Arthur Schopenhauer, a 19th-century German philosopher, held controversial views on various subjects, including his views on women. It’s important to note that his perspectives on women are considered outdated and have been criticized for their misogyny.
Schopenhauer’s views on women are primarily outlined in his work “On Women” from his book “Studies in Pessimism.” In this essay, he expresses a pessimistic and negative view of women, portraying them as intellectually inferior and emotionally unstable. Some key points from his writings include:
Intellectual Inferiority: Schopenhauer argued that women are intellectually inferior to men, claiming that they are incapable of sustained and profound thought. He believed that women were driven by emotions rather than reason.
Emotional Instability: Schopenhauer asserted that women are more prone to emotional extremes and irrational behavior, attributing this to their physiological constitution. He considered women to be guided by their emotions, making them less reliable in matters of reason and decision-making.
Role of Women: According to Schopenhauer, the primary role of women is to fulfill the desires and needs of men. He viewed women as existing for the purpose of procreation and as objects of physical attraction for men.
Controversial Statements: Schopenhauer’s writings include various statements that are now widely criticized for their sexism. For instance, he wrote, “One need only look at a woman’s shape to discover that she is not intended for either too much mental or too much physical work.”
It’s crucial to approach Schopenhauer’s views on women with a critical and historical perspective. These ideas reflect the prevailing societal attitudes of his time, and contemporary readers often find his views outdated and offensive. Many scholars and thinkers have since rejected and criticized Schopenhauer’s views on women as reflective of a biased and patriarchal mindset. Modern discussions on gender equality emphasize the importance of treating individuals with respect and recognizing their abilities and rights, irrespective of gender.
These few words of Jouy, Sans les femmes le commencement de notre vie seroit privé de secours, le milieu de plaisirs et la fin de consolation, more exactly express, in my opinion, the true praise of woman than Schiller’s poem, Würde der Frauen, which is the fruit of much careful thought and impressive because of its antithesis and use of contrast. The same thing is more pathetically expressed by Byron in Sardanapalus, Act i, Sc. 2:—
“The very first
Of human life must spring from woman’s breast,
Your first small words are taught you from her lips,
Your first tears quench’d by her, and your last sighs
Too often breathed out in a woman’s hearing,
When men have shrunk from the ignoble care
Of watching the last hour of him who led them.”
Both passages show the right point of view for the appreciation of women.One need only look at a woman’s shape to discover that she is not intended for either too much mental or too much physical work. She pays the debt of life not by what she does but by what she suffers—by the pains of childbearing, care for the child, and by subjection to man, to whom she should be a patient and cheerful companion.
The greatest sorrows and joys or great exhibition of strength are not assigned to her; her life should flow more quietly, more gently, and less obtrusively than man’s, without her being essentially happier or unhappier.
Women are directly adapted to act as the nurses and educators of our early childhood, for the simple reason that they themselves are childish, foolish, and short-sighted—in a word, are big children all their lives, something intermediate between the child and the man, who is a man in the strict sense of the word.
Consider how a young girl will toy day after day with a child, dance with it and sing to it; and then consider what a man, with the
very best intentions in the world, could do in her place.With girls, Nature has had in view what is called in a dramatic sense a “striking effect,” for she endows them for a few years with a richness of beauty and a, fulness of charm at the expense of the rest of their lives; so that they may during these years ensnare the fantasy of a man to such a degree as to make him rush into taking the honourable care of them, in some kind of form, for a lifetime—a step which would not seem sufficiently justified if he only considered the matter.
Accordingly, Nature has furnished woman, as she has the rest of her creatures, with the weapons and implements necessary for the protection of her existence and for just the length of time that they will be of service to her; so that Nature has proceeded here with her usual economy.
Then again we find that young girls in their hearts regard their domestic or other affairs as secondary things, if not as a mere jest. Love, conquests, and all that these include, such as dressing, dancing, and so on, they give their serious attention.
Women in their hearts think that men are intended to earn money so that they may spend it, if possible during their husband’s lifetime, but at any rate after his death.
