Quotes and anectdotes from the wise to the foolish, and the courageous to the drunk

Arthur Schopenhauer Philosopher

  • Gender: Male
  • Citizenship: Germany
  • Born: Feb 22, 1788
  • Died: Sep 21, 1860

Arthur Schopenhauer was a German philosopher best known for his book, The World as Will and Representation, in which he claimed that our world is driven by a continually dissatisfied will, continually seeking satisfaction. Influenced by Eastern philosophy, he maintained that the "truth was recognized by the sages of India"; consequently, his solutions to suffering were similar to those of Vedantic and Buddhist thinkers. The influence of "transcendental ideality" led him to choose atheism.

At age 25, he published his doctoral dissertation, On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason, which examined the four distinct aspects of experience in the phenomenal world; consequently, he has been influential in the history of phenomenology. He has influenced many thinkers, including Friedrich Nietzsche, Richard Wagner, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Erwin Schrödinger, Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Otto Rank, Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, Leo Tolstoy, Thomas Mann, and Jorge Luis Borges, among others.

To live alone is the fate of all great souls. alone & great

Patriotism, when it wants to make itself felt in the domain of learning, is a dirty fellow who should be thrown out of doors. learning & patriotism

Music is the melody whose text is the world. music

Treat a work of art like a prince. Let it speak to you first. art & work

Talent hits a target no one else can hit Genius hits a target no one else can see. intelligence

After your death you will be what you were before your birth. death

Change alone is eternal, perpetual, immortal. alone & change

A man can be himself only so long as he is alone. alone

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. truth

Great men are like eagles, and build their nest on some lofty solitude. great & men

The fundament upon which all our knowledge and learning rests is the inexplicable. knowledge & learning

The doctor sees all the weakness of mankind the lawyer all the wickedness, the theologian all the stupidity. medical

Satisfaction consists in freedom from pain, which is the positive element of life. freedom & positive

Hatred is an affair of the heart contempt that of the head. anger

Because people have no thoughts to deal in, they deal cards, and try and win one another's money. Idiots! money

The two enemies of human happiness are pain and boredom. happiness

It is with trifles, and when he is off guard, that a man best reveals his character. best

Every possession and every happiness is but lent by chance for an uncertain time, and may therefore be demanded back the next hour. happiness & time

Every parting gives a foretaste of death, every reunion a hint of the resurrection. death

Religion is the masterpiece of the art of animal training, for it trains people as to how they shall think. art & religion

The greatest of follies is to sacrifice health for any other kind of happiness. happiness & health

Politeness is to human nature what warmth is to wax. nature

With people of limited ability modesty is merely honesty. But with those who possess great talent it is hypocrisy. great

Martyrdom is the only way a man can become famous without ability. famous

Will power is to the mind like a strong blind man who carries on his shoulders a lame man who can see. power

In action a great heart is the chief qualification. In work, a great head. great, wisdom & work

Suffering by nature or chance never seems so painful as suffering inflicted on us by the arbitrary will of another. nature

Men are by nature merely indifferent to one another but women are by nature enemies. men, nature & women

Almost all of our sorrows spring out of our relations with other people. sympathy