Arthur Schopenhauer
A brilliant, misanthropic thinker who saw a blind, striving will at the core of all existence, profoundly influencing artists and psychologists.
1788–1860 (age 72)·German philosopher·Birthday: February 22
Biography
Arthur Schopenhauer lived a life of intellectual combat and cultivated bitterness. The son of a wealthy merchant, he inherited a fortune that granted him the independence to study and write without seeking academic approval, which he largely despised. His magnum opus, 'The World as Will and Representation,' synthesized Kantian idealism with Eastern philosophies like Buddhism, arguing that the visible world is merely a representation constructed by our minds. Beneath it, he posited, is a universal, aimless 'Will'—a ceaseless, suffering drive that fuels all life. This pessimistic system, presented with unmatched literary clarity, was initially ignored. He spent years in Frankfurt, a solitary figure known for his daily walks with a poodle, sharpening his attacks on Hegel and the prevailing optimism of his age. His influence only grew posthumously, captivating figures from Nietzsche and Freud to Tolstoy and Wagner, who found in his work a profound explanation for human struggle.
#1 When Arthur Was Born
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Arthur's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1788Born
1793Started school
1801Became a teenager
1804Could drive
1806Could vote
1809Turned 21
1818Turned 30
1828Turned 40
1838Turned 50
1848Turned 60
1858Turned 70
1860Died at 72
Key Achievements
- Authored his central philosophical work, 'The World as Will and Representation,' published in 1818 and expanded in 1844.
- Developed a metaphysical system that presented the world as the manifestation of a blind, irrational, and striving 'Will.'
- His philosophy of art and aesthetics, particularly regarding music as a direct expression of the Will, deeply influenced Richard Wagner.
- Won a prize from the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences in 1839 for his essay 'On the Freedom of the Will.'
Did You Know?
He kept a bust of Kant and a bronze statue of Buddha in his study.
Schopenhauer was fluent in Latin, Greek, French, English, and Italian.
He famously had a falling out with his mother, the novelist Johanna Schopenhauer, and they never reconciled.
He believed his poodles were incarnations of the same essential spirit, naming them all 'Atma,' a Sanskrit word for the universal self.
““Life swings like a pendulum backward and forward between pain and boredom.””
