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Arthur Schopenhauer - Will of a Philosopher is the biography of Arthur Schopenhauer, a German philosopher best known for his work "The World as Will and Representation." Schopenhauer responded to and expanded upon Immanuel Kant's philosophy concerning the way in which we experience the world. Schopenhauer was a rare philosopher who considered philosophy and logic less important (or less effective) than art, certain charitable practices ("loving kindness", in his words), and certain forms of religious discipline. Schopenhauer was perhaps even more influential in his treatment of man's psychology than he was in the realm of philosophy. Arthur Schopenhauer - Will of a Philosopher is highly recommended for those interested in learning more about this important German Philosopher. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Outstanding Philosophical Work
This is the follow up to Schopenhauer's award-winning "Essay on the Freedom of the Will", which I seriously recommend BEFORE reading "The Basis of Morality".In this later volumn, the nineteenth century German philosopher clearly demonstrates his remarkable case by explaining the "ego" and the non-ego".It is when the individual has intense positive associative compassion for the non-self that morality is established, since compassion is the basis of goodness.His work is not merely his opinion, but a very carefully thought out theory, based on human experience in different cultures in all ages.

His approach starts with a thorough analysis of Kant's Categorical Imperative and continues with many post-Kantian philosophers.Religious belief systems are significantly explored and shown to be irrelevant.Schopenhauer is not an anti-theist.Far from it.But, he claims that religious doctrine and dogma can at best curb malice, cruelty, and base actions on the part of believers.

Schopenhauer is a lucid writer, though a bit caustic toward his competitors.The reader needs to take Schopenhauer for who he is.Then, the reader is free to sense a transforming thought about morality.

"The Basis of Morality" transcends everything else I have read on the subject.Even if the reader chooses to disagree with this philosopher, at least the reader has been introduced to a concluding theory, worthy of both further investigation and debate. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not Worth the Paper it is Printed On
DO NOT GET THIS EDITION! They simply,literally, photo-copied the 1903 edition,errant marks, MISSING PAGES and all,and then they turn around and charge you 20 bucks for it. It will arrive at your door reading like its 100 years old, because for all intents and purposes, IT IS!
This edition is highway robbery, find another one. ... Read more

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The Metaphysical Vision: Arthur Schopenhauers Philosophy of Art and Life and Samuel Becketts Own Way to Make Use of It expands upon the ideas and theories set forth in the authors Die eigentlich metaphysische Tätigkeit: Über Schopenhauers Ästhetik und ihre Anwendung durch Samuel Beckett, published (in German) in 1982 and hailed by Catharina Wulf in her book The Imperative of Narration (1997) as an excellent study and the most thorough enquiry into Beckett and Schopenhauer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Schopenhauer, the artist, and aesthetics
The infuence of Schopenhauer has been massive, yet often unappreciated. From Wagner, to Nietzsche, and Freud, or Heidegger and Wittgenstein, the brilliance of Schopenhauer's clarity of vision has echoed in the age period in his wake. This fascinating book is both an excellent brief introduction to Schopenhauer's thought, and a demonstration of his influence on Beckett (and Proust). Schopenhauer's aesthetics is such a compelling arrow to the heart of the matter that it has inspired artists across a whole spectrum to put the philosophical question into high gear in a kind of stilling of thoughts, as the visionaryimpulse comes to the fore.
Engaging and highy readable introduction to both the philosopher and the artist. ... Read more

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Suddenly confronted with his own mortality after a routine checkup, eminent psychotherapist Julius Hertzfeld is forced to reexamine his life and work -- and seeks out Philip Slate, a sex addict whom he failed to help some twenty years earlier. Yet Philip claims to be cured -- miraculously transformed by the pessimistic teachings of German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer -- and is, himself, a philosophical counselor in training. Philips dour, misanthropic stance compels Julius to invite Philip to join his intensive therapy group in exchange for tutoring on Schopenhauer. But with mere months left, life may be far too short to help Philip or to compete with him for the hearts and minds of the group members. And then again, it might be just long enough.

Customer Reviews (47)

The pleasure of understanding complicated things...
The pleasure of understanding complicated things...is the gift of this book! Reknowned psychoanalist Irvin D. Yalom has once again written a remarkable book, whose story embodies the deeply marinated wisdom of psychoanalytic thought applied and uncovered, as it unfolds in the story. His other books, "When Nietzche Wept" and "Lying on the Couch" are also masterful, sexy, and delightfully funny and whimsical. Who would think psychoanalysts could be so human! Amazing and rich exploration of the human condition, adding riches to one's insight about life. An education can be delicious. A book for groups to study, and mine for wisdom!! I feel grateful for the work done by this creative man.

Good Book
I thought this book was going to suck but it was really interesting and well written. Makes you want to keep reading to find out what happens.

Do not make assumptions!
Nobody knows for sure if the great philosopher had or not some mental illness.
He is famous for his impolite position in matters that goes from women to the
cultural issues from his time, but to build one entire work assuming the ideas
of Schopenhauer are preconceived, i think it is a supreme stupidity.
Schopenhauer must be accounted as a pillar of our western culture.
I think the work in question was made with the sole purpose of
create notoriety from some famous historical character and nothing more.
Incredible that someone came to know Schopenhauer the man, and nothing from
his immortal ideas. Go and please read the works from Schopenhauer instead.

A great, meaningful work
This novel reads smoothly and teaches you at the same time, which is what Yalom is known for. Irvin offers a book that turns away from all other fictions in that it is not an escapist book, but a novel that confronts what other authors are too afraid to.

