Arthur Schopenhauer was the most articulate and influential pessimist in the history of human thought. He was convinced that the space and time of ordinary life is an illusion, that the world consists of two aspects: representation (visible appearances) and will (hidden reality). Will is a unitary, blind, irrational force underlying all nature and expressing itself throughout it. Since human actions are blindly propelled by this will, not reason, prescriptive ethical rules have little force. We flourish only at each other’s expense; evil, pain, and suffering are not aberrations, but express the inner nature of the world. Our will to live is a continuing cycle of want, temporary fulfillment, and more want. New desires replace any satisfied ones, so no lasting happiness is possible. There is no overall end or purpose of life; our will to live is doomed ultimately to fail, and we die.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent summary of Schopenhauer if you can track it down,
This review is from: Arthur Schopenhauer: Germany (1788-1860) (Giants of Philosophy) (Audio Cassette)
This is the only audiobook exposition and analysis of Schopenhauer's works I've encountered (if you know of another please e-mail me!). It was done in the mid-1990's by Knowledge Products, and I've gathered that many of these titles (I believe there are 12, each one an approximately 2.5 hour affair covering major philosophers from Plato to Sartre) are going out of print. They are all narrated by Charlton Heston, but don't think you'll be stuck with the gravelly-voiced Moses for the entire two cassettes. The producers utilize a revolving cast of actors to bring to life the thinkers themselves-- in this one we hear them "play" Kant and Nietzsche as well as the anonymous reviewer in Britain who brought Schopenhauer to the public's attention in his piece on Arthur's final publication, _Parerga and Paralipomena_. You will think the vocal imitation (including heavy accents) of history's greatest minds either cheesy or effective; I am of the latter. There is a biographical portion, to my mind heavily borrowing from the opening chapter of perhaps the finest book on Schopenhauer in English, Bryan Magee's _Philosophy of Schopenhauer_, followed by an exegesis of Schopenhauer's thought. Schopenhauer was that most darkly cast of philosophers, despite being highly influential on artists, poets, and musicians of every sort. Many believe (and I among them) that his adaptation and extension of Kantian philosophy outclasses Hegel's, Fichte's, and Schelling's. The background and context to Schopenhauer's work is well represented, and the presentation is liberally peppered with selections from his writings. There are also reactions to Schopenhauer and a short criticism of his work to wrap things up. If anything, the reading of the final lines from Schopenhauer's central work, _The World As Will and Representation_, are worth this audiobook alone-- not to mention Heston's voicing (via the scriptwriter I assume) that Schopenhauer's view of life as purposeless touches on the "appalling." (!) (hilarious!)
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sufficient Rational?,
By
This review is from: Arthur Schopenhauer: Knowledge Products (Giants of Philosophy) (Audio Classics: The Giants of Philosophy) (Audio CD)
Schopenhauer's discussion of the organic nature of our humanity, is exciting, up-lifting, and scary. He swept away many of the cobwebs of human thought and meta-physical mysteries. To him, the brain, the limbic system,(although his concepts pre-dated modern brain theory), are really what's at the heart of human reason. He helped me to understand, the nature of truth, which is sufficient rational, based upon very human perception. Why is art beautiful? Why are entire people's irrational? Schopenhauer's work opens doors that modern psychology, in Freud and Jung stepped into.
Heston's narration is very pleasant, and this treatment, although academic was very approachable for the dilettante. Gare Henderson
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