and artists throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Those who cited his influence include Friedrich Nietzsche,[24] Richard Wagner, Leo Tolstoy, Ludwig Wittgenstein,[25] Erwin Schrodinger, Otto Rank, Gustav Mahler, Joseph Campbell, Albert Einstein,[26] Carl Jung, Thomas Mann, Emile Zola, George Bernard Shaw,[27] Jorge Luis Borges and Samuel Beckett.[28]
Schopenhauer was born in Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) in 1788 and died (at age 72) in Frankfurt in 1860.
Source: YouTube
Source: YouTube
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