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Schopenhauer
emphasized the dark aspects of existence. Evil, pain and suffering
are not aberration: they express the inner nature of the world.
He is pessimistic about the true nature of existence; suffering
and pain outweigh the rewards in life and they're central to
the riddle of existence.
There
are two basic aspects to the world: representation (visible
appearances) and will (hidden reality). Will is a unitary, blind,
irrational force underlying all nature and expressing itself
throughout it. This will is a single metaphysical reality, and
each person's experience is a sort of window into it. Our true
motives for action are often hidden from us because our own
will is mostly hidden. Will, not reason, is the controlling
force within us.
Our
will to live - our perpetual striving for life - is a continuing
cycle of want, temporary fulfillment, and more want. New desires
replace any satisfied ones, so no final or lasting happiness
is possible. Our will to live - is doomed ultimately to fail,
and we die.
There
is no overall end or purpose of life, though art offers an escape
from an otherwise painful existence. The artist is a genius
who can sustain aesthetic ("will-less") contemplation;
music expresses the Will itself.
Human
actions are propelled by the will, so prescriptive ethical rules
have little force ("willing cannot be taught"). But
there are four progressive stages of moral behavior; egoism,
enlightened self-interest, altruism, and asceticism
(denial of the senses and the will to live).
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