Living Disaster: Schopenhauer for the Twenty-first Century

Life is "ot worth litJi"y! 'Ibis is tbe tbougbt mo.>1 a5.>OCiated witb tbe German philosopber Artbur Scbopenbauer, wbo was
virtually unacknowledged wben be died one bundred fifty years ago. Increasingly, bow"""er, we under.".tand that bebind the
mask of a pessimist Scbopenbauer was a Zen master and arguably the greate>.1 mp1ic of the nindeentb century. Scbopenbauer
roused more tban two tbousand years of We>.1ern pbilosopby from its delusion about wbo we really a re, by declaring tbat
materiality- the life of the body, rather than the mind- was the driving force of existence.
Scbopenbauer bas box-ome synonpnous "itb a tborougbly pessimi.-.1ic world,i" ...... In defiance of tradition, as may be
by Leibniz, be proclaimed we live "in tbe wo..,,1 of all po5!<ible worlds." Wherever a buman being dares to admit tbe
truth about our existence, privately Or publicly, we find it is Scbopenbauer's brutal bone>.1y that guides sucb insigbts. 'Ibe
German composer Ricbard Wagner, acquainted "itb Scbopenbauer, famously exclaimed: "Finally, I can tell the trutb about
life! " Scbopenbauer is not a philosopbical writer whose texts are part of any "Great Books" curriculum, not "",'Cn at elite
universities, since bis only intere..1 is in truth itself, no sugarcoating, no political corred.ness, no respect for precedent. Do "ot
read Schope"huueri tbe autborities advise, but tbe opposite bappens. In Germany, Scbopenbauer is still tbe mo.>1 "idely read
pbilosopber, and world"ide it is not only the rebels, nonconformists, contrarians, and outsiders wbo turn to bim but also
professionals wbo bave no illusions about tbe fragility of tbe buman and wbo refuse consolation: pbysicians, laW}'Crs,
writers. artists. Musicians in particular have been drawn to Scbopenhauer, who claimed tbat in music alone a re we attuned to
tbe autbentic condition of life, "itbout any interference from language.
Very few people a re capable of being brutally honest about what it means to be human. Scbopenbauer's brother-in-spirit,
Spinoza, did not play the game of false consulation and pbony rationalization, but rather reminded uS deatb is not to be
feared; we bave only to fear tbat we bave not lived. Among tbe brave wbo accept Scbopenbauer's truth are first and foremo.>1
tbe comedians, tbe true American pbilosopbers, from 11<<< S;mpSlms to George Carlin and Jon Stewart. Woody Allen beld up
Scbopenbauer as a bero, eWn mentioning the pbilosopber in bis work; influential writers, Jorge Luis Borges among them,
learned German in order to read tbe pbilosopber in the original. 'Ibe Frencb tbinker Geoeses Bataille admired the capacity for
"laughing in tbe of death" as a kind of poetry of living.
But Scbopcnbauer's mru.1 constant readers a re found not only among sucb eminent personalities. His mo.>1 intuitive reader
emerges in C\-cryone who goes througb adolescence, a time wben all those wbo bad held our trust and admiration now come
under suspicion and we besin question inS. At tbis stage, we are tbe most buman we can be. Friedricb Ni<->tz.>cbe, educated by
Schopenbauer, called humans tbe "non-<k1ermined species," and Martin Heidesser pointed to Enownins as tbe
existential "openness" tbat makes uS unique. Ily diS<.-overinS our autbentic self in the turmoil of adolescence, we must leave
bebind, "itbout regr<->ts, wbat we are suppOSd to be. Such an "intelled.ual bone.-.'ty" (Ni<-1z.Scbe) can lead to suicide, an act
wbicb demonstrates that I bave tbe ability to take my own life, that I belonS to no one, and tbat I sbare with others only the
.. -ondition -tbat we bave notbinS in common," as Jean-Luc Nancy insists. lbat teenaSers and young adults som<->times take their
lives "itbout an apparent "SO<Xi rea.'lOn" is an intesral part of true freedom- tbe freedom to make mi>.'takes, as Americas
courageous pbilosopber Avital Ronell noted. Ilut Scbopenbauer also made the mO>.'t convincinS arsument agai"st suicide.
