"Recall Royce's telling of the anecdote about Schopenhauer, who taken for an eccentric by public park personnel was asked, “Sir, who are you?,” to which Schopenhauer replied, 'I wish you would tell me.'” - The Relevance of Royce, edited by Kelly A. Parker, Jason Bell
When I visited Gdansk several years ago, I was unaware that it was Schopenhauer's birthplace. Gdansk was badly damaged during WWII, so I don't know if there is any marker that identifies it. I hope that later during the semester we can dedicate a little time to him and his philosophy. We can discuss his quote, "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident," and explore the influence of David Hume on his philosophy. He once said of Hume "there is more to be learned from each page of David Hume than from the collected philosophical works of Hegel, Herbart and Schleiermacher taken together."
ReplyDeleteI'd love to talk Schopenhauer and Hume, any time. Interesting quote from S on H, given how wildly speculative and un-skeptical S's metaphysics of will is. Hume would rightly challenge him: how in the world can you possibly claim to know that the world IS just the product of Will?
ReplyDeleteBut, I agree: reading S is highly rewarding. For the record, though, I reject his pessimis and his flights of metaphysical fancy.