Arthur Schopenhauer 1788 – 1860
Arthur Schopenhauer was a 19th-century German philosopher best known for his metaphysical pessimism and his theory of the world as will and representation. The World as Will and Representation argues that the underlying reality of all phenomena is a blind, striving will, and that human suffering is an inevitable consequence of this fundamental nature. His thought drew significantly on Indian philosophical sources, particularly the Upanishads and early Buddhism, and proved influential on Nietzsche, Freud, Wagner, Tolstoy, and a wide range of modernist literary figures. He held that art, particularly music, and ascetic renunciation provide the only escape from the suffering inherent in willing. Schopenhauer spent most of his career in academic obscurity before achieving widespread recognition late in life.
Key facts
- Nationality
- German
- Era
- Modern
- Movements
- Continental
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Arthur Schopenhauer:
“Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits a target no one else can see.”
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Attributed to Arthur Schopenhauer:
“Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.”
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Attributed to Arthur Schopenhauer:
“A man can be himself only so long as he is alone.”
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Attributed to Arthur Schopenhauer:
“We forfeit three-fourths of ourselves in order to be like other people.”
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Attributed to Arthur Schopenhauer:
“Compassion is the basis of morality.”
Quotes that are not actually from Arthur Schopenhauer
These lines are widely circulated as Arthur Schopenhauer, but they do not appear in Arthur Schopenhauer's works. Each entry below identifies the actual source.
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“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”
Although widely circulated as Schopenhauer, this exact formulation has not been located in his collected works or correspondence. Schopenhauer made related observations about how new ideas are received, but the three-stage formula in this English phrasing appears to be a 20th-century summary rather than a translation. The actual author has not been confirmed.