The World as Will and Representation, Vol. 1: Volume 1

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 willThe 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 freedomThe 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, feelingPerception 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 ... ).ArtArt 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 pessimismMan 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'.

The other reviews here give a fair indication of the content of his philosophy but I thought I'd add a comment about Schopenhauer's style. It is both magnificent in itself and wonderfully appropriate for the subject matter. On opening these Dover volumes at random you may feel intimidated by the density of the text - often there are entire pages that seem to consist of a single paragraph (we are almost in Thomas Bernhard country!) but there is no need to fear. It does take a bit of adjustment i.e. you have to make sure you have time and are prepared to put in some effort - at least initially. But soon you will find that, once you have adapted to the prose style, it is marvellously clear. And it is a fitting style. Schopenhauer is an awesomely sombre thinker and his sentences are long and winding but really quite bewitching. Of course you may not agree with everything e.g. at the beginning of the second book he makes some dubious connections between the five senses and certain moods. But you will find here a consistent and powerfully expressed outlook. He was also both a master of the inspired metaphor and an astute observer of humanity. I particularly love his observation that it is not the prizes that are beyond our reach or the disadvantages we see as inevitable that bother us but the matters that we can change that cause us distress. This is not what we would like to hear if we see ourselves as great "movers and shakers" but, like much that Schopenhauer says, it is quite true.

This with volume 2 comprises the the definitive work on the metaphysics of transcendental idealism. It is beautifully written and I know of no other philosopher who writes or wrote with such clarity and with such colour. However, prior to reading these works, I would really recommend reading Bryan Magee's introduction to Schopenhauer's philosophy. After reading these works, for those intrigued by Schopenhauer's uncanny prescience for developments in quantum physics, I recommend reading Fritjof Capra's Tao of Physics. It is astonishing that Schopenhauer's work anticipated not only Freud and Darwin but also Einstein and Heisenberg; and Heisenberg was just one of many physicists who have embraced Schopenhauer's metaphysics.Finally, I would note, that anyone interested in the work of Wagner, Proust, Turgenev, Hardy to name just a few would find here the source of much of their inspiration.There is so much to find in these books; not just food for thought but a feast.

Schopenhauer is generally regarded as a 'correction to Kant' and that is very true.As Kants Critique starts well, and ends in a floundering mess of complexity, Schopenhauer picks up the thread and with - amazingly - wit and verve accepts Kant's basic position, and then goes on to clarify it, before too floundering into a bit of a mess at the end.It's not surprising- metaphysics is always thinking about thinking, and that's a hard - possibly the hardest - thing to achieve clarity at.If you aren't interested in Metaphysics why are you reading this review?If you are, then this is a must have for the collection. And its a good translation too.Schopenhauer is often dismissed these days. Don't. He's good and he's sharp. Understand what he tries to say and make your own mind up.

Bought as a present and heard it’s good.

I needed the book. I am reading it

V happy with purchase

Amazing Book

Llego en tiempo y forma

I used it as self help!!!

This is the western philosopher I had been looking for for years. Using the Upanishads, Kant and Plato as building blocks, Shopenhauer present the most compelling case of philosophical idealism I've come across. Before reading this book, I was drawn to buddhism and eastern philosophy from a materialistic/psychological angle. After reading it, I've now come to see philosophical materialism as a very limiting way of interpreting the world and can now embrace buddhism and eastern philosophies more fully. Althought Shopenhauer's take on the principle of sufficient reason (cause and effect) leaves no place to individual agency, which does miss the mark a few millimeters from my point of view, most of the material here can serve as a spingboard to expend one's take on the universe greatly. His theory of the Will representing life as a more and more refined expression of an underlying striving forward taking root in the laws of physics is genius. The spectacle of life as being a self-devouring Ouroboros feeding on itself in a blind craving frenzy will appeal to those of a pessimistic bent. But all is not lost as Shopenhauer offers a moral life and spiritual awakening as an answer to this endless cycle, urging us to use our unique self-reflecting ability as humans to awaken and break free, echoing the teachings of the Buddha. This is where western and eastern philosophy meet, where idealism becomes the stronger argument, where Kant's phenomenon/noumenon and Gotama the Buddha's samsara/nibbana meet halfway.

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.

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