TakinS ones own life merely confirms the unbearable condition oflife; througb it, we capitulate to wbat we so de .. pise.
In Scbopenbauer's <->tbies, tbe only worthy task of pbilosopby is emlxx1ied in an incessant strussle until the last breath, with
the full knowledSe that we can never "in the - beroic life proj<. ... 't." It was Ibeo<.lor W. Adorno wbo not only insisted tbat
"tbinkinS means thinkinS )'ourselr but also stated unrepentantly tbat "a pbilosopber never escapes puberty." Many
Scbopenbauer editions pidure on their covers the portrait of a miserable old man, but this is not the person who
wrote 17re World as Will and Representation, bis maSnum opus. 1be younS man on the back .. ..,ver of 11<e Essential
Schope"hauer is tbe true a utbor and will always be tbe pbilosopber for tbe younS, for creative people- of any ase- and a
constant threat to manipulation and socialization. lbere would be no SiSmund Freud, no Jacques Lacan, "ithout
Scbopenbauer, wbo boldly pointed to tbe "sexual orsans as tbe true center of tbe world. " Scbopenbauer learned early on tbat
tbe rationality of Homo sapiens is just a poorly veil .. ..,verinS tbe cruelty of tbe ""ill-to-live. " Schopenbauer spent bis entire
life. until bis death at seventy-two, explain ins and ausmentins wbat be unde..,,'tO<Xi as a younS pbilowpber.
When be wrote 11<e World as Will a"d Represe"tation he lived in lJres<.\en, a most remarkable Il aroque city before its
de.-.truction hy Anslo-American bombers in February 1945. In lJres<.\en. Scbopenbauer enjoyed a cbarmed life, not unlike any
other younS man of means in bis late twenties. (It is "ith gO<Xi reason tbat tbe title of tbe best book on Scbopenbauer, written
by Riidij;er Safranski, is Schopenhauer a"d th Wild Years oj Philosophy.) After Geors Wilbelm Fri .. '<iricb Hegel, tbe lead inS
pbilowpber of tbe time, succumbed to a cbolera epidemic, Scbopenbauer ended bis brief period as assistant profeswr at Iledin
University, bavinS insulted the autborities by insistins on teacbins only "my entire A financial crasb forced bim to he
a fruSal life usinS what remained of tbe inberitance from bis fatber, a wealtby merchant; but at tbe end of bis life
Scbopenbauer bad more money in the bank tban at the beSinning. A reclusive life of twenty-seven years in tbe German
metropolis Frankfurt am Main allowed bim tbe opportunity to write "itbout bcinS concerned about public readion. After bis
death be became known as "the Iluddba of Frankfurt," a fiuinS description, as be bad discovered- on tbe basis of not very
reliable but still usable ancient Eastern texts- tbat be bad many insisbts in common "ith Iluddba, and be also introduced
Buddhism into the Western philosophical debate. Given that Christianity, the &bopenbauer family faitb, also describes eartb
as a "vale of tears" and paradise as a mere promise "after deatb, " Scbopenbauer's own thougbt tbat life is was not
presented as ",,-elation. But as Aristotle Obsel"\ffl , a pbilosopbers power lies not in discovering tbe n<-"N, as do scientists, or
offering tbe unexpected, as artists do. Pbilosopbers take the trivial, turn again to suppose<.lly self-evident certainties, thereby
r<-",ealing tbeir merely dormant validity. lbe point is that life is yet we all live as if it were not. lbe basic truths a re
always simple and bidden out in the open, unrecognizable as ansv.ercd questions, sbut cases. SL>ttk-d disputes.
