Arthur Schopenhauer, a 19th-century German philosopher, is known for his pessimistic views on human existence. His thoughts on the emptiness of existence are largely influenced by Eastern philosophy, especially Buddhist teachings. Schopenhauer’s main work, “The World as Will and Representation,” presents his philosophical system.
Here are some key points from Schopenhauer’s perspective on the emptiness of existence:
Will as the Essence of Reality: Schopenhauer posited that the fundamental essence of the world is the “Will.” This Will is an irrational, blind force that drives all phenomena. It is a ceaseless striving and desiring that is insatiable and relentless. According to Schopenhauer, the Will is the source of all suffering and represents the inherent emptiness and lack of fulfillment in existence.
The Pursuit of Desires: Human life, according to Schopenhauer, is characterized by the constant pursuit of desires. However, he believed that satisfaction is fleeting, and the fulfillment of one desire only leads to the emergence of new desires. This perpetual striving for satisfaction is a never-ending cycle, contributing to the emptiness of human existence.
The Vanity of Individual Pursuits: Schopenhauer argued that individual pursuits, achievements, and personal successes are ultimately futile in the grand scheme of things. He believed that individuals often strive for goals that are illusory and transient, providing only temporary satisfaction before the cycle of desire and striving resumes.
Role of Art and Aesthetic Experience: Schopenhauer saw art as a unique means of transcending the suffering inherent in existence. He believed that in moments of aesthetic contemplation, individuals could momentarily escape the relentless pursuit of desires and connect with a deeper, more universal reality. Art, for Schopenhauer, offered a temporary reprieve from the emptiness of everyday existence.
Similarities with Eastern Philosophy: Schopenhauer was heavily influenced by Eastern philosophies, particularly Buddhism. He saw parallels between his philosophy and the concept of Nirvana, where the cessation of desires leads to liberation from suffering. The emphasis on overcoming the ego and transcending personal desires aligns with Buddhist teachings.
This emptiness finds its expression in the whole form of existence, in the infiniteness of Time and Space as opposed to the finiteness of the individual in both; in the flitting present as the only manner of real existence; in the dependence and relativity of all things; in constantly Becoming without Being; in continually wishing without being satisfied; in an incessant thwarting of one’s efforts, which go to make up life, until victory is won. Time, and the transitoriness of all things, are merely the form under which the will to live, which as the thing-in-itself is imperishable, has revealed to Time the futility of its efforts. Time is that by which at every moment all things become as nothing in our hands, and thereby lose all their true value.
What has been exists no more; and exists just as little as that which has never been. But everything that exists has been in the next moment. Hence something belonging to the present, however unimportant it may be, is superior to something important belonging to the past; this is because the former is a reality and related to the latter as something is to nothing.
A man to his astonishment all at once becomes conscious of existing after having been in a state of non-existence for many thousands of years, when, presently again, he returns to a state of non-existence for an equally long time. This cannot possibly be true, says the heart; and even the crude mind, after giving the matter its consideration, must have some sort of presentiment of the ideality of time. This ideality of time, together with that of space, is the key to every true system of metaphysics, because it finds room for quite another order of things than is to be found in nature. This is why Kant is so great.
Every evening makes us poorer by a day.
Of every event in our life it is only for a moment that we can say that it is; after that we must say for ever that it was.
It would probably make us angry to see this short space of time slipping away, if we were not secretly conscious in the furthest depths of our being that the spring of eternity belongs to us, and that in it we are
always able to have life renewed.
Reflections of the nature of those above may, indeed, establish the belief that to enjoy the present, and to make this the purpose of one’s life, is the greatest wisdom; since it is the present alone that is real, everything else being only the play of thought. But such a purpose might just as well be called the greatest folly, for that which in the next moment exists no more, and vanishes as completely as a dream, can never be worth a serious effort.
Our existence is based solely on the ever-fleeting present. Essentially, therefore, it has to take the form of continual motion without there ever being any possibility of our finding the rest after which we are always striving. It is the same as a man running downhill, who falls if he tries to stop, and it is only by his continuing to run on that he keeps on his legs; it is like a pole balanced on one’s finger-tips, or like a planet that would fall into its sun as soon as it stopped hurrying onwards. Hence unrest is the type of existence.
In a world like this, where there is no kind of stability, no possibility of anything lasting, but where everything is thrown into a restless whirlpool of change, where everything hurries on, flies, and is maintained in the balance by a continual advancing and moving, it is impossible to imagine happiness.
It cannot dwell where, as Plato says, continual Becoming and never Being is all that takes place. First of all, no man is happy; he strives his whole life long after imaginary happiness, which he seldom attains, and if he does, then it is only to be disillusioned; and as a rule he is shipwrecked in the end and enters the harbour dismasted. Then it is all the same whether he has been happy or unhappy in a life which was made up of a merely ever-changing present and is now at an end.
Meanwhile it surprises one to find, both in the world of human beings and in that of animals, that this great, manifold, and restless motion is sustained and kept going by the medium of two simple impulses—hunger and the instinct of sex, helped perhaps a little by boredom—and that these have the power to form the primum mobile of so complex a machinery, setting in motion the variegated show!
Life presents itself next as a task, the task, that is, of subsisting de gagner sa vie. If this is solved, then that which has been won becomes a burden, and involves the second task of its being got rid of in order to ward off boredom, which, like a bird of prey, is ready to fall upon any life that is secure from want.
That innate and ineradicable craving for what is out of the common proves how glad we are to have the natural and tedious course of things interrupted. Even the pomp and splendour of the rich in their stately castles is at bottom nothing but a futile attempt to escape the very essence of existence, misery.
That human life must be a kind of mistake is sufficiently clear from the fact that man is a compound of needs, which are difficult to satisfy; moreover, if they are satisfied, all he is granted is a state of painlessness, in which he can only give himself up to boredom. This is a precise proof that existence in itself has no value, since boredom is merely the feeling of the emptiness of life. If, for instance, life, the longing for which constitutes our very being, had in itself any positive and real value, boredom could not exist; mereexistence in itself would supply us with everything, and therefore satisfy us.
How foolish it is for a man to regret and deplore his having made no use of past opportunities, which might have secured him this or that happiness or enjoyment! What is there left of them now? Only the ghost of a remembrance! And it is the same with everything that really falls to our lot. So that the form of time itself, and how much is reckoned on it, is a definite way of proving to us the vanity of all earthly enjoyment.
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.