Essays and Aphorisms

Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) believed that human action is determined not by reason but by desire, or will—the blind and irrational desire for physical existence. This selection of his writings on religion, the arts, politics, women, suicide, and many other themes was taken from Schopenhauer's last work, Parerga and Paralipomena , which he published in 1851. These pieces depict humanity as locked in a struggle beyond good and evil, and each individual absolutely free within a Godless world, in which art and self-awareness are our only salvation. This innovative—and pessimistic—view has proved powerfully influential upon philosophers, artists, and musicians alike.