lbe pbilosopber is tbe mo.-.t dangerous member of society, at least to Nietzscbe, because be sti", up wbat bas been
put to rest in order to a functioning society. And tbe pbilosopber sometimes even recklessly poses questions in a
language everyone can understand without the belp of self-important experts. Scbopenbauer was one of the great Gcrnlan
writers, and this comes tbrougb even in the Englisb translations. lbe titles of bis books and tbe excerpts included in tbis reader
are an indication of tbe bold questions the buman still bave over us: What are tbe principles of sufficient
reason in a world wbere faulty reason is called smart? What is tbe basis of morality wben etbics become a problem of social
engineering or are left to religion? What constitutes the frce<.lom of the "ill in tbe age of neuropbilosopby? How can tbe
sublime task of the artist and the inner nature of art be of significance when art bas turned into inve;,tment? Can we
glean inspiration from unconventional buman lifestyles sucb as those of mptics, saints, and ascetics for the decisive que.tion
to come": "What does it mean to be a buman being?" (Immanuel Kant)
Or: Why live at all? lbe blissful ignorance of cbildbood ends all too soon and human beings a re faced with the never-ending
suffering called "life. " It begins "itb the initial disencbantment that your cbarmed existence, "being one "itb tbe universe,"
Lacans "ideal ego," appears to bave been a fairy tale. You are, ratber, an utterly powerless child, at tbe mercy of parents,
siblings, peers, and virtually any adult. You find yourself suddenly aware of being separated from eve!"}thing you had taken for
granted, from warmtb to food, and forced to negotiate for wbat you enjoyed before "itbout pa}ing for it. Life is a business tbat
does not cover the costs. Scbopenbauer remarks. Even the most method of making ones nonnegotiable wishes known,
screaming as a baby, soon loses its power. Once babies all, we wielded tbe power of tbe weak (Levin as). In tbe majority of cases,
Our screams brougbt about the -unconditional surrender" to Our command. 'be baby's need was met, tbe caregivers need for
quiet appeaset!. But tbe wea k and tbe strong a re one. [be otber extreme lies in tbe inability to respond; the baby, tbe SOurce of
tbe noise, is ignorcd, even killed. Toddlers may still throw tantrums, but tb<:-jlack tbe baby"s wbicb made all tbe
Parents as well as teacbers in nurse!"} scbools bave many cunning waY" to manipulate you; witb language you learn
to bebave "appropriately" and a re guided into tbe process of civilization. To make a buman being out of you, as advocated by
educators of all kinds, means in effect directing you to your -place in tbe world" "itb the insincere promise tbat tbrougb "bard
work and study- the future bolds for you the cbance to make it beyond that Western parents "ill claim you can acbi<-",-e
an}thing you want if you just set your mind to it; but tbis does not cbange your being "tbrown into the world, " literally and in
terms of your fate, as Scbopenbauer put it. We are tbrown into social circumstances, with a set of genes tbat decidedly
influence appearance, intelligence, and future bealth, without our consent Or the sligbtest cboice. Ibe "David Copperfield kind
of crap, " J. D. Salinger, a kindred spirit of Scbopenbauer, called it in 1he Catcher in the Rye. Often enougb tbe cbildren of tbe
world are born into circumstances tb<-j would not wisb on tbeir wo.."t enemies, and it is not ow.."titement to call cbi1<lren tbe
slaves of our time, treated "ithout regard to tbeir bumanity by parents and educators alike. Certainly, tbere are laws protecting
cbildren from tbe most obvious exploitations, such as child pornograpby, corporal punisbment, and cbild labor, but it still
takes the compassionate adult wbo will as accuser and procl the justice system to at take notice. Cbildren are bound
to disruwr by their teens tbat tb<-;, belong to a species that is, quite possibly. the mo.-.'t murderous and predatory in the world.
We do not kill out of necessity but out of arrogance, p,"",,'Uming ourselves tbe "master and owner of nature- (as did Descartes,
wbom Scbopenbauer identified as a "father of mooernity").
truth dare not appear naked before the people," Scbopenbauer pointed out in an effort to explain bow religions retain
tbeir influence even after the age of Enligbtenment. "Dare to tbink for yourself!" Kant challenged bis fearful fellow wol man,
but eWn tooay many prefer tbe truth clotbed tigbtly in ritual, traditions, and tall tales. Our innate trust in life "itb wbicb we
are born is a su",ival tecbnique we sbare "itb Our companion species. Ibis "ideal ego" experience of Our all-too-brief life before
and after birth posses,;es its OWn potent rationalization and is the reaSl>!l wby we craw a first principle. a prima philosophia. If
not a (personal) G<xl of some form, we call sucb oruer Nature and attribute, with the belp of science, to its laws, wbicb Albert
Einstein suggest("<.i migbt all be "false. " Witb Darwins S},,'tem of evolution, the ""ill in nature" (Scbopenbauer) provid("<.i a
name for universal suffering but in tbe same breath took the sting out of it. Science lies just sligbtly less tban religions wbicb
prefer "consolation"; tbey pre;.'Ume to call "higber trutb" to tbe plain trutb of the suffering tbey belp to deny. And compared
"itb pseudoreligions as political movements or lifestyle trends promoted by advertising, at least bas on its side
"facts" wbicb can be "falsified" (Karl Popper) and religion compassionate wisdom.
