Summary
Essays and Aphorisms is R. J. Hollingdale's selection from Schopenhauer's Parerga and Paralipomena — the supplementary essays he published in 1851, which paradoxically became the work that finally brought him fame after decades of neglect. The aphorisms and essays cover an enormous range: on the sufferings of the world, on the wisdom of life, on religion, on women, on books and writing, on noise, on genius, on the vanity of human desire. The tone ranges from bleakly lucid to occasionally cantankerous, but consistently bears the mark of a writer who has thought about what he is saying rather than simply repeating convention.
Schopenhauer's philosophy rests on the claim that the fundamental reality underlying all phenomena — including the human organism — is will: a blind, purposeless, insatiable striving that is never satisfied and produces suffering as its inevitable byproduct. The individual will desires, achieves briefly, and immediately desires again. Boredom fills the gaps between desires; pain fills the failures; and the brief satisfactions merely clear the way for more wanting. This is not temporary or accidental but the structure of existence itself.
Despite this metaphysical pessimism, the practical wisdom sections are remarkably useful. Schopenhauer argues that the wise person pursues not the satisfaction of desires but the minimization of suffering; not status or wealth but the conditions for a clear, untroubled mind. Health, basic security, intellectual occupation, and limited social entanglement are what genuinely conduce to what passes for happiness. The sections on individualism, solitude, and the damage done by public opinion are sharp and frequently quoted.
The essays on religion are notably measured: Schopenhauer respected mystical traditions — particularly Hindu and Buddhist — for their insight into the illusory nature of the individual self and the value of renunciation, while dismissing what he saw as the naive optimism of Western theism. His account of the relationship between pessimism and Buddhist doctrine influenced Nietzsche (who later sharply departed from him) and continues to generate scholarly attention.
Talk to Essays and Aphorisms like its author wrote you back.
Get the ideas that fit your life — not generic summaries.
- Chat with the book
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Key takeaways
- 1.
The fundamental reality is will — blind, purposeless, insatiable striving — and suffering is its inevitable product rather than an accident to be fixed.
- 2.
Every desire satisfied produces only a brief pause before new desire arises; life oscillates between suffering (unsatisfied desire) and boredom (emptied desire).
- 3.
Genuine wisdom pursues the minimization of pain rather than the maximization of pleasure, since the latter is always transient and the former is more reliably within reach.
- 4.
What we are — our character and intelligence — matters far more to the quality of life than what we have or what we achieve in society's eyes.
- 5.
Health, clear consciousness, intellectual engagement, and solitude are the genuine constituents of a bearable and even pleasurable life.
- 6.
Public opinion is a poor guide to value: the masses reward what is superficial and familiar, and the person who takes reputation seriously has handed their inner life to others.
- 7.
Art — especially music — offers temporary relief from the will by lifting consciousness above the striving self to something like pure perception.
- 8.
Eastern mysticism, especially Buddhist renunciation, captures the insight that liberation from suffering requires transcending the individual will, not satisfying it.
Discussion questions
Use these on your own, with a book club, or as chat starters in Superbook.
- 1.
Schopenhauer says life oscillates between suffering and boredom, with brief satisfactions in between. Is that description of human experience accurate, exaggerated, or merely selective?
- 2.
He argues that what you are matters more to happiness than what you have. From your own experience, is that true? What conditions are genuinely most important to your wellbeing?
- 3.
The will as Schopenhauer describes it — blind, purposeless, insatiable — is a bleak metaphysical claim. Does it describe anything you recognize in your own craving?
- 4.
His practical advice — limit social entanglement, cultivate solitude, don't take reputation seriously — sounds like extreme individualism. Is there something genuinely wise in it?
- 5.
Schopenhauer found Buddhist renunciation philosophically compelling. What is the difference between his philosophical pessimism and Buddhist teaching on the nature of suffering?
- 6.
His essays on women are notoriously contemptible. Does that require you to discount the rest of the book, or can the good ideas be separated from the bad ones?
- 7.
He says the person who takes the opinions of others seriously has given their inner life away. Is that a counsel of wisdom or a permission for arrogance?
- 8.
Schopenhauer argues that art — especially music — temporarily lifts consciousness above the striving will. Have you had experiences of art that felt like that?
- 9.
His view is that genuine happiness is mostly about minimizing suffering rather than achieving positive goods. Is that a lower standard than you aspire to, or a more realistic one?
- 10.
He says boredom is as much an enemy as pain — the empty self without desire is as unpleasant as the thwarted self. Does that seem accurate?
- 11.
Schopenhauer was famous for his antisocial personal conduct despite writing extensively about wisdom. Does the inconsistency between a philosopher's life and their work matter for evaluating the work?
Themes
Frequently asked questions
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Is this a good introduction to Schopenhauer?
Yes — it is the most accessible way into his thinking. The essays and aphorisms are shorter and more direct than The World as Will and Representation. But they presuppose his metaphysics at several points; understanding the core claim about the will improves every section.
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Is Schopenhauer's philosophy depressing?
Paradoxically, many readers find it clarifying and even consoling. Acknowledging that suffering is structural rather than personal failure can reduce the layer of self-blame that attaches to unhappiness. The practical wisdom sections are more useful than the bleak metaphysics suggests.
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What is Schopenhauer's influence on later philosophy?
Enormous. Nietzsche began as a disciple and then spent much of his career reacting against him. Freud acknowledged a debt for the concept of the unconscious. Wagner and other Romantics found his aesthetics illuminating. Buddhist scholars have noted deep parallels with the doctrine of dukkha.
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What are the essays on women like?
Badly dated and frequently offensive. Schopenhauer held views about women that were extreme even by 19th-century standards and are indefensible. Most editions note this. The misogyny is real and should not be minimized, though it is separable from the philosophical content.
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Which essays are most worth reading?
On the Suffering of the World, The Wisdom of Life, On Reading and Books, On Noise, and the aphorisms on reputation and opinion are the most frequently cited and are a good starting point.
