The factual question is as follows:
True or False: Schopenhauer is most know for his optimism.
The answer is false
The discussion question is as follows:
Do you agree with Schopenhauer's pessimistic view of our existence? Explain.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
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Yeah... shaking up the bee surely didn't help, either >.>
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't agree with Schallalladingdong necessarily, but I can see where he's coming from. Almost like the ancient Skeptics, saying that life is nothing but living, reproducing, and dying is an easy way to build up protection against the world. Putting out that life is suffering as your go-to philosophical view puts everything you do into a boxed perspective that, at its root, is undeniable. To me, it's kind of like throwing up your hands to give a true answer to anything. "Why should I care about anything in this life? I'm just going to suffer through it and die anyway."
Plus, particularly for Schopenhauer, saying that the only way to truly escape the all-consuming black hole that is Will is through what you view to be spectacular art is a little contradicting. Like he figured in a loophole into his own equation: Life is nothing but pain, but you can transcend that pain through art. It makes his entire foundation shaky at best - if you allow one concession, who's to say that won't open a floodgate of so many more?
So, while I can see how Schopenhauer could come to the conclusion that pessimism is the true way to view living, I see it more as a coward's way out of truly living this life for what it's worth.