Yalom not at his best, but still very good
As an avid Yalom fan, as expected, I liked this book very much. It may not be his best attempt, not as good as either When Nietzche Wept or Lying on the Couch in my opinion, but it's still a well-constructed, thoroughly enjoyable read. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) was one of the most original and provocative thinkers of the nineteenth century. He spent a lifetime striving to understand the meaning of living in a world where suffering and death are ubiquitous. In his quest to solve "the ever-disquieting riddle of existence," Schopenhauer explored almost every dimension of human existence, developing a darkly compelling worldview that found deep resonance in contemporary literature, music, philosophy, and psychology.This is the first comprehensive biography of Schopenhauer written in English. Placing him in his historical and philosophical contexts, David E. Cartwright tells the story of Schopenhauer's life to convey the full range of his philosophy. He offers a fully documented portrait in which he explores Schopenhauer's fractured family life, his early formative influences, his critical loyalty to Kant, his personal interactions with Fichte and Goethe, his ambivalent relationship with Schelling, his contempt for Hegel, his struggle to make his philosophy known, and his reaction to his late-arriving fame. The Schopenhauer who emerges in this biography is the complex author of a philosophy that had a significant influence on figures as diverse as Samuel Beckett, Jorge Luis Borges, Emile Durkheim, Sigmund Freud, Thomas Hardy, Thomas Mann, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Ludwig Wittgenstein. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Schopenhauer the Man and the Thinker, all in one...
This an excellent introduction to Schopenhauer in all senses possible. Mr. David E. Cartwright has accomplished the double task to show the life of this secluded thinker and also the essence of his work. For that he has explained the core of the thinking by Schopenhauer in each of his successive works alongsections that alternates with sheer biographical portrait. I guess that 90% or more of the readers of this book are previous reader of original Schopenhauer work, but probably not many has read all his books, so even in this case the one by Mr.Cartwright hit a target. Schopenhauer is presented by the author in all his features, bad and good, giving to us a full picture of the man and also, as a side sight, of the ambiance of scholarly life in Germany in those middle XIX century years. The prose ofCartwright is not only clear as should be treating about a master of clearness as Schopenhauer was, but also has some light notes of humor here and there that enliven a lot the narration. A very good book indeed.

only 150 years after he died
I came to Schopenhauer the old fashioned way, through Nietzsche. I came to Nietzsche the old fashioned way, too, through(closeted)Nazi immigrants who moved into the neighborhood after the war.(II, that is.) Schopenhauer expressed, in the folksy language of the Germans, that thought which everyone knows to be true, namely that the world is but a front underneath which lies some deep and awful (in the old sense) reality. The perennial philosophy.

Checking the philosophy section at my middle-sized town's Borders, I found five volumes of Schopenhauer, surpassed only by Nietzsche, Foucault and one or two others. One for Wittgenstein, zero each for Locke, Berkeley and Hume...but four for Kant! And I don't suppose anyone reading this review is ignorant of the wide circle of S's fans. The above named Wittgenstein, famously, but Mann, Jung, Jayne Mansfield (personal knowledge), Bergson.....

In college learned that Schopenhauer is "part of the canon, though hardly canonized" as our author puts it. I went on to other concerns, but never lost a certain adolescent enthusiasm for our philosopher. In those days, biographies of most European philosophers were uncommon in English. The Cambridge series has set out to remedy this, with some successes.This is, in fact, the first good biography of S in English!I think this is pretty surprising for such an influential figure.(A century old hagiography by Helen Zimmern is still in print. Forget it.)


The book inserts lengthy summaries of S's work as they appeared chronologically in the author's life. In doing so he explains the maturation and revisions in the author's philosophy. This was quite interesting to me. He also emphasizes that in the end S really thought of his simple-yet-intricate metaphysics as a kind of best guess, sort of like what Pierce called, what?, an "abduction", as I recall. The best theory to explain all the data. So Schopenhauer does have a kind of extra-theoretical justification for his system, but without introducing the explicitly pragamtic justification. I found that a little humble in a writer not known for humility. Having not read S in a while, it was fun to review. I thought the long digression on ghosts was a waste of time, and having ordered Parerga and read the original, so is it.

I'd been waiting fifty years for this biography, and I'm satisfied. Though more info on S is here than elsewhere collected, however, it leaves the man himself little more than the caricature he's always been. In addition to woman-hater and general misanthrope he becomes also an antisemite in this book. The reader can judge for herself, my own general impression of S was more of a biase against the Mosaic religions in general than antisemitism as we might think of it now. S was the epitome of the grand generalization on anything or anybody. In fact, given my youthful introduction to him, what I noticed most of all in his barbs were the antiGerman remarks (if these people are so great, why is he always making fun of them?) What still would be a great read however would be a period biography about S THE MAN. His friends, lovers, descriptions of surroundings, you know, the standard stuff. From what's available in English, I can't get a full picture of that so far.

I must add these editions are really cheaply produced. Glued together, paper over board covers, cheap bulked-out paper. Bottom line publishing. Too much to ask from this series, but would a few plates or photos be impossible? If I just wanted a resource, I'd wait for the paperback, if there is one. Actually be a better book.




