Schopenhauer's will Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Schopenhauer's will - Essay Example The World as Representation or Idea: Platonic Idea - only adequate objectification of the will. It is the object of art and hence knowable as an object of perception. The platonic idea is an independent idea and independent of the principle of sufficient reason. Idealism is a theory of the ultimate reality. Knowledge may either be intuitive or abstract. Intuitive knowledge is derived from primary idea; abstract knowledge from secondary idea. We may know ourselves as willing, but we cannot know ourselves as knowing. A knowing subject cannot become a known subject. The act of willing arises from a need or desire for something and is therefore a manifestation of deprivation or suffering. The fulfillment of a wish terminates the act of willing. The gratification of a desire or wish is a negative condition. It provides only temporary deliverance from the need of suffering. The will cannot be guided by the intellect but the intellect can be guided by the will. The freedom of the will is negative. It is only a denial of necessity. The will wants everything for itself. Egoism concentrates the self interest of each one. Voluntary renunciation of egoism is achieved by a denial of the will to live. Justice is achieved when the affirmation of the will to live by one individual does not conflict with the will to live of another individual. Conscience constitutes our self-knowledge of how our action may manifest the reality of the will. Virtue may proceed from the intuitive knowledge. Denial of the will is seen in asceticism. Suicide is not a denial of the will to live because it is not a rejection of personal well-being. The will is free to deny itself or suspend. The denial of the will does not produce nothingness which is a negative of being....Known and unknown forces act to form sensations. In our mental state we encounter some thing phenomenal-that is our will. The will inner side is for immediate consciousness or willing and the outer for intelligence or bodily motion. The will is beyond the realm of space, time and causality. It is a blind incessant impulse independent of our perception-an inner consciousness of our own existence, our feelings and desires. It is a reality. According to Schopenhauer, reason is the faculty of producing or comparing concepts, understanding is the faculty for comparing perception. Concepts maybe thought of but not perceived. The effects of concepts are language, action and science. Platonic Idea - only adequate objectification of the will. It is the object of art and hence knowable as an object of perception. The platonic idea is an independent idea and independent of the principle of sufficient reason. Suicide is not a denial of the will to live because it is not a rejection of personal well-being. The will is free to deny itself or suspend. The denial of the will does not produce nothingness which is a negative of being. Ethical conduct is negative and requires a denial of the will to live. Concern for others is contrary to self-interest. Schopenhauer's views are pessimistic. His pessimistic pervades almost all areas of his work.