Schopenhauer’s Pessimism: An Existential Critique

Arthur Schopenhauer’s The World As Will and Representation presents the thing-in-itself as Will - a blind, insatiable striving - and the world of appearances (as our experience) as its objectification. From this metaphysical vision, Schopenhauer famously derives a philosophy of pessimism: life is fundamentally made up of suffering and vanity. In this essay, I first explain Schopenhauer’s…