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00:00 Introduction
05:24 Part 2: Health, Developing your talents and intellect
13:38 Part 3: Money and possessions
18:31 Social Status and fame
SCHOPENHAUER'S WORKS:
Parerga and Paralipomena vol. 1: amzn.to/3pK6xCj
Parerga and Paralipomena vol. 2: amzn.to/3jJa2p0
The World as Will and Representation vol. 1: amzn.to/3FPGkIj
The World as Will and Representation vol. 2: amzn.to/3FT0nFC
Schopenhauer lays out his eudaimonology, or theory on how to lead a happy existence.
The first thing to be said about this work is how contradictory it is to Schopenhauer’s main philosophy.
The grand conclusion of The World as Will and Representation is that life is generally not worth living - the world is a hell, and life is full of suffering. Schopenhauer’s highest ethical ideal in this work, is the life of the ascetic: someone who withdraws from the world and turns his back on ordinary life. If you are interested in the philosophy behind all of this, you can check out our big video dedicated to this major work.
However, Schopenhauer always maintained that this saintly hermit life is a path only a few individuals can take. The vast majority of people simply don’t have it in them to live their life in this way.
Schopenhauer’s aim with the Wisdom of Life, is to write for the common man, not for the holy saint. In order to do so, he must cast aside the conclusion of his main work, and proceed with pragmatism and realism. We are not concerned with philosophy or the search for truth, we are writing a practical manual on the happy life.
While Schopenhauer admits that there are two other sources of happiness, namely in possessions and in reputation or fame, he argues that only in this category can you find lasting happiness.
You might be surprised to hear that Schopenhauer, the famous pessimist, is such a proponent of a cheerful character. It’s even more important than intellect or physical health…
Of course, you could say that a cheerful disposition is the result of happiness, not the cause of it. Not necessarily so for Schopenhauer. While we should always welcome a merry feeling when it arrives, “for [it] never comes inopportunely,” its arrival is ultimately largely out of our control. We should enjoy it when it’s here but learn to be content without it.
We can make our lives better, however, if we work on the conditions that make it easier for cheer and joy to arrive on our doorstep.
Schopenhauer gives us a quick list of recommendations, such as the need for daily exercise in the open air, cold baths, the avoidance of stress and negative emotions.
Pain and boredom.
The human experience is characterized by a constant struggle of avoiding both pain and boredom, but this is a fool’s errand, because,
“in the degree in which we are fortunate enough to get away from the one, we approach the other. Life presents, in fact, a more or less violent oscillation between the two.”
It’s obvious how we can win the battle against the first enemy, pain. This is an objective condition. Good health, and also enough money and property to live comfortably. Chances are, if you are watching this KZfaq video, your problem, in Schopenhauer’s terms, is not pain, but boredom.
Boredom is a subjective state of mind. Therefore, the cure for boredom is found within yourself. The cure for boredom is the development of the intellect - study!
However, there’s an obvious point to be made here: in order to develop your talents, or enjoy art, or read philosophy, you need free time. And in order to have free time, you need money.
Money, for Schopenhauer, is simply the means with which you buy time. Money, by itself, is never the goal. But Schopenhauer isn’t a dreamer either. He won’t tell you that you can be happy as a starving artist, living on the street, so long as you’re chasing your passion.
If you’re lucky, you are born into a wealthy family. If you’re like most of us, you’re not so lucky, and you need to work to earn money.
But having to work for money is not the biggest obstacle to a happy life. The real problem, is greed.
“Riches, one may say, are like sea-water; the more you drink the thirstier you become…”
In your quest for money and wealth, there is constant pressure on you to limit your desires. Money has a tendency to take hold of someone. People want more money than they need - it becomes an addiction.
Before you know it, the money you earn is not simply your ticket to freedom. You want a big house, a fancy car, a huge pool. Champagne and oysters. The trick is to keep your desires low and your money high. If you allow yourself to get trapped into keeping up with the Joneses, your money becomes useless because you spend everything you make.
The goal of money is to be free, not become a slave to your possessions or luxurious lifestyle.
Again we find Schopenhauer in agreement with the Stoics, and the Greeks in general.