Arthur Schopenhauer’s Philosophy

Schopenhauer’s Life and Thought

Arthur Schopenhauer, born on February 22, 1788, in Danzig (modern-day Gdańsk, Poland), was a German philosopher whose life spanned the tumultuous late 18th and early 19th centuries. The era in which Schopenhauer lived was marked by profound intellectual, political, and cultural transformations in Europe. His biography is closely intertwined with this period of change, marked by the aftermath of the Enlightenment and the advent of Romanticism.

Schopenhauer was the son of a wealthy merchant, Heinrich Floris Schopenhauer, and Johanna Schopenhauer, who later became a notable writer and intellectual. His family moved to Hamburg in 1793 after Prussia annexed Danzig, reflecting the region’s political instability. Schopenhauer’s youth was shaped by an international education, as his father wanted him to follow a career in commerce. He traveled widely across Europe as a young man, visiting cities like Paris and London, and was exposed to a variety of cultures and ideas. However, he abandoned his commercial aspirations following his father’s death in 1805 and turned to academic study, eventually enrolling at the University of Göttingen in 1809.

Schopenhauer pursued studies in philosophy, philology, and other disciplines during his time at university. Initially, he was deeply influenced by the works of Immanuel Kant, a philosopher whose ideas fundamentally shaped European thought. This period in philosophy, often termed German Idealism, dominated intellectual discourse and included notable figures such as Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, and later, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. However, Schopenhauer grew disillusioned with the prevailing trends in German Idealism and its abstract armchair reasoning, preferring a more empirical, grounded approach.

After completing his studies at Göttingen, Schopenhauer transferred to the University of Berlin, where Hegel was among the faculty. Their philosophical divergence became one of the defining aspects of Schopenhauer’s academic life. While Hegel enjoyed widespread acclaim and institutional support, Schopenhauer was deeply critical of his ideas and methods, regarding them as overly convoluted and detached from human reality. This animosity later manifested in Schopenhauer’s career struggles, as his own attempts to secure a university position were obscured by Hegel’s towering influence.

The context in which Schopenhauer wrote was significantly shaped by the intellectual legacy of the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment, characterized by a focus on reason, science, and progress, had laid the groundwork for modern philosophy in the 18th century. However, by Schopenhauer’s time, the Romantic movement had emerged as a reaction against the perceived cold rationalism of the Enlightenment. Romanticism emphasized emotion, individuality, nature, and creativity, championing a more subjective and often mystical understanding of human experience. Schopenhauer’s era was a philosophical crossroads where such contrasting ideas coexisted, clashed, and influenced one another.

Another major influence on Schopenhauer’s intellectual development was the expanding awareness of non-Western philosophical traditions. His exposure to the Upanishads and Buddhist thought contributed to his interest in themes such as suffering, renunciation, and the impermanence of life. The increasing globalization of knowledge during the 19th century brought Eastern and Western philosophical traditions into dialogue, although these ideas were often reframed within European contexts and interpretations.

Politically, Schopenhauer’s lifetime encompassed significant upheavals in Europe, including the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. These events disrupted the traditional order, leading to a rethinking of society, governance, and individual liberty. While Schopenhauer was not actively involved in political movements, the instability of this period invariably shaped his worldview. The broader cultural changes of the 19th century, such as industrialization and scientific advancements, also form part of the backdrop against which Schopenhauer’s personal and intellectual life unfolded.

Schopenhauer’s literary career was marked by initial obscurity. His most famous work, “The World as Will and Representation,” was published in 1819 and received little attention upon its release. Despite its lack of immediate success, this monumental work laid the foundation for his enduring legacy. Schopenhauer’s reputation only began to grow in the latter part of his life, as younger generations of thinkers recognized the originality and depth of his ideas. By the time of his death on September 21, 1860, in Frankfurt am Main, Schopenhauer had achieved increasing recognition and influence, though he never reached the institutional prominence of his contemporaries.

Arthur Schopenhauer’s life and career thus reflect the broader cultural and intellectual currents of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He lived and worked in a period of great transition in European philosophy, navigating the tensions between Enlightenment rationality, Romantic emotion, and the emergence of new global perspectives. His personal story, shaped by privilege, intellectual rigor, and philosophical eccentricity, remains an essential lens through which to understand the context of his contributions to the history of thought.

Key Ideas in Schopenhauer’s Philosophy

• Asceticism and Schopenhauer’s philosophy
• Compassion and Schopenhauer’s philosophy
• Pessimism and Schopenhauer’s philosophy
• Schopenhauer’s Philosophy and art and aesthetics
• Schopenhauer’s Philosophy and denial of the will
• Schopenhauer’s Philosophy and determinism
• Schopenhauer’s Philosophy and eternal justice
• Schopenhauer’s Philosophy and metaphysical unity
• Schopenhauer’s Philosophy and negative happiness
• Schopenhauer’s Philosophy and skepticism
• Schopenhauer’s Philosophy and the intellect and instinct distinction
• Schopenhauer’s Philosophy and the noumenon vs. phenomenon distinction
• Sublimation and Schopenhauer’s philosophy
• The Will To Live and Schopenhauer’s philosophy
• The World As Will And Representation and Schopenhauer’s philosophy