On Human Nature - Schopenhauer, Arthur

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Résumé :
A disciple of Kant and a significant factor in shaping Nietzsche's thinking, Arthur Schopenhauer worked from the foundation that all knowledge derives from our experience of the world but that our experience is necessarily subjective and formed by our own intellect and biases: reality, therefore, is but an extension of our own will. In this essay, translated by THOMAS BAILEY SAUNDERS (1860-1928) and first published in English in the 1890s, Schopenhauer offers his outlook on human nature... and a pessimistic one it is, for Schopenhauer saw life through a Buddhist-like lens of desire leading to suffering, and the abjuration of desire as the only path to temporary relief. Here, the philosopher examines human institutions such as government, human ideals such as free will, and human understanding of character and morality, and finds underlying them a fatalistic impulse driving culture from extremes of despotism to those of anarchy, with little stopping along the way. Students of philosophy and of 19th-century intellectualism will find this a fascinating read.

Biographie:
The writings of German philosopher ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER (1788-1860) were a profound influence on art and aesthetics, music and literature in the 19th century. Among his many writings, The World as Will and Idea (1819) is considered his masterpiece.

Sommaire:
Arthur Schopenhauer was a German philosopher, born on February 22, 1788, in Gd?sk, Poland, and passed away on September 21, 1860, in Frankfurt, Germany. His most famous work, The World as Will and Representation (1818), presents the idea that the phenomenal world we experience is merely the manifestation of a blind and irrational nominal will. Schopenhauer was deeply influenced by the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, and his ideas went on to shape various intellectual fields. His work had a profound influence on later thinkers such as Sigmund Freud, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Carl Jung, among others. Schopenhauer's philosophical contributions focused on the nature of human suffering, the role of the will in human existence, and the importance of aesthetic experiences as a means of transcendence. His pessimistic worldview, while challenging, left an enduring legacy that continues to impact fields like psychology and existential philosophy. Schopenhauer was born to Johanna Schopenhauer and Heinrich Floris Schopenhauer, who were both important figures in their own right. His philosophical work remains significant in understanding human nature and the complexities of the human experience....