... Read more

Product Description
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) was a German philosopher best known for his work The World as Will and Representation. He responded to and expanded upon Immanuel Kant's philosophy concerning the way in which we experience the world. His critique of Kant, his creative solutions to the problems of human experience and his explication of the limits of human knowledge are among his most important achievements. His metaphysical theory is the foundation of his influential writings on psychology, aesthetics, ethics, and politics which influenced Friedrich Nietzsche, Wagner, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Sigmund Freud and others. He said he was influenced by the Upanishads, Immanuel Kant, and Plato. References to Eastern philosophy and religion appear frequently in his writing. He appreciated the teachings of the Buddha and even called himself a Buddhaist. He said that his philosophy could not have been conceived before these teachings were available. He called himself a Kantian. He formulated a pessimistic philosophy that gained importance and support after the failure of the German and Austrian revolutions of 1848. ... Read more

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The World as Will and Idea (1819) holds that all nature, including man, is the expression of an insatiable will to life; that the truest understanding of the world comes through art, and the only lasting good through ascetic renunciation. Unique in western philosophy for his affinity with Eastern thought, Schopenhauer influenced philosophers, writers, and composers including Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Wagner, Tolstoy, Thomas Mann, and Samuel Beckett. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

A strange but very influential philosopher
Bertrand Russell was probably right when he commented that Schopenhauer was more influential among artists and writers than he was among philosophers.Be that as it may, this quirky thinker had a great influence on fin-de-siecle Europe.He's one of the few genuinely pessimistic philosophers, and he helped to make the fin-de-siecle gloomy.

"The world is my idea," says the first sentence in this book.Leaving that aside for the moment, the only thing left in the world is "will," which Schopenhauer regards in a very Buddhist fashion.He tends to think that there is really one Universal Will, which shows up in each of us, and that this will is evil.Since Schopenhauer does not believe in any God, but is a sort of semi-Buddhist, he recommends abstinence and asceticism as the only path for the wise man to take.His only "salvation" is in Art, of all things!

As Russell points out, Schopenhauer was not completely honest in all of this.He lived alone, with a small dog named Atma, but he dined in fine restaurants every day.He never married, although he had a few brief affairs which were things of the flesh, not the heart.He was not only a misanthrope but a misogynist as well; he once threw a woman down the stairs for talking too loud outside his door. (She sued him and won, and Schopenhauer had to pay her a small sum for permanent injuries for the rest of her life.)

I find Schopenhauer's essays much more entertaining than his attempt at serious philosophy, and I think most readers agree.It is well to remember, while reading anything written by him, just what a strange fellow he was.Look at his portrait: does he strike you as a person of serene wisdom?:-)

Do not buy General Books LLC "The World as Will and Idea"
This "translation" of The World as Will and Idea printed by General Books LLC is terrible.
No translator is listed.It is incomplete, missing important parts, and was total waste of money.
The disclaimer at the beginning of the book says in part:
"...While the publisher and author have used their best efforts...they make no representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book..."Further down it says:
"We have created this book from the original using Optical Character Recognition software to keep the cost of the book as low as possible....please forgive any spelling mistakes, missing or extraneous characters..."
That pretty well sums it up.General Books LLC books clearly aren't even worth the money put into making them.
If you want a usable copy look for more well-known publisher.This is unusable for anyone studying the text academically, and fairly worthless for anyone else.

Not as it seems
Unfortunately this title is misleading and starts in the middle of the book.It is a fair price for what you get but this kind of heady reading is not something one wants to start in the middle.I was unable to find a "part I" to this series so instead purchased an abridgement of the entire work so I intend to read the abridged version until it catches up with this, more detailed part of the work.
It comes from a source that allows you to download books very inexpensively but I didn't look into that as it is not for me.It may be a way to find the volume I of this series.

G

this is not what it claims to be
this is actually the last part of the entire work although the advertising would have you believe you are buying the whole work
I regard this as a misrepresentation!

Kindle edition
The Kindle edition of this work is a disaster. There is no Table of Contents, much less a Contents with active links. Worse, the text itself is full of formatting problems and typos. We very much need a Kindle edition of Schopenhauer's main work (in particular, the two volumes translated as The World as Will and Representation). But this is NOT that edition. ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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This volume contains a bicentennial trilingual anthology of essays on Arthur Schopenhauer by 20 late-20th-century Schopenhauer scholars. ... Read more

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THIS 96 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: The Wisdom of Life and Other Essays: The Works of Arthur Schopenhauer, by Arthur Schopenhauer. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 1417939567. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A supreme pessimist
I like Schopenhauer although his philosophy and metaphysics, which is called absolute voluntaristic idealism, hasn't faired that well in the last 100 years, although when I was in college 30 years ago he seemed to be popular among the students I knew who enjoyed reading philosophy.

There are several reasons why Schopenhauer's thought is still important. An idealist like Kant, he kept Kant's distinction between the noumenal and the phenomenal, between the mental and external representations of reality. Kant's defense of idealism, that some ideas or at least mental processes are innate, is still relevant in modern brain science and neurobiology and in Chomsky's theories in linguistics, especially in regard to Chomsky's ideas about language learning and acquisition, in which there is support from brain science for a built-in facility in humans for language, and possibly an innate syntactical generator component to language ability.

Although innate ideas probably don't exist in the way that Kant envisioned them, modern brain science has supported his theory that the mind or brain is actively involved in the organizing and structuring of the data from the senses, and that we couldn't make sense of reality if we didn't have inborn aptitudes and capabilities to do that.

Schopenhauer emphasized the importance of Eastern philosophy and the validity of its introspective methods, while maintaining his overall empirical approach. His moral and ethical philosophy is based on compassion rather than on practical and reasonable considerations like Kant's. He was probably the first important western philosopher to give credit to Zen and Buddhist thought, while remaining faithful to the empirical principles of science.

Outside of philosophy his thoughts have had a major impact on psychology and the arts. He was the most important influence on both Nietzsche and Wittgenstein, and he also had a great influence on Freud and Jung, and on writers and composers from Wagner to Tolstoy. During the 20th century, Schopenhauer's reputation faded and the importance of his work has been to a great extent overlooked, but recent books show that his importance is being rediscovered and reappraised.