In a court of justice women are more often found guilty of perjury than men.
Because women in truth exist entirely for the propagation of the race, and their destiny ends here, they live more for the species than for the individual, and in their hearts take the affairs of the species more seriously than those of the individual. This gives to their whole being and character a certain frivolousness, and altogether a certain tendency which is fundamentally different from that of man; and this it is which develops that discord in married life which is so prevalent and almost the normal state.
It is natural for a feeling of mere indifference to exist between men, bu between women it is actual enmity.
It is only the man whose intellect is clouded by his sexual instinct that could give that stunted, narrow-shouldered, broad-hipped, and short legged race the name of the fair sex; for the entire beauty of the sex is based on this instinct.
One would be more justified in calling them the unaesthetic sex than the beautiful. Neither for music, nor for poetry, nor for
fine art have they any real or true sense and susceptibility, and it is mere mockery on their part, in their desire to please, if they affect any such thing.In our part of the world, where monogamy is in force, to marry means to halve one’s rights and to double one’s duties. When the laws granted woman the same rights as man, they should also have given her a masculine power of reason. On the contrary, just as the privileges and honours which the laws decree to women surpass what Nature has meted out to them, so is there a proportional decrease in the number of women who really share these privileges; therefore the remainder are deprived of their natural rights in so far as the others have been given more than Nature accords.
For the unnatural position of privilege which the institution of monogamy, and the laws of marriage which accompany it, assign to the woman, whereby she is regarded throughout as a full equivalent of the man, which she is not by any means, cause intelligent and prudent men to reflect a great deal before they make so great a sacrifice and consent to so unfair an arrangement.
The conferring of unnatural rights upon women has imposed unnatural duties upon them, the violation of which, however, makes them unhappy. For example, many a man thinks marriage unadvisable as far as his social standing and monetary position are concerned, unless he contracts a brilliant match.
It is certainly a revolting idea that widows should sacrifice themselves on their husband’s dead body; but it is also revolting that the money which the husband has earned by working diligently for all his life, in the hope that he was working for his children, should be wasted on her paramours. Medium tenuere beati. The first love of a mother, as that of animals and men, is purely instinctive, and consequently ceases when the child is no longer physically helpless. After that, the first love should be reinstated by a love based on habit and reason; but this often does not appear, especially where the mother has not loved the father. The love of a father for his
children is of a different nature and more sincere; it is founded on a recognition of his own inner self in the child, and is therefore metaphysical in its origin.
Recommended books:
If you’re interested in exploring the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer further, here are some recommended books by and about him:
“The World as Will and Representation” (“Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung”) – This is Schopenhauer’s magnum opus and provides a comprehensive exposition of his philosophical system.
“Essays and Aphorisms” (“Essays und Aphorismen”) – This collection includes some of Schopenhauer’s shorter writings and aphorisms, offering insights into various aspects of his philosophy.
“On the Suffering of the World” (“Über die Weiber”) – This is a shorter work by Schopenhauer that delves into his thoughts on human suffering and the nature of existence.
“Schopenhauer: A Very Short Introduction” by Christopher Janaway – This is part of the “Very Short Introductions” series and provides a concise overview of Schopenhauer’s life and key ideas.
“The Cambridge Companion to Schopenhauer” edited by Christopher Janaway – This collection of essays by various authors provides in-depth analyses of different aspects of Schopenhauer’s philosophy.
“Arthur Schopenhauer: Philosopher of Pessimism” by Julian Young – This biography explores Schopenhauer’s life and philosophy in a detailed and accessible manner.
“Schopenhauer’s Porcupines: Intimacy and Its Dilemmas: Five Stories of Psychotherapy” by Deborah Anna Luepnitz – While not directly about Schopenhauer, this book draws on his metaphor of the porcupines to explore the challenges of human intimacy, applying psychological insights.
“Schopenhauer: A Biography” by David E. Cartwright – This biography provides a comprehensive account of Schopenhauer’s life and intellectual development.