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

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