I have a personal anecdote to recount. My college roommates and I used to read Schopenhauer at night to each other over a couple of beers, and we found his acerbic, trenchant style and sharp wit a delight to read, and this book is perhaps the best example of his prose in that regard. One Schopenhauer quote I still remember after 30 years is: "Intellect comes from the mother; character from the father," which might say a lot about his family life and how he grew up.

Schopenhauer is also famous for quotes such as:

"The two foes of human happiness are pain and boredom."
(from his Essays, Personality; or What a Man Is).

"I have long held the opinion that the amount of noise that anyone can bear undisturbed stands in inverse proportion to his mental capacity and therefore be regarded as pretty fair measure of it."

"To marry is to halve your rights and double your duties."

I have to include my favorite quote on marriage here, although it isn't Schopenhauer's, and I don't know where it came from, although it echoes his sentiments: "Marriage is the institution where the woman loses her the name and the man his solvency."

His dyspeptic view of life might have been fostered by his delicate digestive system. He would spend many minutes and even hours poring over the menu before ordering his food in the cafes where he usually dined, because a wrong choice "could send his nerves ringing for days," according to one comment I read about him. Whatever the source of his pessimism, Schopenhauer seemed almost embarrassed and ashamed to be in a human body, because he did not seem to find much good in humans or human society. No doubt he would have preferred to be a higher, more intelligent species than humans, if such exists somewhere else in the universe. But Schopenhauer didn't seem to think that intelligent life existed here. :-)

Whatever the current fate of his reputation, Schopenhauer was a uniquely gloomy intellect who contributed much to several areas of philosophy. And not the least of his virtues is that he was a true cynic and pessimist--surely the most accurate view of life, after all. :-) ... Read more

Product Description
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) was one of the greatest writers and German philosophers of the nineteenth century. His work influenced figures as diverse as Wagner, Freud and Nietzsche. Best known as a pessimist, he was one of the few philosophers read and admired by Wittgenstein.

In this comprehensive introduction, Julian Young covers all the main aspects of Schopenhauer's philosophy. Beginning with an overview of Schopenhauer's life and work, he introduces the central aspects of his metaphysics fundamental to understanding his work as a whole: his philosophical idealism and debt to the philosophy of Kant; his attempt to answer the question of what the world is; his account of science; and in particular his idea that 'will' is the essence of all things.

Julian Young then introduces and assesses Schopenhauer's aesthetics, which occupy a central place in his philosophy. He carefully examines Schopenhauer's theories of the sublime, artistic genius and music, before assessing his ethics of compassion, his arguments for pessimism and his account of 'salvation'. In the final chapter, he considers Schopenhauer's legacy and his influence on the thought of Nietzsche and Wittgenstein, making this an ideal starting point for those coming to Schopenhauer for the first time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Worthwhile Introduction
Julian Young is an unusually talented writer, and he has composed what may well be the best introduction to the philosophy of Schopenhauer in the English language. Any obstacles in the way of a reader approaching the philosophy of Schopenhauer are done away with in an admirable manner. Especially helpful is Young's treatment of the tenets of the idealist philosophy. The idealist worldview is in many respects counter-intuitive, and Young has done a tremendous favour to those entrapped by a crude common sense view of the world. Furthermore, one will be left with very few unanswered questions regarding Schopenhauer's terminology after having read this book. In this respect, Young does a much better job than Janaway's truly awful Cambridge Companion to Schopenhauer. Of course, an introductory text can never be exhaustive, and one should perhaps be thankful to Young for not delving too deep. There are secrets and riddles in Schopenhauer's books, which the reader should attempt to discover and solve of his own accord. My only objection to this book is Young's awkward sense of humour, to which he occasionally gives vent; frivolities are wholly out of place in a book about Schopenhauer, not to mention the silly references to football.But these minor objections do in no way detract from quality of this work.

Clear and insightful
I was deeply appreciative of this very clear book about Schopenhauer. Young not only gives a solid exposition of the fundamentals of this intriguing philosopher (who might, unjustly, seem impenetrable at a first glance at some of his writings), but also introduces some novel interpretation of his own, yielding elegant, though controversial, solutions to some of the riddles the reader inevtiably encounters in aforay into the source material. This book will raise much for Schopenhauer fans to discuss, if it hasn't already.

I must add that I also enjoyed how dismissive Young is of Schopenhauer in places where he thinks the philosopher goes very wrong, despite the great respect he accords to him overall. Considering how vitriolic and dismissive Schopenhauer was toward so many of his contemporaries, it is amusing to some of his own errors handled in like fashion. ... Read more

Product Description
Philosophy is one of the most intimidating and difficult of disciplines, as any of its students can attest. This book is an important entry in a distinctive new series from Routledge: The Great Philosophers. Breaking down obstacles to understanding the ideas of history's greatest thinkers, these brief, accessible, and affordable volumes offer essential introductions to the great philosophers of the Western tradition from Plato to Wittgenstein.In just 64 pages, each author, a specialist on his subject, places the philosopher and his ideas into historical perspective. Each volume explains, in simple terms, the basic concepts, enriching the narrative through the effective use of biographical detail. And instead of attempting to explain the philosopher's entire intellectual history, which can be daunting, this series takes one central theme in each philosopher's work, using it to unfold the philosopher's thoughts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Whichever way the will goes...
Those searching for a bleak view of humanity should look no further than Arthur Schopenhauer. His conception of "the Will" as a purposeless, Sisyphean automaton that never satiates its depthless desires stands as one of Western thought's most life-negating metaphysical posits. A Herculean challenge to peppy optimists, Schopenhauer's philosophy outlines some of life's most miserable, yet undeniable, characteristics. This tiny book provides a good overview of the ups and downs, origins, and influences of Western philosophy's grim reaper (he even looks grim in photos).

