Schopenhauer Free Will Essay

Before I begin it is pertinent to note the disparate positions on the problem of human freedom. In "Human Freedom and the Self", Roderick M. Chisholm takes the libertarian stance which is contiguous with the doctrine of incompatibility. Libertarians believe in free will and recognize that freedom and determinism are incompatible. The determinist also follow the doctrine of incompatibility, and according to Chisholm's formulation, their view is that every event involved in an act is caused by some other event. Since they adhere to this type of causality, they believe that all actions are consequential and that freedom of the will is illusory. Compatiblist deny the conflict between free will and determinism. A.J. Ayer makes a

In his two essays, On the Sufferings of the World and The Vanity of Existence, Schopenhauer gives a highly pessimistic view that humans are indoctrinated by the idea of happiness and pleasure when in reality, that is rarely experienced other than through childhood. Human beings are so consumed in trying to revisit the past and anticipate the future that their lives go by without fulfilment. This is the main difference between humans and animals, because we do not live in the present, this grows into boredom in which the end result is pain. Schopenhauer also states that due to our lack of understanding about the true nature of Time and Space, our ignorance of refusing to live in the present will only make us worse off than we began.

4. Adam’s decision was made by his subjective ability to reason. There is no way for a scientist or other being to take apart Adam and physically analyze Adam’s ability to reason. Since choices and reasoning are not at all physical, they cannot share a physical cause and effect relationship, and have nothing to do with determinist’s causal relationship philosophy.

Oedipus Rex, Candide, Macbeth, The Cherry Orchard, and the Metamorphosis all have one obvious recurring theme; fate v.s. freewill. In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus tries to beat his fate. He leaves home and travels because he is afraid of the prophecy made of him. Despite this, in the case of Oedipus, his fate was inescapable. Candide, on the other hand, defies his fate. He is fated to be separated from Cunegonde, but he keeps trying and trying to be with her. Candide goes through many obstacles, learns about life, and by the end, he learns that he must accept what life throws at him, and “cultivate his garden.” Macbeth believes that fate is on his side. When he hears about his prophecy, he immediately believes that nothing can hurt him, that he

encountered, therefore meaning that any consequences of a chosen action are the fault of the

Pleasure and disenthrallment from torment, solely, are desirable as ends; all desirable things, a plenitude for the Utilitarian, are advantageous, either for the ecstasy innate in themselves or as the means to the elevation of sybaritism and the evasion of suffering.

While his notion of asceticism may be a bit extreme, Schopenhauer offers an interesting perspective that is rarely heard. At the very least, Schopenhauer's notion of the denial of the will-to-live has important historical merit and provides an interesting perspective that modern society may have lost touch with. If we take Schopenhauer's notion of the denial of the will seriously however, we find that we have found a useful tool to critique a society that has become increasingly invested in rampant egotism and

For Schopenhauer, the will-to-live demands an infinite amount of desires to be fulfilled, which always results in frustration. Schopenhauer holds that desire is essentially acquisitive; we exist in a state of lack that is painful until the object desired is acquired. Once the object desired is acquired, the result is pleasure, but this is only short lived. One either begins to desire a new object or becomes bored, which results in suffering either way. The totality of this frustration always outweighs the pleasure of its' release, as this pleasure is only fleeting and quickly replaced with more pain. The individual continues to suffer until death and may continue for the species for an infinite amount of time. The more that an individual affirms the will-to-live, the more she suffers. By affirming the will-to-live we further involve ourselves in this blind worldliness that always produces

The dictionary version of a civilization is “the stage of human social and development organization that is considered most advanced”. Although by scientific standards that is correct, there is much more that goes into civilization. Although every civilization has rules,standards, and laws they also give people a choice. In the American constitution, it states”certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This may seem like a simple or meaningless satinets to some. But for me it means everything. It describes how as human beings, we have the right to choose. That one ability to pursue the thing or things make them happy is just as important as their right to be unhappy.

First, we are all born with innate desires from which we cannot escape, as they are biologically built into our psychology. These desires drive all action and thought, including all philosophical reasoning. Futher, these desires can be boiled down to one fundamental will, the will

The quote above is the clearest definition of the will to power. From this passage, I think that it is the driving force of life. This will to power is the reason for life and is the purpose of life.

Art features heavily in Arthur Schopenhauer’s “Will and Representation.” Schopenhauer had a complex and nuanced view of art’s profound effect on humanity and that effect’s importance to our everyday lives. His view does not however, exist in a vacuum. It is an integral part of his overarching theory on humanity and existence itself and therefore can only be fully appreciated with at least some reference to his other ideas. In this paper I will attempt to illustrate Schopenhauer’s philosophy of art while highlighting pertinent aspects of his other related theories such as the aesthetic value of nature. I will conclude by using several theories of Schopenhauer’s I have summarized to contrast humanity’s relationship with both art and nature.

Schopenhauer believed that pleasure is just the absence of pain, like Bentham. The world is full of strife and frustration which produces much conflict. Schopenhauer believed that the escape of all this conflict, or pain, was to reject it. However, philosophical art held the key to a temporary release. Since his philosophy is based on sympathy, Schopenhauer expressed the idea in which feeling one’s hurt or sorrow can be an effort in relieving pain (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition). In order to lose the strife in the world, the people need to minimize their desires so there will be a tranquil frame of mind and arrangement towards the universe (Wicks, Robert). Schopenhauer explains that suffering is caused by the willing, therefore “the more intense the willing the more intense the suffering.” In every want there is a willing, and in every willing there is a suffering. Suffering is just an uncompleted willing or want, including the pain felt in the body (Kerns, Tom). Schopenhauer explains suffering as a continuous cycle, because when a want or desire is fulfilled, a new desire is replaced with old. In Schopenhauer’s eyes, suffering is completely caused by “the frustration and conflict that arises from competition between individual wills” (UK

As human beings we are always going through life with a goal to reach. Whether that goal is to get to a certain level of education or if you dream of being a movie star. We all have something that drives us to keep moving forward. Some people will say that have a goal or dream is what makes us human. If we don’t have a dream then what is the point of us living at all. But along the way things can cause us to change the course that we have already set for ourselves. Lucretius who was a poet stated in one of his poems that “From just these first- beginnings. They are moved By their own inner impulse first, and then such groups as form with just a few together, are moved by unseen blows”(Austin 294). A lesson that I learned as I grew up is that everyone will not always have the same goal as they get older but over time our minds will be changed. There are many different things that can influence the decisions we make depending on who we surround ourselves with. For me my dream is to go to Germany and to work there doing art. I always wondered if somebody would be able to come along and make me change my mind on something I set my mind to. Is our will the thing that drives us or is it the will of others. It all depends on how strong our will is. But things can’t always stay the same if we are trying to please ourselves, a group we are in, or if we are being controlled by something bigger.

Ben Franklin once famously said, “Nothing is certain except for death and taxes.” Viktor Frankl, the author of Man’s Search for Meaning, would argue that two more should be added to the list: guilt and pain. He concludes that humans are unable to avoid the tragic triad: death, pain and guilt in life. Frankl himself experiences it through unimaginable suffering and struggles in the Nazi concentration camp. Through his incredible willpower and ability to find meaning in death, guilt, and pain, he withstood the camp, while many others gave up and died. Life can retain its potential meaning in spite of its tragic aspects, through optimism in the face of tragedy. This is time-tested and applies to many situations in life.