Wby call it a "lie" wben people try to find tbe good side of events, tbe light at the end of the tunnel, tbe opportunity in a
crisis? Wbat would be the purpose of mourning the end of innocence and indulging in self-pity after the event of language.
Lacans "mirror stage," in wbicb we realize we are separate from tbe world around us? 1be Englisb pbilosopber 1bomas
Hobbes famously cbaracterized our relationsbips to Our fellow man as "wolf-to-wolr and offered to relinquisb to autborities
m<>.'>'t of Our freedom if tbey promisc<..l to protect uS from our neigbbors. Ibe police eve'y.,bere claim "to SC",'C and protect, " but
tbis dues not cbange Scbopenbauers accurate and borrific description: "Every living being is tbe grave of otber li'ing beings. "
Ibe rigbt to pursue bappiness- as long as }"Ou 0!>se"''C the laws of tbe land- does not cbange tbe fact tbat our
pursuit hurts otbers wbo bad the same prize in mind but came either too early or too late Or were born On tbe wrong continent.
Schopenhauer called happiness just a moment i>L>tween misfortunes and Our belief that we a re somehow protected from the
sufferinS we see around uS the sreatest of all lies: Victim and victimizer a re one and the same. A hundred years after
Schopenhauer, the French philosopher and Nobel Prize winner Albert Camus acknowledSed that "he who lives will become
suilty" and affirmed that the issue of suicide is a k<-, ' philosophical question. His was the "human in revolt: who like
Sisyphus never Sives up, even if the nesative ouk"Ome is not in doubt. Is life worth livinS? Only if you make it worth living,
Camus as well as Schopenhauer concluded. Schopenhauer did not lay down the Zen master's bamboo stick, since he did not
beli<-'ve the people desel"\'ed the "truth in the truth" yd , the "turnins of the will-ta-he. " There is a fullness of nothinsness, as We
learn from Zen; and Schopenhauer hinted at the mystical ' it gives" (Heidegser), ."ompassion and love of humanity as a
non-teachable way of <--thicallivinS.
Schopenhauer claimed one en-cption to the rule of rational thinkins he called "introspection. " The insiSht into what is in me,
accessible to me alone, and protected by the sovereignty of beins-there (Heidegger's lJase;n) is the authentic path of the will
il>clf in me. Ni<-"tl.sches response to the bufferins which is life was the "will to power: often miJmnderstood as political asenda.
Ilut it is instead the aesthetic power, the creation of a humane world, the truth of fiction, the ' contra-factual" ethics
twentidh-century philosophers from LudwiS to Jiirsen Habermas advocated. Human beinSS cannot he "ithout
lies, declared Ni<-"tl.sche. Schopenhauer's outstandinS but these lies are neither intentional falsehoods nor white lies to
protect feelinSs. lbere a re lies which tell the truth, as Virsinia Cutrufelli demonstrated for the true poets such as Friedrich
Holderlin and Paul Celano Plato, poet turn(...! philosopher, calk>d in 1ne Republic for the expulsion of the poets from socid y
because he feared insights which a re neither philosophical in nature nOr sophistic opinions for power brokerinS. '[be Ubertruth
of poetry orij;inates in the sinsular "intl"O.'.lJedion - which Schopenhauer rC<.-cived as reward for his bravery.
His entire work is a philosophical elaooration of this intl"O.'.lJection, his one thousht he sensed was the truth: Life is bufferins.
Spinoza calls "intuition" an insi&ht that with the feelins of certainty. Nietzsche speaks of it as a ' truth beyond Sood and
evil" and an "dernal recurrence of the same. - Ilut it is not "exactly the same,- every "repdition" of love and hate, and
missins, of life li,,-...! is nearly imperceptibly different, as the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze reminds us.