The easily digestible essay carries the subtitle "Metaphysics and Art." That serves as the most concise summary possible of the subsequent 54 pages. Michael Tanner, who has also written introductory books on both Wagner and Nietzsche, begins with the origins of Schopenhauer's metaphysics in Kant. Those unfamiliar with the classic story of Hume's skepticism leading to the grand Kantian Transcendentalist program might have to re-read a few sentences here and there, but overall the discussion remains accessible. Schopenhauer's idea of "representation" derives from Kant's bifurcation of phenomenon (the physical world as we perceive it) and noumenon (the world as it is in itself, inaccessible to us) in "The Critique of Pure Reason." In essence, he disagrees with Kant's dichotomy and instead suggests that we can know the world as it is through "the Will." In a very Buddhist and Vedantic manner, Schopenhauer says that we are all a part of a unity, a "Primal One," and thus humanity harbors an illusion of individuality. This mirage, called the "Principle of Individuation" or "principium individuationis," lies at the heart of our unquenchable desires. We are all in fact part of the universal "will," which manifests itself, according to Schopenhauer, everywhere, even in gravitation. Humanity remains enslaved to this massive "Will." We can't sate it and one fulfilled desire turns into ten additional desires. As such, the voluminous nastiness we experience, directly or indirectly, througout our lives are not illusions we can write off as "appearances." They exist. Tanner summarizes: "One of the things that distinguishes Schopenhauer from most other philosophers is his insistence that the world is not the place we would like it to be." Some philosophers begin their systems with how they would like the world and then argue in reverse to fill that conclusion. Schopenhauer may be pulling the same sleight of hand with his system, but his gloomy outlook suggests otherwise. Ultimately, he almost represents the philosophical equivalent of stealing candy from a baby.

Though Schopenhauer often gets, understandably, categorized as a pessimist, Tanner defends him against such brickbats. At this point the metaphysical discussion turns to art. First off, Schopenhauer does not condone suicide, even in the ugly face of the oppressive "Will." He calls it a "futile and foolish act." Tanner sees Christian morality peeking out here. Second, the arts provide some solace for the will, particularly music (here's where Wagner's mouth fell open). Though he strangely turns to Platonic forms as the "highest grade of objectification of the will" he nonetheless gives special status to music as the way one experiences the will directly. Tanner asks the obvious question why anyone would want to know the will given its depiction as an evil tyrant over humanity. Schopenhauerian "salvation" then becomes a puzzle; it is suggested that we could throw off the illusion of individuality and become one with the will. But is that desirable? Tanner scrutinizes this tension that runs through Schopenhauer's philosophy.

The book thus concludes with a head-scratcher. Nonetheless, it provides a great introduction to the pros, cons, and seeming contradictions in Schopenhauer's philosophy. Tanner also points out his legacy in figures such as Nietzsche and Wagner. The former later rejected "artist's metaphysics" while the latter seemed to embrace it, even though Schopenhauer openly advocated Rossini and supposedly disliked Wagner's music. In the end, everybody goes whichever way the will goes. At least Schopenhauer, slightlypresaging psychology, thought so.

Easy Intro to Schopenhauer
Despite the lack of a bibliolography, this brief book explores Schopenhauer's main thoughts on Will and Aesthetics.The writing is crisp and easily understood.The many quotations from the philosopher's main work are clear, inspiring me to read Schopenhauer directly.

Dr. Tanner introduces Shopenhauer by way of Kant, and in my opinion gives a clear and relevant account.He contrasts Schopenhauer with Nietzsche, who first adopted his predecessor's thoughts, but who later overcame the apparent pessimism of Schopenhauer with his own Uebermensch.

Explains the inextricably complicated (Rossini)
For anyone who still thinks of philosophy as a loose collection of schools of thought or method headed by major thinkers, as Randall Collins roughly pictured in 1098 pages in THE SOCIOLOGY OF PHILOSOPHIES / A GLOBAL THEORY OF INTELLECTUAL CHANGE, then the major thinkers Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche had differing degrees of success, as Kant and Hegel have far more lines in the index of the Randall Collins book than Schopenhauer and Nietzsche.Nietzsche expressed a contrary view, possibly more ancient than modern, which applied far more accurately to the pre-Platonic Greeks, that there is no philosophy, only philosophers.For those whose idea of meaning depends mainly on context, Schopenhauer must now be evaluated primarily in what he was able to learn from Kant, how he reacted to his contemporary Hegel, and whether he deserved the repudiation which Nietzsche eventually expressed as a sign of triumph over the denial of will lying in the heart of Schopenhauer's philosophy.I have the big major volumes of Schopenhauer's philosophy, but I was hoping to find more when I checked the shelf in a used book store and found something tiny by Michael Tanner called SCHOPENHAUER / Metaphysics and Art (1997, 1999).

There is too much of Schopenhauer's work to expect a short explanation of all of it.He wrote at such great length on so many topics that the 54 pages of Michael Tanner's book would only be valuable as a summary of a particular aspect that is important for distinguishing Schopenhauer from the other thinkers with which he has become inextricably entwined in the minds of readers whose approach to philosophy has not been as systematic as the great books approach.My own interest would be more perverse than usual because I would like to find, somewhere in the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), some indication that his interest in music was in some way on the upskirts of rock 'n' roll, even when he is writing, "No one has kept so free from this mistake as Rossini; hence his music speaks its own language so distinctly and purely that it requires no words at all, and produces its full effect even when rendered by instruments alone."(pp. 48-49).

