Pessimism Of Arthur Schopenhauer : On The Suffers Of The World

As human beings we are naturally wired to seek happiness wherever we can find it. When we don’t, we may enter a stage of anger, anxiety, or distress. That’s why it is our personal goal to look for happiness and preserve it once we acquire it. Many have explored ways to find what triggers this feeling of “happiness” and what we can do to keep it; nonetheless, the evidence found is hardly sufficient to make a public statement on how to find happiness. For this reason, most of the time we speculate what might provoke this feeling of contentment. “Happiness is a glass half empty,” an essay written by Oliver Burkeman, highlights the importance of happiness and discloses how we can find delight through unorthodox methods. The prime objective of this piece of writing is to inform the audience about the effect of happiness on their lives and how their usual attempts of becoming happier can sabotage achieving this feeling. Furthermore, he wants to promote the benefits of pessimism and describe how it can help us in the long run. The author utilizes pronouns, logos, and pathos in order to prove his point and draw the audience into his essay, in an attempt of making them reconsider the way they live their lives and adopt this new pessimistic way that would greatly boost their level of happiness.

Krakauer's connection to the woman he met in Petersburg, AK "exposed (his) self deceit and left (him) hollow and aching" (Krakauer 137). Krakauer was missing human contact in his life and he realized when he was with the woman he met in Alaska. Krakauer tried to deceive himself that he did not need to establish human connections. Humans by nature are social creatures and avoiding relationships with others, we are left feeling hollow and aching for that connection with another human being, just like Krakauer did. I believe that other people make us whole with their love and encouragement from friendships and other types of relationships. That love and encouragement is vital for our survival.

On the contrary, Schopenhauer perceives that the absurdity of life is more limited than Camus because the absurdity of the human existence comes from intellect. Moreover, the more intellectual one is, the more capable they are of realizing the inherent absurdity of human existence (Guigon, 2001). Thus, according to Schopenhauer, the more intellectually-inclined person is the one who suffers the most from mere existence. Taking this one step further, it can be argued that those of higher intellectual abilities are more likely to commit suicide as they understand the philosophy behind the act (Schopenhauer, 1966). Furthermore, Schopenhauer claims that, “At best we might see our way through the absurdity, and achieve peace by denying the Will and the futile desires that are its most immediate manifestations.” (Solomon, 1988) Schopenhauer acknowledged that the Will is absurd and therefore it should be denied. Schopenhauer saw the human Will as a window to the world behind the representation, which he defined as thing-in-itself. According to Schopenhauer, the entire world is the representation of a single Will, of which the individual Wills are phenomena. Schopenhauer states: “The world as idea is a mirror which reflects the Will. In this mirror the will recognizes itself in ascending grades

“Never shall I forget that smoke… Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever...Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams into ashes…”(page 34). Elie Wiesel, the author of “Night”, describes his experiences in the Holocaust. Elie experiences pain and suffering throughout his time in the concentration camp, Auschwitz, and he shares how he survived. In the book “Night” the main character, Elie, is affected by the events in this book such as loss of faith, emotional connections with his father, and his self changes mentally and physically.

Nobel Prize Winner, Elie Wiesel in his powerful speech, The Perils of Indifference, claims that the greater evils that lay within indifference are far worse than what any anger or hatred could ever accomplish. He develops his message by highlighting past tragedies and where he holds indifference. The meaning of the word as well as where it ranks among other words of war. Wiesel explains that “to be indifferent to that suffering is what makes the human being inhuman.” and that “Indifference is not a beginning, it is an end”. All wrapped in a serious tone throughout the speech to keep us immersed in history. Wiesel’s purpose is to criticize mistakes we’ve made in the past situations like his in order to bring about change in our actions to be a better people. He establishes a serious tone for readers by using stylistic devices(and/or rhetorical devices such as metaphor, hyperbole, and personification in order to develop his message that we have room for improvement and just because we’ve done some honorable deeds doesn’t mean that we should settle at that.

