Arthur Schopenhauer

Arthur Schopenhauer was a pessimist philosopher, opponent of Hegel. At the foundation of the world lies a blind, irrational Will — the source of suffering.

Life is a pendulum between suffering (unsatisfied desire) and boredom (satisfied desire). Liberation is possible through art, compassion, and ascetic denial of the will.

Schopenhauer was the first Western philosopher to turn to Buddhism and Indian philosophy. His ideas influenced Nietzsche, Freud, Tolstoy, and Wagner.