Schopenhauer playing flute by himself for several hours a day is probably the opposite of the kind of music appreciation of modern youngsters who expect to hear, "Let's party, let's get down.Turn the radio on, this is the meltdown" as in Sheryl Crow's "There Goes the Neighborhood" song.Schopenhauer was not even a seminar type thinker, as Michael Tanner seems to expect whenever a universal truth stated by Schopenhauer does not conform to our modern reduction of philosophy to a group discussion format in which individuals take turns expressing points of view.Since Plato, philosophy has been adept at condemning the poets and trying to think in ways that speak with more validity than music, so what do you expect?I think Michael Tanner blames Schopenhauer for indicating that music says more than philosophy, when Schopenhauer's main point of view would then be foolish:

This tiresome need of art to be `truthful', when the truth is disgusting, is what Nietzsche only came to free himself from -- granted his general outlook -- late in life when he wrote (and then only in a notebook):`We have art in order that we may not perish of truth.Truth is ugly.'Why didn't Schopenhauer say the same?(p. 47).

I must say that I was highly impressed by the first page of this book, which mentioned THE WORLD AS WILL AND REPRESENTATION and Kant's CRITIQUE OF PURE REASON with "he espoused some of its key doctrines, and it is necessary to grasp them to see how Schopenhauer moved on, as he saw it, from them to his own highly idiosyncratic position."Pages 2 and 3 trace the fundamental problem back to David Hume, and the beginning of THE WORLD AS WILL AND REPRESENTATION is quoted on pages 5-6.Pages 9-11 quote the second chapter of Book II for the inner nature of the individual for whom "The act of will and the action of the body are not two different states objectively known, . . ."At the end of the second book, Schopenhauer has a position of "Eternal becoming, endless flux, belong to the revelation of the essential nature of the will."(p. 16).In Volume II, in a chapter called `Characterization of the Will-to-Live', most unfortunately, "everyone perseveres in such a mock existence as long as he possibly can"(p. 18).

Finally Richard Wagner, Tolstory, Thomas Mann, Hardy, and Conrad are mentioned as having "a strong satisfaction in having what they regard as the necessary, inescapable misery of life so lucidly conveyed."(p. 19).Book III gives us:

"Thus the subject of willing is constantly lying on the revolving wheel of Ixion, is always drawing water in the sieve of the Danaids, and is the eternally thirsting Tantalus."(p. 20).

Then a discussion of earthly happiness and pain quotes pages with particular sentences examined to find "this is more of the registering of a tendency than the statement of a universal truth, and it is certainly not a necessary or conceptual truth."(p. 28).

On the upskirts of rock 'n' roll, Michael Tanner observes "that the way in which we usually appreciate music, when we are concerned with it from the point of view of emotional expression, is something that we value because it, at best, takes us into the deepest recesses of our empirical selves, the selves which maintain a constant attempt to remain sharply individuated.So whatever the truth about music, how and even if it is expressive, it can't be expressive of ultimate reality."(p. 51).He must mean that when Aimee Mann sings "You Could Make a Killing" on the `I'm with Stupid' CD, it might be true for an individual listener, but if everybody tried it, the chaos would be unreal.

Clear, concise and informative
I love this book! The author really gives a clear understanding of Schopenhauer.I've tried to read and understand S. for a few years, and always left frustrated. I don't have the time to engage in a thorough analysis of this deep thinker. But Mr. Tanner gives a graet summary, with well chosen quotes to give an introductory overview of his thinking. I've read a lot of Nietzche, and I always viewed S. as "pre-Nietzche".But, i'm drawn more and more to the conclusions that S. presents.He sticks with what he observes, and doesn't add his own thoughts on how things should be.The author helps you understand S.'s magnum opus "The World as Will and Representation" very clearly.
Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a revised and enlarged version of Bryan Magee's widely praised study of Schopenhauer, the most comprehensive book on this great philosopher. It contains a brief biography of Schopenhauer, a systematic exposition of his thought, and a critical discussion of the problems to which it gives rise and of its influence on a wide range of thinkers and artists. For this new edition Magee has added three new chapters and made many minor revisions and corrections throughout. This new edition will consolidate the book's standing as the definitive study of Schopenhauer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

Nothing as You imagine
My interest in reading Schopenhauer came about through a Wikipedia entry about his aesthetics and how various artists and writers like Proust were influenced by his thought. This book was cited there so I decided to introduce myself to Schopenhauer. I studied philosophy in college but never Schopenhauer. I think he had been one of those philosophers, like Hegel and Marx, who were not treated seriously at my school which followed more of the logical positivists, A.J. Ayer, etc.

Now I find how much I had been mislead. I had studied Descartes. Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume and Kant, the "Great Tradition" as Magee calls it. Schopenhauer picks up where Kant left off, acknowledges his achievement, but then shows where he went wrong and corrects him. It may surprise some readers, as it did me, to learn that Ludwig Wittgenstein, one of the great 20th century thinkers, is a Schopenhauer "follower", as is Noam Chomskey. Maybe "follower" is the wrong word but at least someone who builds on Schopenhauer's work. There is much to be learned here and I'm just beginning.

The best book on Schopenhauer around.
It is heartening to see the overwhelmingly enthusiastic response Magee's book has elicited among Amazon's reviewers. All too often, works that receive a host of five-star reviews are also cursed with a number of one-star condemnations that create a rather split impression. What some love, apparently, others often hate. But here there's a near-perfect unanimity (as yet, at least!). And indeed -- this is *the* classic introduction to Schopenhauer's philosophy, so that's only as it should be.

