Arthur Schopenhauer

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) was a German philosopher and a leading representative of voluntarism and pessimism. In his major work The World as Will and Representation, he argued that the world is driven by a blind, irrational will to live, so that human life oscillates between suffering and boredom; he advocated art, aesthetic contemplation, compassion, and asceticism as paths to temporary or fundamental release. Another widely read work, The Wisdom of Life, offers a plain and sober discussion of conduct and happiness. He also wrote On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason. His writings combine philosophical argument with an essayistic style and are often classified under philosophy, Western philosophy, personal development, and essays. His thought deeply influenced Nietzsche, Wagner, and Freud.