The World as Will and Representation, Vol. 1

Imagine this. You are in your car at 3 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon. It's hot. You're painfully lonely, you have no friends to speak of. The sun is beating on your face. You have absolutely nothing to do. You feel the pressure of time and consciousness. You hear an advertisement on the radio about another blow-out sale in a nearby mall. You want to scream. Sound familiar? This is when a nice cup of Arthur Schopenhauer is in order. I first learned about Schopenhauer when I was in a rather low point in my life and was looking for a consolation in the philosophy section of a bookstore. There I stumbled across The Consolations of Philosophy , which had a section about Schopenhauer and his basic outlook on the human condition. I never had a problem with pessimism and in fact always looked for someone great to defend it. Anyway, I slowly started preparing myself for the first volume. I had no philosophical background, just an immense desire to understand Schopenhauer's point of view since I knew then it would become my metaphysical backbone. One of the challenges was that English is my second language and I feared that philosophy in English would exact too big a demand on my language skills. But the realization that with Schopenhauer lay the answers to my angst was enough to commit to this project. I first read The Philosophy of Schopenhauer , which I understood for the most part and became even more intrigued. I definitely gained some philosophical muscle and so I plunged into volume one shortly after. It took me three months and it was a rather grueling experience. Partly because of the terminology and new concepts, partly because of the style, partly because of the translation. As one of the readers noted, some of the Latin and Greek phrases are not translated, which infuriated me each time I encountered them. For crying out why? But all these problems are nothing compared with the immense pleasure I got from reading the work, which my body frequently heralded with goosebumps! I just finished the second volume (took me another 5 or 6 months). I read just a few pages a day. But I'll never regret spending the time. If there's an intellectual equivalent of orgasm, this is it. This experience will be forever etched in my brain. Transcendental idealism (which is also the basis of Buddhist metaphysics) is a life changing idea. I kind of look at myself and everything that happens to me through that lens now. One of the ideas that was always on the tip of my tongue and that I never was able to articulate even to myself is Schopenhauer's notion about the negativeness of happiness and positiveness of suffering. In other words, happiness is only a subtraction from suffering. Needs, discomfort and suffering is what we start from. Turns out Voltaire said it even more succinctly: "There are no great pleasures without great needs". To, me it's a profound insight and both volumes are worth reading just because of this. If this idea does not give you goosebumps, then Schopenhauer might not be for you. Later I read Ann Ryand's "Atlas Shrugged", where that idea was attacked at least once -- but just as a bare assertion. By the way, "Atlas Shrugged" is the most tedious and crude attempt at realism (or objectivism) I ever read. But I'm digressing again. I do have a couple of gripes with Schopenhauer's style. Some sentences are REALLY long with sub-sentences and sometimes sub-sub-sentences. Sometimes, I needed to re-read them a dozen times. Also, Schopenhauer is surprisingly repetitive in places, which was also commented on by Magee. But if you think about it, in the age of no computers and fancy editors, it was probably difficult to spot repetition. On the flip side, I found the repetitiveness of his ideas helpful when a particular major concept was not clear, because sure enough he would describe it ten more times from slightly different angles. Schopenhauer says several times that everything that he had written must be read to fully understand his philosophy. He prescribes a list of his works to be read before "The World as Will and Representation" (TWAWR) is begun. The list includes: 1) His doctoral thesis. On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason (Dodo Press) . 2) Hi prize winning essay. Schopenhauer: Prize Essay on the Freedom of the Will (Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy) . 3) On the Basis of Morality 4) His critique of Kant's philosophy at the end of volume one. I started with the critique of Kant and quickly abandoned it because it required a decent knowledge of Kant. By the way, Schopenhauer once said that he who hasn't read and understood Kant is a mere child. But I was not ready for Kant yet. So, I skipped Kant's critique and moved on to volume one. I can now say that at least a general idea about the fourfold principle of sufficient reason (FPSR) is required to fully get it. So, do yourself a favor, look it up and read at least a summary of it. Otherwise a lot of the meaning will be lost. But FPSR is all you really need to get started. By the time you finish TWAWR, even if you don't agree with his ideas, you will definitely be amazed by the sheer breadth of his knowledge. For starters, he spoke four foreign languages fluently -- English, French, Greek and Latin. His knowledge of science of that time is also quite staggering. He frequently provides his insight on physics, math, logic, astronomy, medicine (anatomy and physiology), botany, zoology, biology and chemistry. His knowledge of philosophy is similarly awesome. He constantly refers to and quotes Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Locke, Berkley, Kant and others. Fine arts? Sure! He had a lot to say about poetry, music, sculpture and architecture. In fact, he had something to say about everything that matters. To conclude, I love Schopenhauer. Too bad I can't thank him in person. To those who accuse him of pessimism, I can only say that just because something is pessimistic, doesn't mean it's not true. And Schopenhauer does make his case strong. Remember to look at your life through the prism of eternity. Hang in there, accept your lot and carry it with pride. Everything passes... Thank you, Arthur. ========= 9 years later ======== Shortly after reading Schopenhauer I plunged into learning Latin. I didn't like that I couldn't understand the quotes and Latin was a cool thing to learn anyway. I did that for about 3 years religiously. If you're bored like I was, Latin will keep you entertained for a LONG time :) I ended up reading some ancient authors in the original, which I consider an accomplishment. I got married and have a daughter now. But my philosophical outlook hasn't changed much. I'm re-reading Magee's introduction to Schopenhauer and am enjoying that again. Maybe I'll re-read Schopenhauer himself one more time at some point.