Magee's superb prose lends credence to the thesis that a great style is the natural outflow of a powerful mind. This is not to suggest that Magee is a great philosopher in his own right. But he is a sharp and independent thinker who does more than merely summarize Schopenhauer's arguments in that rather automatic and boring fashion that is only too common among expositors. Instead, he often reformulates Schopenhauer's philosophical system in his own words, trying to think his logic through to the end, and raising objections where he believes he has found weaknesses. Inevitably, we get *both* Magee and Schopenhauer in this work. But just because Magee's presence is indeed so strongly felt, the two are in fact unusually easy to separate. Lesser minds will instead have a tendency to merge with the philosophy they are trying to explicate, making it impossible for the reader to tell what belongs to the original thinker, and what to his second-rate expositor. In such studies, Schopenhauer is adulterated, and remains hidden behind whatever author tries to function as his mouthpiece. But here we do have Schopenhauer, though sometimes engaging in a wrestling match of the minds with Magee. It is, in fact, the only fair and honest way to write a book such as this. The natural outcome is that the reader, if he hasn't already read Schopenhauer's own works first (as he in fact should have), will feel a strong inclination to do so once he has put Magee's volume down. And Magee himself would of course applaud this -- like few other commentators he understands the importance of gaining a first-hand knowledge of the classic philosophers through the study of their works, and not just by reading about them in cursory history surveys. And Schopenhauer -- let it be added in conclusion -- will reward that undertaking handsomely. For he is an even greater stylist than Magee, and his philosophy stands firm as one of the most important contributions to the thought of the 19th century.

Passionate Advocate For Schopenhauer & Transcendental Idealism
I don't own many books that I return to over and over again for insight, this is one of those rare gems. It seems that nobody has reviewed this book for some time now, I feel sad that this book isn't read more frequently. It isn't an easy read nor should it be, the author is going for Olympic gold in philosophic idea hefting: some grunting, sweat and wobbling knees indicate massive effort is underway. And it works, we are lifted to the lofty heights of Schopenhauer's philosophic vision.

Beneath it all, I think Bryan Magee has a great deal of material that vindicates transcendental idealism, and he is really passionate in his presentation style, and it is effective. Given the huge destruction of Western Philosophy at the hands of the Oxford project to destroy philosophy through self-demolition gang, I hope his study of Schopenhauer can help resuscitate philosophy from death by utter lack of interest.

I'd add his Confessions of a Philosopher to my gem list, and if you don't have a great deal of time, I thought Everyman version of "The World as Will and Idea" (not Representation!)was helpful, even its editor thought that Magee's description of Schopenhauer's Will is well, wrong.

I can't think of another area that creates such amazing insights while suffering fundamental confusion over core concepts (what is "the will"?) or the title of the major book (The World as Will and Representation - Or is it The World as Will and Idea?). In any case, the journey toward wisdom is what makes it all meaningful.

STUNNINGLY GOOD
An absolutely stunning presentation of complex ideas in as straight-forward a manner as possible.You come away with a sense of understanding Arthur Schopenhauer and his philosophy.It makes reading THE WORLD AS WILL AND REPRESENTATION so much more rewarding.Mr. Magee deserves every prize possible for writing this treasure.All I can say is THANK YOU EVER SO MUCH, MR. BRYAN MAGEE as I buy my third copy (my previous two now being so marked-up and underlined as to be almost unreadable) of this remarkable and life-changing book.By all means, get it and read it.The price is nothing compared to the reward.

The ONLY one you'll need
The previous reviews explicate the virtues of the book more than sufficiently.

In response to the 3 star review, Magee's prose is VERY English, in the vein of Hume's, for example.

I'd only suggest that anyone with similar troubles visits Youtube and see the television program he hosted

on The Great Philosophers, of which there is a book derived therefrom by the same title.

Magee is very articulate, bordering on the verbose, though, very thorough. It might help to have his voice in

mind, to be able to read at an appropriate pace. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Schopenhauer's metaphysical analysis and his views on human motivation and desire influenced many well-known thinkers including Friedrich Nietzsche, Richard Wagner, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Otto Rank, Carl Gustav Jung etc.This book is a collection of essays about writing and literature. ... Read more

Product Description
During the first two decades of the nineteenth century, two of the most significant theoretical works on color since Leonardo da Vinci's Trattato della Pittura were written and published in Germany: Arthur Schopenhauer's On Vision and Colors and Philipp Otto Runge's Color Sphere. For Schopenhauer, vision is wholly subjective in nature and characterized by processes that cross over into the territory of philosophy. Runge's Color Sphere and essay "The Duality of Color" contained one of the first attempts to depict a comprehensive and harmonious color system in three dimensions. Runge intended his color sphere to be understood not as a product of art, but rather as a "mathematical figure of various philosophical reflections."

By bringing these two visionary color theories together within a broad theoretical context—philosophy, art, architecture, and design—this volume uncovers their enduring influence on our own perception of color and the visual world around us. ... Read more

Product Description

Part of the Longman Library of Primary Sources in Philosophy,” this first volume of Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Presentation is framed by a pedagogical structure designed to make this important work of philosophy more accessible and meaningful for readers. A General Introduction includes the work's historical context, a discussion of historical influences, and biographical information on Arthur Schopenhauer.  Annotations and notes from the editor clarify difficult passages for greater understanding, and a bibliography gives the reader additional resources for further study.