In order to be happy, people must have a purpose in life. This theme is demonstrated through both symbolism and mood in the passages “Andy Lovell” by T.S. Arthur and “The Song of the Old Mother” by William Butler Yeats. Through these literary devices, the authors show that by not following your passion, you will eventually become miserable. Because of their powerful words, the reader gets a firm grasp on the importance of objectives in life.

Brave New World, acknowledges government control which results in the failure of a society. It is a world created where everything is under control, being observed, and synthetic. The society was manufactured in a test tube therefore, it was factory made. The people were born and developed in the test tubes, so their human nature became adapted so an individual cannot identify or approach it. Every little detail of a person's life is prearranged. These people's lives revolve around their community, their existence, and security; never their individual happiness. They are basically living for their society as a whole. This society was designed to be successful but it failed to give people their individuality. The individuals sacrificed

Happiness: a Human Disease -- An Examination of the Allegorical Theme of Existentialism in the Happy Man

From the moment of birth, to the moment of death, humans are flooded with emotions both good and bad. Individuals are continuously seeking fulfillment, some failing to find it while others succeed. Many seek adoration; love, accomplishment and greatness. In literature, authors take the readers on journeys that allow imagination, granting the possibility for the reader to grasp inner desires and decide what is truly important in life. Literature allows readers to dive into a different world where happiness and fulfillment is plentiful and eternal, also described as a utopia, while other pieces of literature direct the reader into a world of dissatisfaction which is a dystopia. Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is in 26th century England. With

Throughout chapter seven, Crooks displays his bitterness and pessimism. He feels degraded by his labeling as little more than a *****. He cannot play cards with the others, so he banishes himself to his shack to read. He yearns for a companion, if only to converse with. It doesn’t matter the companion’s understanding, but his mere presence.

In “On The Sufferings of the World,” Arthur Schopenhauer has a pessimistic outlook on life. He believes that suffering is a part of life and that without suffering, the world would be an even more miserable place. As many people may assume, life gets better as you grow older. Schopenhauer however disagrees with this statement and claims that life continually deteriorates. Before reading this piece I strongly believed that I was an optimist. I always like to see the bright side of situations but, Schopenhauer really gave me a different outlook on life, a pessimistic view, and I surprisingly agreed with many of his ideas. Although this is true, at the end of the reading, I disagreed with more ideas than not. Therefore, I do not think that Schopenhauer’s account on life is a good proposal to live by because not everyone is continuously miserable in their life and it is perfectly reasonable to have a positive outlook on life.

In “On the Sufferings of the World”, Schopenhauer contains radical aspects about the world and humanity. He argues that suffering is intrinsic to human existence and that this suffering is directly caused by the will of the individual. Throughout the essay, Schopenhauer interpretation of suffering contradicts what most philosophers have previously said. He claims that evil is a real thing and good is just the lack of evil. Exploring the reasons why Schopenhauer thinks life is full of suffering.

When we reached the cafeteria, I tried to sit as far away from the girls, but they knew my plan before I could run away. “Jisu, I want to talk to you.” Their cold, bleak expression somehow inexplicably forced me to sit down. Remaining silent, I bolted on my lunch to get out of cringe- making situation as quickly as I could. “Almost done, almost done…” When I bit the last piece of apple, the girl suddenly broke out the silent. “Why do you think I’m a jerk?” The sudden question made me choke. Concerning whether to tell the truth or to make up a story, I unwillingly told the truth. “ Um… It’s just feel like you guys are different than me.” Saying the truth made me feel extremely occurred, but I kept going. “You guys seem you enjoy studying. I

Despite Wilfred Owen and Guy de Maupassant writing two different types of text, pity is inevitable for their characters for which they must be able create.

Humans can be acknowledged as dependent species whom need to necessarily rely on other humans to seek happiness in their life. Majority of happiness are originated from the bond and relationship people make with each other. Values and meanings of relationship cannot certainly be measured with tangible objects; yet, respect and feelings of love can only be obtained by truly understanding one another. In a novel, “Embers,” the author, Sandor Marai, articulates the true friendship between Konrad and Henrik. The dream, passion, and youth which Konrad and Henrik shared burned furiously until lust and envy within human nature had devoured the burning flame. Even though