Fearless and fierce, Schopenhauer found in himself the force called "ill that, blind and merciless, utterly indifferent to any
ethical consideration, approaches life as rapaciously as a serial killer. "Ibis "ill to sul"\ive, often formulated in the lanSuaSe of
competitive sports, is understood as ' sul"\ival of the fittest- (Da""in), though it is doubtful that any fairness is involved: Even
the fiue>."1 murderer needs helpful and lucky breaks. Schopenhauer was unrelentins in his insistence that every
human indi,idual be aware of the inescapable and arbitrary sufferinS which is lid off by the very existence of the "ill and
refrain from usinS the imaSinative power of Our mind to envision it otherwise. No Holl}wood end ins to the horror mO\ie of
,iolence and betrayal. Ilut Schopenhauer's introspedion held a hidden call to action which he carefully protected by the
cardinal rule of the mystics. Literally, "my;,1ic" means spea k not of silence," because introducinS the my;,1ical insiJ>ht into the
everyday chatter of the culture industry "ill transform into idle talk what is potent only as "usaSe" (Heid<- 'Uer), the essential act
with decisiw under..tandins. The saSes of humankind- from the Zen masters to the Arab poets, the Christian saints, and
We.-.1ern philosophers such as Spinoza- abided by the obvious truth of silence: Do not listen to what the saints a re sayinS,
follow their examples. Ewn Karl Marx, arsuably the mO.>"t politically influential philosopher of all time, echoed this intuition in
his famous Ek",,.,nth 'lbesis on Feuerbach: "Philosophers haw hitherto the world in various way"; the point is to
chanSe it!" It is this life chanSe which can besin only in sinSularity that Schopenhauer was blessed (or cursed) with aml at
which he dared only hint. In the end, "the will turns" in all human beings, and "nothinS" is the mode of livins authentically.
&hopenhauer was not alone in the hermeneutical limitation lead ins him to conclude that each indi,idual lives "ithin a
context shaped by cireum.-.tances we, since Hegel, haw called "bistorical conditions" and, followinS Hegel's critic Kierkesaard,
"existential. " And how biased philosophers can be is demonstrated by Schopenhauer's notorious essay on women, in
this reader. Nevertheless, Schopenhauer's philosophy of disaster is a Senuine and well-thousht-out manifestation of the
extreme chanSe concomitant "ith modern technoloSY. 'Ibe "war aSainst nature" has ended "ith human beings becominS fully
responsible for the human itself. It is not Homo sapiens who had to redesiSn the world to be humane but rather
Homo senerator, who realizes in ubiquitous life media to biotechnology- how to live fulfillinsly under any
cireumstances. &hopenhauer under>.100d the sinsularity of the e""nt of humanity, the heins-with in each of us. 'Ibere is no will
outside, only, by definition, a mislead ins representation; the "ill in me opens its eyes and senses fully its actualization.
AddressinS the book of Genesis with its story of how God looked upon His creation on the sc""nth day and saw that it was
Sood, Schopenhauer bet:ame ,-"Onscious of how offensive to all ;,ufferers of this flawed creation it must be, and how
insurmountable a prohlem for any "justification of the existence of God" (thOOdicee). Each of us, in puberty or life
crisis, can be nothing but "disgusted" by the painful misery that life is for all feeling beings. 'Ibis is precisely the reaction of the
will when finally in the "love of humanity" truth r<-""eals itself to the will. 'Ibe blind will begins to see itself, slowly and with sreat
effort, and it may take centuries before its siSht is fully dewloped and accepts its limit. 'Ibe deaf "ill besins to li;,ten to the
resonatins of our "li'inS with things" and of the beautiful music of "multitude" (lJeleuze). 'Ibe aimless "ill which only
perpetuated itself disco""rs the aim in itself, a thri'ing that stays in HeinS "ithout negating others, as Spinoza emisioned the
co"utus. '1be of the "ill fades away into the ethics of compassion which- aC<."Ording to Schopenhauer- cannot be
when it suddenly over<."Omes us.
