PHIL 2420 - Class 7: Human existence and human nature are mistakes

What does Schopenhauer believe about human existence & nature?

mistake

• gets worse until worst

• benefit < cost

• task to live

What did Schopenhauer feel from a young age?

• despair

• suffering = life

What did Schopenhauer believe about a god?

evil demon

What does Schopenhauer believe about people?

communication joy through conscious self-deception

• equal opportunity hater

What does Schopenhauer believe about human reason?

• weak

• fragile

What does Schopenhauer believe about a powerful internal force?

will to live

What is the will to live?

drive to stay alive & reproduce

• distort reason & rationality

• control everything

• primitive & irrational & unconscious urge

→ not one’s will

What does Schopenhauer believe about the will to live in humans?

human = plaything / surface

What does Schopenhauer believe is inevitable?

• love

• lust

• passion

• desire

What does Schopenhauer believe about people’s mates?

What does Schopenhauer believe about marriage & reproduction?

≠

• people best propagating species

• ensure next generation = fit

What does Schopenhauer believe about misery?

acknowledge sooner than later

What is Schopenhauer’s big book?

“The World as Will & Representation”

What is Schopenhauer’s goal?

• ≠ depress

• = wake

→ happiness & wellbeing ≠ bargain

What does Schopenhauer believe is the 1 inborn error?

• exist to be happy

What does Schopenhauer believe about old people?

wear disappointment face

What does Schopenhauer believe is the 1 human advantage over animals?

art & philosophy

What does Schopenhauer believe about & philosophy?

understand suffering & pain

What makes existence pointless?

• cosmic

• geologic

• historical

• personal

… time

What does Schopenhauer believe about everything?

nothingness

What does Schopenhauer believe is meaningful?

permanent thing

What is a criticism of Schopenhauer’s meaning belief?

perishable = valuable

• perishable → valuable

What does Schopenhauer believe about everything actual?

only exists in fleeting present at precariousness limit

What is Epicurus’ criticism of Schopenhauer’s belief?

even if short life, high pleasure = possible

• joy of being alive >

What is Schopenhauer’s metaphysics?

human existence = motion & striving & unrest

What does Schopenhauer believe about a destination?

illusion

What does Schopenhauer believe about happiness?

• people who strive rarely achieve

• people who achieve rarely fulfill

≠ deep / lasting state

What does Schopenhauer similarly believe to Epicurus?

• plan → ≠ present

  • look back & overlook obvious

• desire / want / craving / lust bundle

• rejects immortality & cosmic design

• finite / fallible / mortal material human

What does Schopenhauer believe is a challenge?

boredom

What is boredom?

// fatigue // indolence

existing emptiness sensation between desire wave

What does Schopenhauer believe about human origin?

carnal parent desire

• child: fun & play

• youth: energy & vigor

• adult: work & strive

• elder: old age & decline

• death: suffering & illness

→ disenchantment

What does Schopenhauer believe about infinity?

can’t hold

What does Schopenhauer believe about pessimism & religion?

= …

• Christian

• Buddhist

• Hindu

≠ …

• Jewish

• Protestant

What does Schopenhauer believe about people & the future?

better future

What does Schopenhauer believe about desire satisfaction?

possession loses charm → already willing again

• bend world to will

  • more & longer → more meaningful

What does Schopenhauer believe about local goods?

relative to state

What does Schopenhauer believe about good?

• ≠ good in itself

• = willed by one

What is suffering?

anything interfering one & want

What does Schopenhauer believe about self-sufficiency?

unchanged want

What does Schopenhauer believe doubles sufferings?

self-sufficiency self-awareness

What does Schopenhauer believe happens to people shifting plans?

shifting suffering form

What is the negativity of satisfaction thesis?

get want ≠ deep positive feeling

What does Schopenhauer believe is the highest good?

willessness

What is willessness?

salvation killing desire & self → indifferent to pain & disowned body & ready to accept sufferings

What are some willessness examples?

• art

  • lose self

• indifference

  • happiness & body

What are the willlessness routes?

• burnout

<

• self-renunciation

What is burnout?

// purification

suffer highest calamity → break will to live

What is self-renunication?

// self-extirpation

deny life

• knowledge

What does Schopenhauer believe about individuality?

• ≠ quality

• = illusion

What does Schopenhauer believe about linguistic apparatus?

illusion

What is Nietzsche’s criticism of Schopenhauer’s self-restitution?

degenerate

What does Schopenhauer believe about reality?

• appearance to human

v.s.

• will to live

What does Schopenhauer believe about reality as in itself?

• end

• law

• purpose

• god

• order

• structure

• meaning

• form

… less

What does Schopenhauer believe about reality as it appears to us?

• objectification

• spacetime

• cause & effect

• mind product

→ dreamlike

What does Schopenhauer believe happens before the human mind?

• NO individual

• only Will

What does Schopenhauer believe minds impose on Will?

• individuation

• objectification

What does Schopenhauer believe is the primary characteristic of reality as it appears to humans?

conflict

What does Schopenhauer believe happens when the mind imposes individuation & objectification on Will?

turns on & consumes itself

→ fight other & desire more than one could have

What does Schopenhauer believe is humans’ undoing?

epistemological structure

What is the principle of sufficient reason?

// individuation

event always has reason

What does Schopenhauer believe about the experience world?

actively construct by imposing unifying structures on senses

• can’t describe experience without structure

→ made of individual event plurality

What is the most fundamental experience world feature?

spacetime

What does Kant believe about empirical knowledge?

enough for science

• impossible but ideal

<

• possible but limited

What does Schopenhauer believe about Kant’s empirical knowledge belief?

cognitive

What does Schopenhauer believe is the most basic activity?

• = will / want / desire

• ≠ know

What is Schopenhauer’s criticism of Kant’s empirical knowledge belief?

• ≠ create known world

• = create Will want world

  • target = discreet individual

What is Schopenhauer’s criticism of Kant’s empirical knowledge belief analogy?

• can’t want totality / nothingness / Will

What does Schopenhauer believe about knowledge & truth end?

≠ important

What does Schopenhauer believe about thinking & knowing?

≠ fundamental mind property

What does Schopenhauer believe about suffering?

individuating mind expression

What does Schopenhauer believe about art?

pure aesthetic perception

What does Schopenhauer believe is the best art?

music

What explains why Schopenhauer believes music is the best art?

• duplicates Will reality basis

• purest

• most abstratc

What is Schopenhauer’s criticism of art?

≠ moral awareness

What does Schopenhauer believe humans ought to treat others?

reduce fleshly desire

What is a criticism of Schopenhauer’s ought belief?

moral prescriptive

What does Schopenhauer believe begins moral awareness?

attitude beyond body individuality

• treat others as we treat ourselves

• refrain from violence

• reduce sufferings

• avoid egoism & selfishness

• act with compassion

What does Schopenhauer believe about difference between people?

unreal

= …

• suffering

• desiring

• willing

→ feel other suffering = morally aware

What is universal consciousness?

desire & craving & lust & volition new light

• individuality illusion

What does Schopenhauer believe about progression?

• aesthetic perception

→

• moral compassion

→

• appalled at human condition

→

• reject Will

What is a criticism of Schopenhauer’s Will?

deliberate struggle to kill off animal force

• involves Will

→ self-overcoming