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Note | Philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer

Critical Successor to Kant and Fichte

German Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer studied philosophy of Kant and Fichte as the basis, and made unique anti-rational philosophy as opposed to Hegelian rationalism.

The World of Will

Schopenhauer transformed the divide between the things-in-itself and phenomenon to will and representation. By Kant, time and space, and the world can be rationally recognized by causality. For Schopenhauer, the world like this is only a representation, and on the foundation and all things, there are bilinder Wille zum Leben (blind will to life) as things-in-itself. So the world is only a way of which blind will to life realize itself.

Will to Life

By Schopenhauer, we can understand the world of will through our bodies. Body is the direct expression of own will, and looked by outside, self represents as a body and which is a will itself. Will sensed directly and internally is seen by an objective view appears as a body.

Will mentioned by Schopenhauer isn’t the rational will like Kant. It’s an irrational and unconscious will to life closely connects to physical activities. This will has no rational intention, and is a will want to live impulsively or a blind impulse or nature.

Schopenhauer thought there’s unconscious “will to life” as a thing as it is on the ground of phenomenon of physics and life. Things we represent as a physical phenomenon are power, and the power is will. This will exists in the whole universe, can escape from the principle of sufficient reason, so the will is blind and impulsive.

Pessimism

The “will to life“ has no object, reason, aim and goal, so it’s never satisfied. So human life can’t reach the ultimate satisfaction. To live is to have a desire, and to have a desire means it doesn’t reach a satisfaction till now. So that human life is continuous suffering.

The present is unsatisfactory and suffering state continually. The gloomy desire only demands that the self want to live wholeheartedly. And the world in which wills struggle and dispute reciprocally, and desires attack each other. So the world is the worst (pesium) world. Therefore philsophy of Schopenhauer is called pessimism.

Art as a Consolation

By Schopenhauer, there are two ways to escape from suffering. The first is emancipation (deliverance) by art and the second is emancipation by moral.

Ordinary, human intellect is grasped by blind will and singular things. But on an activity of art, it is free from will and lead to the view point of theoria. And such an activity of theoria is “genius”. Plato thought the intuition of beauty directs the world of forms (ideas). Also Schopenhauer thought the beauty connects pure intuition to forms. On art, intellect views and feels (do theoria) trans-sensual ideas beyond time and space, and causalities “without interest”.

Schopenhauer regarded tragedy and music are very important. Especially music represents will itself. By the reason, he repotted music is the superior form of art. But this emancipation by art causes rarely, and is prestigious and temporary phenomenon.

Emancipation by Moral

By Schopenhauer, moral is more permanent and durable way of emancipation than art. Every human life is suffering after all. So moral must possess the principle of Mitleid (compassion or sympathy) as men are in hornet together. By compassion, we feel others’ sufferings as my own suffering. But this emancipation is momentary and temporary.

The ultimate emancipation thought by Schopenhauer is one denies and extinguishes will to life itself as the cause of suffering. The denying is only accomplished by ascetic life. The ascent can be realized by a religion like Buddhism. By this method, we can reach nihil, nothingnesses of self and the superior state of nirvana.

References

Jean-François Revel, Histoire de la philosophie occidentale (Nil Éditions, 1994)

Luc Ferry & Claude Capelier, La plus belle histoire de la philosophie (Éditions Points, 2014)

Roger-Pol Droit, Une brève histoire de la philosophie (Flammarion, 2008)

Bertrand Russell, The History of Western Philosophy (Simon & Schuster, 1972)

Nigel Warburton, A Little History of Philosophy (Yale University Press, 2011)

Roger Scruton, A Short History of Modern Philosophy (Routledge, 2002)

Gen Kida, History of Anti-Philosophy (Kodansha Academic Library, 2000)

Seiji Takeda & Ken Nishi, The First Histoty of Philosophy: To Think Profoundly (Yuhikaku, 1998)

Shigeto Nuki, Illustrated & Standard History of Philosophy (Shinshokan, 2008)

Shigeto Nuki, Philosophy Map (Chikuma New Books, 2004)

Sumihiko Kumano, The History of Western Philosophy: From The Modern Ages to The Present Day (Iwanami New Books, 2006)

Thierry Paquot & François Pépin, Dictionnaire Larousse de la Philosophie (Éditions Larousse, 2011)

Simon Blackburn, The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (Second Edition Revised), (Oxford University Press, 2008)

Robert Audi, The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy (Second Edition), (Cambridge University Press, 1995)

Thomas Mautner, The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy (Second Edition), (Penguin Books, 2005)

Note | Philosophy of Georg Hegel

Philosophy of Hegel

Georg Hegel is a German philosopher completed the modern philosophy. He critically succeeded Kantian philosophy, and adopted the Greek philosophy, Neo-platonism, Baruch Spinoza and so on. For Hegel, philosophy is an act grasp the whole reality, so philosophy must be a system.

On Kantian philosophy there are many dichotomies such as subject and object, reason and sensibility, being and action. In spite of this, Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Friedrich Schelling comprehended all things by a sole principle as self or the nature to solve the dichotomies. By contrast, Hegel employed dialectic, a producing process which involves dichotomies and connects various principles but does not lost its totality.

Dialectic

Dialectic is a method of dialogue, discussion and argument at first. On a discussion or an argument, the object is correspond of opinions finally. An assertion si objected by the opponents then it stated a third opinion involves either also exceeds them. The first assertion is called thesis, the counterargument is called antithesis, the third opinion which respects either, solves opposition of two and is added a new view of time spending is called Synthesis.

The process of dialectic raises things as upper dimension and keeps core elements of thesis and antithesis also solves the problems between two. This process is called Aufheben (Sublation).

Absolute Knowledge

Absolute spirit is fully grown or fully developed spirit or mind. On Phenomenology of Spirit, Hegel wrote the process of dialectic from sense-certainty to absolute knowledge. The process resembles growth of a man from child to experienced adult.

To live in the modern society as a fully fledged adult, he must have decent knowledge of natural phenomenon and responsibility to a society and others, and understand certain amount of various things such as philosophy, religion and art. In this process, a thing that a man believe it absolute is denied. But this experience is worthwhile subsequent. The end of this mechanism and process, it appears absolute spirit there, the being covers everything.

Hegelian System

Different to the Kantian philosophy, the Hegelian system covers whole and contains everything, the dialectic forms the unity of totality. From a natural thing to the absolute existence of the cosmic reason, Hegel connected all phases of beings by a principle of revelation.

Logic is the entrance of the Hegelian system. The Hegelian logic is not formal logic or Kantian transcendental logic. The Logic shows a mechanism of which thinking gives a rule for self and it forms the self. Each of contents of the Kantian categories, such as being, essence, quality and quantity are grasped as things are produced by themselves in the process of dialectics. As the result, it shows the mechanism of thinking produces content of self and sets up the basis of self.

Hegel’s philosophy of history is a representative one of the dynamism of Hegel which which links reason and the real world. The World History by Hegel is the process of reason develops to an object. And the object of History is freedom.

Freedom thought by Hegel is not free will of individual, it is realized objectively tradition, law and moral. To complete it, an activity of individual become a tool for teleological realization of the history, and there’s List der Vernunft (cunning of reason).

Idea of absolute spirit expresses by religion, philosophy and art. Aesthetics is metaphysics of art. Beauty for Hegel is sensual expression of absolute being itself, is produced by absolute demand of human desire for make objectification everything.