An amazingly written philosophy on will and it's representation on reality. Arthur was ahead of his time and many references to how the mind accepts reality really puts concepts together in a sequential flow. This book is purposely written to be read from beginning to end and not to be skipped around. As he writes, he builds up to the final conclusions of what he wishes to express and it is a miracle to experience this. Philosophy books are mostly prepared to be read at a different level from every day level of consciousness. In order to embrace and understand the material, one must think like him and go beyond the regular forms of every day conceptions and thought processes. Ultimately, they all lead back to every day reality where the pragmatic use of his application can be used. I tend to be more acceptable to optimism as he may have been in certain situations. Although, life was not meant to be easy and it's turbulence can shape the pearl inside each of us. I would recommend people reading this book prior to adulthood to prepare the mind for important decisions that will be placed on a person, as important decisions and responsibilities will indeed present themselves to each of us. To maintain oneself steady and firm in the mind plays a big part for the body to follow in life. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading volume II next.

Schopenhauer is definitly the greatest philosopher ever lived. This book is his only masterpiece. Building on Kant's thing-in-itself Schopenhauer created the concept of the "Will". All of Schopenhauer philosophy revolve on a single idea which is the "Will" getting aquainted of itself in all its objectification. "The World as Will and representation Volume I" contains the main body of his philosophy. Vol. II and all the rest of his books is just an illumination and expantion of the concept of the Will outlined in Vol I. As a prerequisit he demands that his reader must be familiar with his introductory book "The fourfold root of the principle of suffecient reason" that explains how our intellect works, percieve and makes a mental pictures (representation). Because he is building on Kant's philosophy he also demands from the reader to be familiar of his critisism of it. Schopenhauer considers Kant to be the greatest philosopher before him for his philosophy about metaphysics, thing-in-itself and the combination between the will's necessity and freedom that never been established before. Idealism is the basis of Schopenhauer's philosophy that is why it is difficult to understand from the first reading. His book must be red at least twice and by reading his other books which is variation on the same theme, his philosophy gets clearer. The philosophy of Schopenhauer deals with metaphisics therfore could not be complete. I recommend a good book that tries to complete Schopenhauer's work. The Will's Harmonic Motion: The Completion of Schopenhauer's Philosophy . The reader will find in it a fresh look at Schopenhauer great philosophy and takes the concept of the will to its limit and conclusion.

Insightful, and hopeful Schopenhauer is by no means easy. The vocabulary is difficult, because he is attempting to communicate something that transcends words. I can give you an attempt in few words what this (life long) work is saying. One, my ability to reason is limited by my nature. Two, I comprehend the cosmos through representations, and I am the subject. Three, the drive in me is irrational and insatiable driving me into a miserable state. All of this is a horrible cycle. I am Ouroboros attempting to eat his tail. This unconscious drive is "the Will". Therefore, the cosmos is "will" and representation. Schopenhauer, offers me a possible solution to the nightmare cycle and "Will" which is the cause of all human suffering. I can find a moment of relief in art and become lost in it. Music can aid me. I can become less of my insatiable "will" and deny it. I can glimpse into Platonic ideas and see the Cosmos and not the individual. I can accept that my idea of myself as an individual is an illusion. I can remove my worldly desires. I can deny the "Will".

Very deep, but unlike many other German philosophers, Schopenhauer is eloquent and lucid.

You will be surprised how much new things you can learn from this book

A pleasure to read. In the Kindle edition that I just downloaded, “modem” appears where “modern” is intended. I assume that in making the Kindle edition, the text was scanned from hardcopy, and the r and n in the printed word “modern” were read as an “m.” It is a bit distracting, and hopefully, at some point, it will be corrected. ***Update 2024. I haven’t looked at the book (volume 1) for a while. I just did, and when I searched for the word “modem” it can’t be found. They must have fixed the problem, but it still appears in volume 2.

