Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) is a frustrating philosopher to study, for two reasons. First, his metaphysical structure doesn’t cohere. Christopher Janaway writes: “Many have found Schopenhauer’s philosophy impossible to accept as a single, consistent metaphysical scheme. But it does have great strength and coherence as a narrative and in the dynamic interplay between its different conceptions of the world and the self” (8). It’s perhaps unsurprising that Postmodern thinkers value Schopenhauer more than his contemporaries.

The second reason is more important: his philosophical outlook is profoundly depressing. He rejected the wisdom of other philosophers, aside from those whose ideas he could reshape to fit his vision. The rest he publicly mocked as rubbish. To vastly over-simply Schopenhauer’s view, life is misery, and the only way to achieve some sort of ‘salvation’ is through aesthetic contemplation.

Janaway’s Very Short Introduction is a clear and concise overview of Schopenhauer’s life and thought. He demonstrates the influence this philosopher had on some of the giants who followed: Nietzsche, Wagner, and Freud, to name a few. It’s fascinating to see how ideas can take root in different types of soil, even if they’ll never take root in me.

Janaway, Christopher. Schopenhauer: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford UP, 2002.