Is Schopenhauer worth reading or is it all just edgy nihilism?
Nothing about the German Idealism is remotely related to nihilism.
>>72211319
I thought he entirely rejected Hegel and idealism
>>72211464
He followed Kant
He was a Transcendental Idealist
>>72210950
Read him and be prepared to rage on this fucking world.
He is right in almost ever aspect and it'll hurt to read his work and then look out of your window.
>>72210950
It's Eastern religion in philosophical form, so no, not worth reading.
That said he is easy to read, and writes well in an uncomplicated form, so if you've got the time.
>>72211851
>It's Eastern religion in philosophical form, so no, not worth reading.
His approach to Buddhism is interesting and worth reading into imo. He has good theories on will too.
>>72211851
It's not obscurantist garbage like most continental philosophers, it's just a clear non-obtuse non-difficult philosphical restatement of buddihism, minus the mysticism & polytheism. If you are interested in that, read him.
>>72210950
>On the other hand, the cheapest form of pride is national pride; for the man affected therewith betrays a want of individual qualities of which he might be proud, since he would not otherwise resort to that which he shares with so many millions. The man who possesses outstanding personal qualities will rather see most clearly the faults of his own nation, for he has them constantly before his eyes. But every miserable fool, who has nothing in the world whereof he could be proud, resorts finally to being proud of the very nation to which he belongs. In this he finds compensation and is now ready and thankful to defend, … all the faults and follies peculiar to it.
(From 'Parerga and Paralipomena', Vol. 1, Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life, 'What A Man Represents', pp. 360)
>>72210950
he is not a nihilist at all you stupid faggot.
But he is a little difficult. Academic German is a cluster fuck, and translating it is also a cluster fuck. They go crazy with compounding and like to mix loan words in.
Source: took 4 years of German, lived in Germany for a study abroad program 6 months. I felt pretty good on German, then I open some philosophical works, and I might as well be reading Chinese.
>1 word is as long as the width of the page. This is not an exaggeration.
I would recommend Kant honestly.
>>72212278
Can't Schopenhauer basically be summed up by "life is terrible, it would be better if we never existed at all, distract yourself to get through life" etc?
>>72212393
Most of Schonpehauer's philosophy can be summed up with the myth of Silenus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silenus#The_wisdom_of_Silenus
>>72212393
It is a bit more nuanced than that. This is my favorite (and arguably his most popular) work
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/38427/38427-h/38427-h.html
It is dense, but also the most accessible of his books.
Here is the original:
http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/buch/die-welt-als-wille-und-vorstellung-band-i-7134/2
Academic German is essentially a different language.
If I had to sum up Schopenhauer, and I am not an expert by any means, I would say that he was a very intelligent and idealistic man that had an intuition that Kantian philosophy - specifically objective rationalism - was going to revolutionize EVERYTHING, which is what everyone thought at the time. Unfortunately, Schopenhauer was smart enough / lived in a time with enough technology to prove that EITHER reality didn't work as Kant thought or it did but humans are incapable of understanding it with the tools we have (our senses)- and that essentially made Schop reconsider the human condition entirely and I think he went a little crazy.
Again, I'd start with Kant if you haven't yet. He was clearer for me. Also, philosophy is annoying in that the big philosophers tend to write for an extremely educated audience so they act as if all readers know all the shit that came before hand and if you don't its a giant cluster fuck of allusions you don't understand.
Almost like reading a PhD dissertation but LOL NO CITATIONS OR WORKS CITED YOU SHOULD JUST KNOW IT ALL ALREADY LOL.
>>72213021
Kant was a hack desu
>>72213205
Hack or not if someone wants to learn about western philosophy you either read him yourself or deal with every other book talking about his ideas assuming you know them.
Don't be bitter anon, Kant is still cool. :'-(
Read On the Suffering of the World. Read it now
>>72210950
typical scummy german nihilist
>>72212278
Germans read Kant in English because its such difficult material
>>72213471
i'd recommend Schopenhauer on a similar basis - as a part of the history of philosophy.
it's not material i felt compelled to come back to. his fascination with eastern philosphy is not something i relate to.
