Quote:
Originally Posted by WT Sharpe
There's nothing "wrong" with Schopenhauer, outside of being a member of the human race. To paraphrase Twain; worse I can say of no one.
Personally I enjoy reading Schopenhauer. He is known as the pessimistic philosopher because his writings tend to be, well, pessimistic. He admired Eastern religions because he saw in them an attempt to negate the Will. As I understand him, Will is that force that permeates all of life and is the force that struggles against nature to insure its own survival. He seemed to be of the opinion that the universe would be vastly improved if this force were to be annihilated. He wasn't an advocate of personal suicide, however, because it only extinguished the individual, not the Will, and as such was ineffectual.
When I'm feeling really down, reading Schopenhauer somehow cheers me up. I don't fully understand why, but I think we've all had moods when we wanted to slap the next person who asked us to cheer up, smile, or have a nice day. Those times were made for Schopenhauer.
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LOL, I just read your comment on one of Patricia's uploads, where you said the same thing.
I think I will download the English translations on MR, but I'd rather read a French translation. There are several available in ePub form at fnac.com.
Although I know very little about Eastern philosophies, I am also interested in an alternative to the modern Western belief that happiness comes from imposing your will on the outside world, which is a rather violent outlook if you think about it. From what I understand about Buddhism, it is more about being at peace with oneself and the world.