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).
Despite his extensive writings, Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) produced a rather limited set of ideas. His philosophical system revolves around the theory of the will (“life force”) that he regarded as the prime mover of all living entities. Let's review Schopenhauer's main ideas. First and foremost, Schopenhauer rebelled against the ideas of Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831), and Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762-1814). They dominated mainstream philosophy at that time. I find it heartbreaking however that Schopenhauer achieved very little success in his lifetime. After death, Kant and Hegel continued to rule undisputed for a century. What's the key difference between Schopenhauer and Kant? According to Kant, human beings cannot know things as they are in themselves because human intelligence is limited. In this way, Kant kept the door open for religious beliefs. Philosophy historians categorise Kant as “idealist” because he believed in the existence of some ideas that humans cannot grasp. The same categorisation applies to Fichte and Hegel. In contrast, Schopenhauer sustained that humans are able to grasp the true nature of reality through self-awareness. In “The world as will and representation” (1818), he acknowledged the influence of the will, but called readers to grow self-aware and adopt countermeasures (prudence, foresight, self-reliance...). Similarly, Schopenhauer criticised Fichte's belief in national spirits and Hegel's belief in an absolute spirit. Those spirits do not exist in reality, countered Schopenhauer. He did not regard idealism as a sound philosophy. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/schopenhauers-main-ideas/
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).
