Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) was a German philosopher, best known for his book, “The World as Will and Representation”. He was among the first thinkers in the Western philosophical tradition to adopt key ideas from Indian philosophy, such as asceticism and the concept of selflessness. After his death, Schopenhauer left a deep and lasting influence on many fields, including philosophy, literature and science. His writings shaped aesthetics, ethics and psychology, and influenced numerous thinkers, artists and ordinary people, myself included.

Schopenhauer was born to wealthy German parents from the aristocracy. Although both were Protestants, they were not particularly religious; they were republicans, admirers of English culture, and supporters of the French Revolution. Schopenhauer is known for many powerful and profound sayings that I have always admired, much like those of the French philosopher Voltaire. His sayings have influenced, perhaps unintentionally, Lebanese musician Ziad Rahbani and others. One of these sayings states: “A man can be himself only when he is alone. If he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom, for a man is truly free only when he is alone.”

This is true. As long as we live with others, whether by choice or by necessity, we accept the loss of a significant portion of our freedom. Jean-Paul Sartre famously said, “Hell is other people.” Schopenhauer also said, “It is often through loss that we learn the value of things.” This is equally true. We do not fully appreciate health, good companionship, family, homeland, security, and other blessings until we lose them. He also stated, in meaning, that the more limited a person’s understanding and the narrower their horizons, the more convinced they become that the universe ends where their own vision stops.

He further stated: “It is difficult to find happiness within oneself, but it is impossible to find it anywhere else. Every miserable fool who has nothing to be proud of takes pride in his nation as a last refuge. He is always ready to defend its faults and follies with all his strength, thereby compensating for his own sense of inferiority.” This aligns with his other saying that complex ideas should be expressed in simple words. Among Schopenhauer’s deep reflections is his reading view: “When we read, another person thinks for us, we merely repeat their mental process. In learning to write, the student traces with his pen what the teacher has drawn in pencil, and so it is with reading. Most of the thinking has already been done. That is why we feel relaxed when we pick up a book after being preoccupied with our own thoughts. While reading, the mind becomes merely a stage for the thoughts of others.”

Therefore, if a person spends most of their day reading and devotes their leisure time to hobbies that require no thinking, they gradually lose the ability to think. It is like someone who always relies on transportation and eventually forgets how to walk. This is the condition of many educated people who have read so much that they have, paradoxically, become ignorant. Schopenhauer believed strongly in what he called the “art of not reading,” meaning the ability to ignore whatever captures public attention at any given time. When political or religious writings, novels or poems create a sensation, one should remember that those who write for the naïve will always find a large audience. The fundamental condition for reading good books is to avoid reading bad ones. What confirms this is that good books often remain unread, while bad ones are widely consumed.

This is human nature, and it is unlikely to change. Schopenhauer also said, “Most people sacrifice three-quarters of themselves in order to be like everyone else.” This is true, as we are constantly influenced by others. If we examine our food, clothing, the films we choose to watch, and the cities we wish to visit, we will find that we often make these choices simply because others have done so before us, and so on.

Out of every hundred people, there is scarcely one worth arguing with. As for the rest, we let them say whatever they wish, because people have the right to rant.

By Ahmad alsarraf
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