With l"C.>llect to the span of an individual lifetime, the multiple turnings of the "ill, with its overall easinS of sufferins, will
always be too slow to be noticed properly; so there "ill ;,"till be good rea.'lOn to continue to fight again;,1 injustice and exploitation
and for the worthy cause. It is throuSh Our k'chnologies- bio-as well as diJ>ital technoloSies- that li'inS changes itself. Each
n<->w jl;eneration is born into a different .. d e of life whieh can be trusted only when they appear impermanent and
barely visible. "lbe toddlers of today "ill accept as self-L."ident what for many people born in the middle of the last century
would be close to an abomination. Schopenhauer made the dc;;perate sujl;.gestion that human beinjl;s btop ha\injl; sex because
procreation only prolonjl;S sufferinjl;. But he hone.t1y admitted he would not be able to follow it himself. With chemical birth
control Homo generator put this debate to rest, and sex is perceiwd increasinjl;ly as what it is in and of itself for us: the mObt
!"C'.\arding bodily acti\ity of being-with. Raising children also has an excellent chance ofbecominjl; a choice for the many people
who are jl;ood at it and enjoy mentorinjl; an offsprinjl;. But the "biolojl;ical clock" will finally stop and the -timinjl; " of each Homo
jl;enerator take pre,."edent. Ewn for death, the mObt effectiw threat to each indi\idual, a turn is underway: A life fully liYed,
through the bad, throujl;h the jl;ood days, jl;reets death as its jl;enuine life ending. Currently, thoujl;h mObt authorities remain
paternali.>tic and deny uS the choice of our own death, one can obse["\"e a quiet rebellion in the medical profession: It becomes
a<-"CCptable if the neces.sary relief from pain has merely the side effect of speeding up your death. It will not be too lonjl; before
the - right to die my way' "ill be an accepted life choice.
Li\injl; philosophy is Schopenhauers mandate for the twenty-fi.."t century. His one thoujl;ht, that life is suffering, granted him
-the turn of the body"- it is not the mind but the -reason of the body' (Nietz.>che) which feels the pain and compassion with all
fellow suffering beinjl;S . .sexuality is the chief a<-1.i\ity, often shamefully hidden, and jl;owrned by the - unconscious" (Freud) as
well as chemistry. And what we call life is a killinjl; jl;ame in which human bcinjl;S rule Schopenhauer I"t- {used to
contemplate the other side; his cup was full "ith suffering, and he considered any tal k of a -silwr lininjl;" detestable optimism.
Our ethical -commands" compassion, as the French philosopher Emmanuel Le\inas phrased it. It is in such
"compassion- which has not pity but self-awareness at its core that we find a -trace- (IJerrida) of an "art of li\ing- which needs
no preconditions. Schopenhauer learned from the two philosophers he mo.-.1 admired, Plato and Kant, to pay careful attention
to What can we know? What is real? Reality is not a jl;iven fact but rather a -thinjl;-in-itselr that appears for uS
solely as representation. lbere is no rational way to find out how reality is "ithout our thinking cominjl; into play, but it is
equally true that Our conL"Cpts would he empty without the materials which are not us. Kanfs carefully a'1! ued dictum
that we cannot know the "thinjl;-in-itself, - Schopenhauer was adamant about there heinjl; one exception and offered himself as
proof of the actuality of ... 1ion" into the authentic condition of life that is sufferinjl;. No a'1!umentation from outside, no
matter how professional and well-meaning, can refute such an insight, felt "ith all senses and absolute certainty. It takes
indi\iduals in crisis. brawly facinjl; how thinjl;S stand. to back up Schopenhauer. Guided by his basic insijl;ht, Schopenhauer
explained why there is a - metaphysical need" for meaninjl; when death at any time, "ith no rejl;ard for circumstances.
Life is not fair, and so human beings console themselves "ith tales of -eternal life" where wronjl;S "ill he SL1c rijl;ht. And the
scientific revolutions, which Schopenhauer obsc ...... xl in their early phase "ith keen intere.1, pro\ided the ultimate consolation:
the inherent promise to delay aging, owreome illness, and, one day, ewn cheat death itself. But science is just an interprdation
of the will in nature, cunningly made up by a corruptible mind eager to ease our dhical disgust. Life is a losing proposition but
at least its science has beautifully crafted laws, and futu re events can be predicted to a certain degree.