Customer Reviews (2)

Die Welt ist meine Vorstellung
I have spent the last several years becoming quite acquainted with Arthur Schopenhauer. I can say, without hyperbole, that it has been an experience unlike any other. Unlike Kant, Hegel, and Wittgenstein, Schopenhauer's prose is consistently beautiful, and his literary style is essential in conveying truths about the world and ourselves that can be quite unpalatable. Schopenhauer's view of the world is bleak, and I agree with his assessment. He speaks of the blind drives and cruelty that motivate our species years before Nietzsche; and unlike Nietzsche he certainly did not embrace that cruelty.

This new translation offers, on the whole, a more readable text than the Payne edition. Although I prefer some of Payne's versions of certain passages, he can also tend towards offering brittle translations. In addition, this new translation offers copious notes, an excellent introduction, and helpful chapter subtitles (which were not included in the original volume). At this point, this transaltion is the definitive one.

As a metaphysician, Schopenhauer reveals many insights and a few weaknesses. Schopenhauer appropriated several facets of Kant's system of transcendental idealism, but whereas Kant believed that all things possessed the attribute of "things-in-themselves", Schopenhauer asserts that all things are comprised in essence as "Will". It is essential to grasp that Schopenhauer defines "Will" as blind desire, NOT as a conscious universal mind (i.e., God). Schopenhauer's philosophy is thoroughly atheistic, although many of his philosophical insights slot neatly with Buddhism and Hinduism - and just as easily with Darwinism.

While Schopenhauer's metaphysical system of blind will as the noumenal thing-in-itself is quite iffy when viewed as empirical fact, it is certainly much more plausible than any other grand 19th-Century philosophical system out there - much more so than Hegel's.

Schopenhauer's metaphysical insights on the arts are of a very high order. His views on genres as diverse as architecture and poetry to tragedy are insightful, erudite and, in my opinion, quite profitable to read. As a music lover, Schopenhauer unsurprisingly rates music as the greatest art and the sole art form that completely circumvents the Will. In other words, music appreciation is completely contemplative, and does not involve egoism. I would rate music as the greatest of the arts too, but music can easily involve egoism: sensual music can make me desire sex, harsh music can make me feel abrasive, etc. But then, Schopenhauer says as much himself. And it is here where his theory of the arts fails him. He doesn't seem to take much time in explaining what makes good art, as opposed to merely utilitarian art. In my opinion, his ranking of the arts, as a part of his metaphysical system, easily collapses when viewed as literal fact, but as poetic metaphor it does work quite well.

Some of Schopenhauer's greatest strengths and flaws are in the areas of natural science. His views on the development of consciousness are brilliantly insightful and slot in easily with Darwinian theory, but he falls far short in denying the existence of atoms and preferring Goethe's theory of color over Newton's.

On ethics, Schopenhauer is consistently insightful, but it is likely that not many would find his ethical thought attractive. His beautiful prose on the essential irrelevance of death (especially in Volume II, which has yet to be released in new translation) is some of the most sublime there is. I mostly concur with Schopenhauer's views on animals, although I disagree with his belief that there is occasional justification for the exploitation of animals for human survival. At one point in human history, that was undeniably true. Nowadays, it isn't. As a vegan, I accordingly find Descartes', Spinoza's, and Kant's views on animals repulsive, so Schopenhauer's views were definitely an advance.

Schopenhauer's view on sex is of the St. Augustine school and as such I find it to be the least attractive facet of his ethical thought. (Schopenhauer fought a life-long battle trying to tame his raging libido - more often than not losing). He was quite right in stating that our existence is permeated by sexual desire, but I disagree in trying to eradicate something that is the essence of all of us. It's much better, in my opinion, to indulge those desires responsibly, than repress what will always be there anyway.

Schopenhauer's endorsement of compassion is a wonderful answer to Kant's flawed ethics of duty. Whereas Kant tried to shepherd theological "thou shalts" through the ethical backdoor, Schopenhauer rightly tells us that compassion, not any sense of theocratic rationality (no matter how Kant tries to disguise it), is the basis of morality. Incidentally, it is well worth searching out Schopenhauer's hard-to-find book, "The Basis of Morality", which is a masterpiece of ethical thought.

Finally, there are Schopenhauer's pessimistic conclusions about life itself. He argues that there is no God, no soul, and no hope of a hereafter. I most heartily concur with his conclusions, and his eloquent description of the suffering of the world is necessary reading for both the shallow humanist and the pompous religious fundamentalist. It may disturb us to realize that we are at the mercy of blind forces largely beyond our control, but that same realization can make us more humane to each other, and to other species. It was Arthur Schopenhauer who so eloquently described our predicament, and for that I'll always be grateful.

An excellent translation for those new to his work
A brief history of my previous experiences with Schopenhauer: I first read Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Representation (the Payne, definitive, translation) many years ago. I've also read a number of Schopenhauer's other works (mostly done by Payne) and have tried to pick up as many other works of his as I can.

For the most part, I find that Schopenhauer's philosophy most closely matched/matches my own.

That said, I saw and picked up this translation with a bit of hesitation. The World as Will and *Presentation*? Why go beyond Payne's standard translation?

However, as I read the translator's introduction, I saw that my fears were unnecessary. Aquila (and probably Carus, once Volume 2 finally comes out and we can read it) have given us a truly remarkable book.

Aquila not only knows that Payne's translations are the standards, he doesn't seem to desire to change that. Instead, Aquila has presented us with a new translation, geared towards those new to Schopenhauer. In this sense, while Payne may remain the standard, definitive, translation, I see these new translations becoming the classroom standard. ... Read more