PHIL 1200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Arthur Schopenhauer
21 Jan 2018
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1) introspection, when we look into our minds/souls. 2) observation of nature: evolution has given all living things an instinct to survive at any cost. He is a pessimist but not a nihilist. Our will drives us relentlessly to seek many things but the world, nature, isn"t designed to satisfy these desires (and that is what dooms us of our happiness) So su ering is an unavoidable fact about the world. Life is a pendulum that swings back and forth between dissatisfaction/pain and satisfaction of desire (which he regards as boredom) In life we go from one pain to another. Wrote self-help book (i. e live in present, keep busy, control desires, set limits, accept misfortunes) Much su ering he refers to is contingent (that it does exist but doesn"t have to exist) 2) satis ed desire isn"t the same as boredom. 3) the process of satisfying a desire usually takes time and is pleasurable.
