Arthur Schopenhauer was a German philosopher, one of the best-known thinkers of irrationalism and the creator of the philosophy of pessimism. Born to a wealthy merchant family in Danzig (now Gdansk), he received an excellent education and lived his whole life on income from his father's inheritance, which allowed him to devote himself entirely to philosophical reflection.
Schopenhauer was an extremely contradictory man: on one hand, he preached asceticism and the rejection of life's pleasures; on the other, he himself led a fairly comfortable bachelor's life, adoring good food, travel, and company. He was famous for his misanthropy, his distrust of people, and his extreme suspiciousness — he slept with a weapon under his pillow, fearing poisoning and robbery.
Foundations of the philosophy
Schopenhauer's principal work — The World as Will and Representation (1818) — was revolutionary for its time. The philosopher argued that a blind, irrational will to live lies at the foundation of everything that exists. This will has no purpose or meaning; it simply strives toward existence and self-reproduction.
Key concepts of Schopenhauer's philosophy:
- Will — the blind, irrational force underlying all that exists
- Representation — the world of phenomena we perceive through the lens of reason
- Suffering — the inevitable consequence of the will to live
- Compassion — the only truly moral motive
The philosophy of pessimism
Schopenhauer considered the existing world "the worst of all possible worlds," earning him the nickname "the philosopher of pessimism." In his view, human life is an unbroken chain of suffering, since the will gives rise in us to desires that can never be fully satisfied. As soon as one desire is met, a new one immediately arises, and so on without end.
"All life is suffering"
The philosopher saw only three ways to temporarily escape suffering:
- Aesthetic contemplation — immersion in art, especially music
- Compassion — forgetting oneself in order to ease another's suffering
- Asceticism — the complete negation of the will to live
Cultural influence
Despite the pessimistic character of his teaching, Schopenhauer's philosophy had an enormous influence on European culture of the 19th and 20th centuries. His ideas inspired Nietzsche, Wagner, Tolstoy, Freud, Einstein, and many other outstanding thinkers and artists.
Schopenhauer in the context of the 1990s
In post-Soviet Russia of the 1990s, Schopenhauer's philosophy gained a particular popularity among the new entrepreneurs and intellectuals. His ideas about will as the driving force, about the war of all against all, about the world as an "arena of suffering," resonated, paradoxically, with the spirit of the "wild capitalism" of those years.
Conclusion
The mention of Schopenhauer in the context of construction work reflects an attempt, characteristic of the transitional 1990s, to lend intellectual polish to ordinary commercial dealings. The philosophy of the great pessimist becomes a tool of self-assertion, an attempt to justify one's special role amid the chaos of post-Soviet change.
Paradoxically, Schopenhauer himself, who scorned practical activity and material interests, would hardly have approved of such a use of his ideas.