>>72210950
What a coincidence, I am reading Thomas Manns notes on Schopenhauer right now.
I found a video which claimed that most of his philosophies are just Buddhist bullshit rip-off, but I actually think some of it is pretty good. The part where he describes the will as our drive and the part where he talks about the necessity of being selfish and how even though everything is a selfish deed, you can still distingish between selfish deeds as a sacrefice of your own happiness or selfish deeds only beneficial to yourself. Latter one explain along the theory of Mayas veil, which I would argue are found in many other philosophers such as Kant, Descartes and of course the thieveing Nietzsche.
It's not like I understand it complete or perhaps even very well, but I find I exciting.
>>72211319
He was a huge inspiration to Nietzsche who contemplated on thoughts very similar to Nihilism. That might be where the confusion stems from?
>>72212130
Hah, pretty funny and well spotted.
I disagree with Schopenhauer on many issues (this obviously being one of them) of course a lot of his ideas didn't stand the test of time, which is why Nietzsche continued building on his works (and yes I disagree with most of Nietzsche as well). That being said, it is still interest and relevant to read Schopenhauer to get a fundament of basic philosophy and to collect that from which you think is good. I think one should never 100% the doctrines of any philosopher, one should always be open to the opertunity of the change in something. Even Hitler, that saint, made a lot of things I to this day disagree with but I still think he's a hero of his time.
TL;DR thankfully we aren't talking the Quran or Bible, so we don't have to follow each word in the book blindly.
>>72215119
He doesn't look very friendly
>>72218603
>>72218658
>>72218962
And of course, this was the image I wanted to post, but I was on the shitter on my phone and the picture was on my computer.
>>72218962
>TL;DR thankfully we aren't talking the Quran or Bible, so we don't have to follow each word in the book blindly.
Preach.
"Verily," says Zarathustra to his flock, "I counsel you: go away from me and resist Zarathustra!… Perhaps he deceived you. The man of knowledge must not only love his enemies but also be able to hate his friends. One repays a teacher badly if one always remains nothing but a pupil… You are my believers – but what matter all believers… All faith amounts to so little. Now I bid you to lose me and find yourselves."
>>72219005
Schopenhauer's only true friend was his poodle.
>>72210950
Grade school tier philosopher. Come back when you get out of 12th grade.
>>72219300
Great quote. It's by Nietzsche isn't it?
>Schopenhauer's only true friend was his poodle.
Kek.
>>72219402
Sorry if not all of us want to read up Focaults collection of Dildos you half-breed french.
>>72219499
Schopenhauer would fuck himself hard.
Also, yeah, Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
>>72212130
He was right on the money with that observation. Schopenhauer was around at the time the idea of a unified German nation was in again and begun to take form. Great minds like him and Hegel knew about the dangers of the state.
I suggest "Reden an die deutsche Nation" von Johann Fichte in which he tries to hammer home the spiritual groundwork of a people. I think the reason it's not taught today is because it would mean revolution against today's state.
>>72210950
I'm pretty sure this guy was a driving force behind feminism. Not in the sense of support it, but rather, his views towards women were so hateful and dismissive that it contributed to women wanting to change their role in society.
>>72210950
>reading books written by eternal Aryans
>>72210950
His essays certainly are, don't miss the one on style.
Reading Schopenhauer is about like listening to the life lessons of your bitter old widower uncle who sits in silence in his living room staring at the wall all day because turning on the TV makes him feel physically ill.
Many other philosophers touch upon the same subjects with less negativity and social commentary.
It's not that he's "wrong", but his memes will turn you into an asshole.
>>72221517
Do you mean to imply that there are philosophers whose works won't cause you sorrow over the state of the world?
>>72221918
Good point.
Arguably, some of the best of them aren't necessarily considered "philosophers" of the academic variety, because their lessons are spoken on a higher frequency than literal speech.
>If you ever happen to stumble upon a statement or idea that either you or someone else came up with which may or may not be true, and you suspect people will believe it, ALWAYS PROCLAIM IT'S TRUE WITH PROUD CONFIDENCE, because that's what you usually do anyway.
He was the GOAT