Schopenhauer's affinity "ith German Romanticism is manifest in the exception he allowed for art. Different from Plato, for
whom "ideas" were by ddinition not ,isible, Schopenhauer considered art "materialized idea": You are more or less aware that
it presents the condition of life in detail. For Schopenhauer, art is not representation, pointing to something else; it is what it is,
an invitation to and a meditatiw break where the "ill is <juid. We watch people die in a film and a re moved. but we do
not feel Still, words can interrupt this calm and connect uS to the world as representation of the will, drawing uS
back into the misery of life. 1bis is the reason why Schopenhauer considered music the genuine art and the sound of being. In
the playing of and listening to music all our senses, induding the sense of the mind, are attuned to the bad and K""" fortune of
li,ing, without music itself becoming a focus of attention. Art is the world mirror and its Kift of "lucid stillness" (T. S. Eliot) is
ephemeral but- as the Romantics emphatically way from ao'thetics to dhics. Mter Schopenhauer, and
Kierk"Kaard, the founder of existential philosophy, contended that the aesthdicalleap into ethics is in"'itable. Schopenhauer
maintained that the customary ought-to with its nomlS and rules is unable to deliver what it promises. Instead of
imploring people Sunday after Sunday to be g""" Or threatening them "ith sanctions or hellfire, we should ask what human
beings are capable of. RO"(lonsibility, this key concept of many dhics, anticipates an authority which must be beli",-ed before it
can be effectiw. But this kind of basic credibility is precisely what was already lo.-.'t when Aru.totle wrote the first Ethics- and he
knew it: Attording to Aru.'totle, it is a sad day for humanity when one feels the need to formulate the way in which ",ery
indi,idual should be li,ing: intuitiwly, "ithout ha,ing to think about it. Schopenhauer understOO<! responsibility appropriately
as our "ability to fC>'"(lond" to e>:istential situations which need Our ethical attention. For example, egoism need not be an ethical
problem because properly unde.."t""" nothinK is wronK "ith wantinK somdhinK K""" for yourself. !be dhical <jue>.tion arises
when malice takes OWl', deeply rooted in feelings of insecurity, vanity, and hate. Schopenhauer did not beli",-e one Can change
human beings born "ith a certain character, a gendic set we would call it t<XIay. But he refused to accept the innate character
as for wrongdoings since no one can be <. -ertain about it- on his deathbed the m""t millerly person could turn
ben","Olent. It is the nudeus of Schopenhauers ethics that it is in,"Oluntary, an ",-ent that overwhelms, a <."Ompassion that
cannot be denied. It can occur at any time and no defense is possible-it just happens. Jut tva", usi- this art thou: Ibe sudden
,"",elation of humanity is the found inK act of love and the source of ethical beha,ior. Ibis low of humanity has many layers and
shades and is as private as it is public- it is known to all and confused by many. It ,"",eals and conceals the human condition, a
' pendulum suffering and boredom" (Schopenhauer), the very process in which dhies, mp'ties, and
LearninK from Schopenhauer, one be able to respond to disaster, bravely li,inK the turning of the "ill, and takinK
pleasure in how unnecessary suffering diminishes. Unrepentant realism "ill always be called for and we will never be free of
unavoidable suffering.
The texts of this reader present the elSCntial Schopenhauer for our century. /leg inning "ith ontolo&)', addressing the most
basic condition of being and, at the same time, insisting on the rationality of the difference between "ill and representation,
Schopenhauer proce..-ds to his philosophy of art. As the "materialized idea" ("uI!schuu/iche Idee"), art shows uS how life
is- "ithout engaging uS in its suffering. 'lbe ewnt of art, for creator and audience alike, is the exceptional of calmness.
/lut this is momentous. and we human bcinp are anew in living the and feeling compassion with fellow
animals not excluded. Schopenhauer's wisdom can guide uS on how to live ethically under such harsh conditions.
'lbe low for humanity entails Our moral refusal of living according to the ""ill-to-live. " Schopenhauer underscores that this is
not a mere metaph)"lical question but rather that it shapes daily life.
'Ibis reader contains a f<->w changes "ith regard to the orij;inal translated texts for the sake of and (]uent reading.
It is of both /lritish and American translations, but American has been adhered to throughout. l bough SOme
arcane references and quotes were omitted, many footnotes have been incorporated into the text proper. On occasion, howC\w,
a seemingly outdated phrase or usage has been !"'->!ained for its <-",-ocation of the language and context, the time in which
Schopenhauer li\"t.-d and wrote.
Wolfgang Schirmacher
New York and Dresden
February 2010