JOHN VESPASIAN is the author of sixteen books, including “When everything fails, try this” (2009), “Rationality is the way to happiness” (2009), “The philosophy of builders” (2010), “The 10 principles of rational living” (2012), “Rational living, rational working” (2013), “Consistency: The key to permanent stress relief” (2014), “On becoming unbreakable” (2015), “Thriving in difficult times” (2016), “Causality: Aristotle’s life and ideas” (2024), “Foresight: Schopenhauer’s life and ideas” (2024), and "Constancy: Michel de Montaigne's life and ideas" (2025).
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JOHN VESPASIAN is the author of sixteen books, including “When everything fails, try this” (2009), “Rationality is the way to happiness” (2009), “The philosophy of builders” (2010), “The 10 principles of rational living” (2012), “Rational living, rational working” (2013), “Consistency: The key to permanent stress relief” (2014), “On becoming unbreakable” (2015), “Thriving in difficult times” (2016), “Causality: Aristotle’s life and ideas” (2024), “Foresight: Schopenhauer’s life and ideas” (2024), and "Constancy: Michel de Montaigne's life and ideas" (2025).
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) rejected the unshakeable optimism of his contemporaries about the power of reason. He acknowledged that all individuals are potentially able to think, but pointed out that few people make the effort to assess facts accurately and draw logical conclusions. His book “On the fourfold root of the principle of sufficient reason” (1814) defends the thesis that events can be traced to a particular cause in each case. Nothing happens by chance. Also human decisions can be traced to specific causes. However, Schopenhauer found an exception to the principle of sufficient reason and built his whole philosophy around this exception. He named the exception “the will” (life force) and theorised that the will is driving all living entities to secure their survival and reproduction, and to seek short-term pleasure. Schopenhauer described the will in his book “The world as will and representation”(1818). He called the will an irrational, wild, relentless, blind force that drives animals and humans in a certain direction without giving any thought to cost and risks. Humans can understand the cosmos to the extent that they grow aware of the will. Self-awareness is not automatic. It can only be acquired by making a pause and thinking about one’s perceptions. According to Schopenhauer, self-awareness is a prerequisite of reason. Unless you short-circuit the influence of the will, it is going to control your life and drive you to make short-sighted, harmful decisions. Without self-awareness, reason can become a double-edged sword. Without consciousness of the will, reason cannot judge facts accurately. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/schopenhauer-and-the-role-of-reason/
John Vespasian
JOHN VESPASIAN is the author of sixteen books, including “When everything fails, try this” (2009), “Rationality is the way to happiness” (2009), “The philosophy of builders” (2010), “The 10 principles of rational living” (2012), “Rational living, rational working” (2013), “Consistency: The key to permanent stress relief” (2014), “On becoming unbreakable” (2015), “Thriving in difficult times” (2016), “Causality: Aristotle’s life and ideas” (2024), “Foresight: Schopenhauer’s life and ideas” (2024), and "Constancy: Michel de Montaigne's life and ideas" (2025).