One of the best books I've ever read on the meaning of life. The Buddhist perspective written for a Western audience.

Schopenhauer follows in the tradition of kant and comes up to provide the results of upanishads through the western system. Not verbose and difficult, one of the more readable philosophers. Must read.

Good print quality and great translation with helpful annotations. Great philosopher, outshines his charlatan contemporaries (like Hegel) and their successors that plague us to this day. Ideas are expressed clearly and aiming to instill the reader with an intuitive understanding of them with rich examples and references to Western history and civilization, while drawing on the rich fountain of ancient wisdom from the East. Will be one of the very few philosophers of the last millennia to be remembered well into the distant future.

Me gustaria subrayar y marcar haciendo dibuixos, círculos, flechas, recuadros, como la aplicació GoodNotes por ejemplo, más dinàmico, que podamos jugar con el texto.

ショーペンハウアーといえばペシミズムの大家というイメージがあるが、それは単なる表面的にみた場合の偏見に過ぎない。 いちばん興味をひくものは、彼が東洋思想、特に仏教やヒンドゥー教の思想を取り入れていることだ。 このことによって、プラトンのいうイデア、カントのthing-in-itself、仏教でよく言及される涅槃などが溶け合わさって彼の哲学になっている。このこと自体が非常におもしろいと思う。 巻末ではカントに対する批判を展開しているのだが、自分には理解できるものではなかった。 たしかに表面上だけで捉えれば、ショーペンハウアーの哲学は諦念を喚起させ、生をないがしろにするものに思われるが、意図するものはそのようなものではないということがこの本を通じて明らかとなる。

Arthur Schopenhauer's work constitutes a major breakthrough in philosophy. He smashed the straightjacket imposed by Immanuel Kant, who stated that we couldn't know the essence of the world, the real nature of all matter, the thing-in-itself. Schopenhauer remarked judiciously that we could discover this real nature, because we have knowledge of our own body. He called this essence 'the will'' or the 'will-to-live, which is practically the same as the Darwinian 'struggle for life'. Hereafter, a tentative short summary of this astonishing book. Representation and will The world (the object) is the representation of the subject (the individual). The essential form of this representation is the division into object and subject. Its subordinate forms are space = position, time = succession and (states of) matter = causality. The object (the world) is, on the one hand, only matter ; but, on the other hand, it has an innermost being, the thing-in-itself, which Schopenhauer calls 'the will', 'the will-to-live'. The will, its phenomena and freedom The will is the groundless essence of everything in nature. It is an endless striving and appears in every conscious and unconscious acting force of nature. How can we know the will ? Through information about our own body and its (voluntary and involuntary) actions and movements. Every individual, animal, plant, original inorganic force is to be regarded as a phenomenon (a manifestation) of the will. Knowledge, reason, feeling Perception is the first source of all evidence. Through it, we gather knowledge by discovering causality in the world. This leads to reflection on choices between several motives that govern the actions of the subject (the individual). Abstract knowledge consists of concepts conceived through language (grammar), planned action and science. Rational knowledge (reason) is crucial for making judgments (phrases), which describe the relation between a subject and a predicate. Feeling (religious, moral ...) is the opposite of rational knowledge. But, human conduct is driven by feelings (love, hatred ... ). Art Art is the camera obscura of the will. Genial art shows the objects more purely and enables the individual to comprehend them better. Aesthetic pleasure is to be interpreted as a deliverance from the influence of the will. Music is the language of feeling, while words are the language of reason ; music reproduces all the emotions of our innermost being, but entirely without reality. Man's daemon, Schopenhauer's pessimism Man is not free. He is not independent of the law of causality. His actions are determined by motives. He has an elective decision between different motives, whose choices reveal his character. Every individual imagines that he can at any moment enter upon a different way of life, which is equivalent to saying that he can become a different person. All life is suffering, an endless striving. Every satisfaction is merely a starting point for new striving. Sexual intercourse is the most decided affirmation of the will-to-live. Egoism is the starting point of all conflict. 'Wrong' is the denial of the will that appears in the bodies of others. The State contract (the law) is there to diminish all that suffering. The last part of the book is a thorough, amazing and extremely detailed criticism of the Kantian philosophy. This book had, although not immediately, immense influence on philosophy and literature. Nietzsche turned Schopenhauer's negative dark daemon into a positive 'will to power'.