On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason (Open Court Library of Philosophy) [Paperback]

Arthur Schopenhauer (Author), E. F. J. Payne (Translator), Richard Taylor (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 23, 2003

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.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, German (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: Open Court Publishing Company (September 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875482015
• ISBN-13: 978-0875482019
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #135,822 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended for philosophers !, June 14, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Tel-Aviv, Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason (Open Court Library of Philosophy) (Paperback)

This lucid and important book was considered by Schopenhauer as the introduction to his magnum opus "The World as Will and as Representation". It can be conceived as Schopenhauer's alternative version to Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" as an attempt to map all A-PRIORI knowledge. Schopenhauer, an obvious sequel to Kant, differentiates himself from Kant in this book in two basic assumptions: 1. There is no distinction between REPRESENTATION and OBJECT. We perceive objects directly, not through a subjective "buffer". 2. PERCEPTION is not logically independent of UNDERSTANDING, on the contrary. We perceive objects (necessarily) already understood, i.e. determined and related to other objects. Schopenhauer interprets the last premiss as the Principle of Sufficient Reason, which he claims to be the root of all A-PRIORI knowledge.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Minor Problem, March 12, 2003

By 

Bruce Nigel (Tunbridge Wells, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason (Open Court Library of Philosophy) (Paperback)

This amazing treatise on human knowledge has one little fault. The editors at Open Court left out eleven words in the Tranlator's Introduction. This omission should gratify present-day philosophers in that it turns Schopenhauer's words into modern-sounding nonsense. I will surround the omitted words with parentheses. On page xx, Schopenhauer is quoted: " ...so that I cannot hope ever to find a more correct and accurate expression of that core of my philosophy (than what is there recorded. Whoever wishes to know my philosophy) thoroughly and investigate it seriously must take that chapter into consideration." You see, the occurrence of the word "philosophy" twice in close proximity utterly confused them. I notified Open Court but did not receive an acknowledgement. Other than this, I have to judge this book as one of the few life-changing writings that occur a few times every century. For laughs, read Heidegger's "Principle of Reason" and compare the two.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fundamental Literature, September 9, 2000

By 

Ivo R Hernandez (Dossenheim Deutschland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason (Open Court Library of Philosophy) (Paperback)

I am happy to encourage any reader to Schpenhauer's doctoral thesis, just as much as he himself did in the introduction of the World as Will and Representation. The book is absolutely worth the time spent, and it is indeed a coherent prime step (though this is a revised edition of the 1814 original) to Schopenhauer's philosophical system. The translation by E.F.Payne is product of a life's effort. It is almost impecable and will stand to the demands of the accurate reader, though it may be advisable to compare and review the original in order to look for the literary sound of the ideas exposed. Schopenhauer is one of those rare cases where highly expressive prose correlates smoothly with mighty philosophical meaning. He may also be an excellent way to perfect our understanding of Kant.