Schopenhauer
Archetype: Quietist of Destiny
1788 to 1860 · Frankfurt, Germany
“Man can do what he wills, but he cannot will what he wills.”
Do you think like Schopenhauer? Answer 44 to 132 statements and find out who, among 130 thinkers, has the way of thinking closest to yours.
Who was Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer was a German philosopher of difficult temperament, an avowed rival of Hegel. He taught that behind the world lies a blind and insatiable Will, the source of constant desire and suffering. One of the first Westerners to study Buddhism and Hinduism, he influenced Nietzsche, Freud, Wagner and many writers.
Core ideas
- Behind everything lies a blind Will that is never satisfied
- Life swings between the pain of unfulfilled desire and boredom
- Compassion for the suffering of others is the true basis of morality
The tradition: Pessimist
Philosophical pessimism is the view that existence brings more pain than joy and that the world has no good purpose. Schopenhauer is its great representative, proposing renunciation of desire as the way out.
Learn more: Wikipedia
Books by Schopenhauer
Three ways in. Start with the first.
Where Schopenhauer stands on the 11 axes
Each axis runs from the first pole (−1) to the second (+1). These are the positions the test compares with your answers.
