Product Description

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. Personality, Or What A Man Is. We Have already seen, in general, that what a man is contributes much more to his happiness than what he Has, or how he is regarded by others. What a man is, and so what he has in his own person, is always the chief thing to consider; for his individuality accompanies him always and everywhere, and gives its color to all his experiences. In every kind of enjoyment, for instance, the pleasure depends principally upon the man himself. Every one admits this in regard to physical, and how much truer it is of intellectual, pleasure. When we use that English expression, Kto enjoy oneself," we are employing a very striking and appropriate phrase; for observe— one says not "he enjoys Paris," but "he enjoys himself in Paris.B To a man possessed of an ill-conditioned individuality, all pleasure is like delicate wine in a mouth made bitter with gall. Therefore, in the blessings as well as in the ills of life, less depends upon what befalls us than upon the way in which it is met, that is, upon the kind and degree of our general susceptibility. What a man is and has in himself,— in a word, personality, with all it entails, is the only immediate and direct factor in his happiness and welfare. All else is mediate and indirect, and its influence can be neutralized and frustrated; but the influence of personality never. This is why the envy which personal qualities excite is the most implacable of all,— as it is also the most carefully dissembled. Further, the constitution of our consciousness is the ever present and lasting element in all we do or suffer; our individuality is persistently at work, more or less, at every moment of our life; all other influences are temporal, incidental, fleeting, and subject to every kind of chance and change. Th...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1964864 in Books
• Published on: 2009-08-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 238 pages

From the Publisher

From the Back Cover
A disciple of Kant and a significant factor in shaping Nietzsche's thinking, Arthur Schopenhauer worked from the foundation that all knowledge derives from our experience of the world but that our experience is necessarily subjective and formed by our own intellect and biases: reality, therefore, is but an extension of our own will.

In this essay, translated by THOMAS BAILEY SAUNDERS (1860-1928) and first published in English in the 1890s, Schopenhauer explores concepts of what internal driving forces and external interpersonal dynamics contribute to the individual's happiness, from our own personalities to our wealth and social standing. The datedness of some of Schopenhauer's ideas--including a decidedly prefeminist interpretation of women's choices and a connection between fame and reputation that is no longer always active in our celebrity culture--only serve to highlight the philosopher's basic assumption of human life: that it is characterized chiefly by misery.

Students of philosophy and of 19th-century intellectualism will find this a fascinating read.

About the Author
The writings of German philosopher ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER (1788-1860) were a profound influence on art and aesthetics, music and literature in the 19th century. Among his many writings are On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason (1847) and The World as Will and Idea (1819), considered his masterpiece.

Customer Reviews

Great philosopher, bad edition
With his beautifully written Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life (originally published as part of a bigger work, "Parerga and Paralipomena", volume one), Schopenhauer [S] appeals to anyone who acknowledges that this world isn't a particularly nice or fun place to live in. Elaborating on his theories of human suffering, which he links above all to the workings of our Will (a kind of instinct/drive that fosters desires, leads to conflicts, and provokes continual unrest), S proposes the practice of self-awareness, a mild asceticism and intellectual pursuit to counter the pains and boredom of life.

However, what I saw in this edition by Dover Publications can hardly qualify as satisfactory. Two points made this a great disappointment:

1 - This is NOT the COMPLETE translation of S's original Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life - in fact, the whole fifth and sixth chapters are missing. This is a real shame, since it is particularly in the longish CHAPTER FIVE that dear old S actually develops his nicest ideas and advice for anyone interested in leading a thoughtful and serene existence (or rather, spending a lifetime aiming in that direction), mainly by realizing that most desires and pleasures stirring one's brain and body are chimerical, and therefore ultimately frustrating.

The preceding considerations in The Wisdom of Life can in fact be read as a mere introduction to the greater conclusions in this chapter. S organized his work so as to say: "now that you know what you are (chapter 2), what you have (chapter 3) and what you appear to be in the eyes of others (chapter 4), here's what you should DO (chapter 5)." With this edition, though, the best of S is left out.

2 - Probably with the intention of "saving space", the editors have found it fit NOT to translate S's many quotations of other philosophers and of poets, from the ancient Greek and Latin to the French and German. Since it is most unlikely that many modern readers will master these languages (at least all four of them simultaneously), a considerable amount of thoughts in this book is left somewhat incomplete. I find this particularly annoying, as S wasn't quoting others "for the heck of it" or to "appear well-educated": each time he refers to another author or text, he is trying both to prove how much his thoughts are the product of a long tradition of reflection on certain issues - and also to complete his ideas by recurring to formulations which may better convey them to the reader. One can surmise that each quotation was carefully picked with a clear aim - which now eludes the reader, as there is only so much he can make out of "sume superbiam quoesitam meritis" (a sentence attributed to Horace, that much we are told) or the even more frequent sentences in ancient Greek language (and alphabet).

[Incidentally, another edition, by Prometheus Books (1995), has the exact same flaws, so this might be a recurrent problem]

For these reasons, I would urge interested readers to carefully look at the actual contents of an edition of Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life - and to make sure that the translators have really bothered to translate the full text. Socrates and Seneca, Voltaire and Goethe sound much better when one understands what they are on about. And S's subtle irony, wise conclusions and friendly advice are far more enjoyable and useful when one reads ALL he has to say.

a masterful work by the german "buddha"
in a very short essay (about 70 or so pages) Schopenhauer with unparralleled clarity shows how u can obtain wisdom from life and avoid the never ending struggle of the will as taught in eastern faiths. His writing is brilliant and illuminating and shows how to be moral and live a meaningfull life in a confusing age. German writers like kant should take a lesson from schopenhauer and how easy he is to understand without all the useless philosophical jargon. the book is a great pleasure to read and is extremely short (best of both worlds eh?). The wisdom of life is a must have for any thinker of any age and era.

Short and Sharp
This is an excellent small book on the wisdom of life. A 'make you think' for any spare moment.