SUFFERING SUICIDE AND IMMORTALITY: EIGHT ESSAYS FROM THE PA

One of the greatest philosophers of the nineteenth century Arthur Schopenhauer is best known for his writings on pessimism. In this 1851 essay collection he offers concise statements of the unifying principles of his thinking. Schopenhauer unlike most philosophers expressed himself in simple direct terms. These essays offer an accessible approach to his main thesis as stated inThe World as Will and Representation.Schopenhauer's reasoning encompasses the influence of the Upanishads and Buddhist teachings as well as the works of Plato and Kant. His philosophy had an enormous impact on contemporary philosophy and literature and on subsequent thinkers such as Nietzsche Freud and Wittgenstein. Published toward the end of his life in a collection calledParerga und Paralipomena these essays include On the Sufferings of the World On the Vanity of Existence On Suicide Immortality: A Dialogue Further Psychological Observations On Education On Women and On Noise plus A Few Parables. They remain among Schopenhauer's most popular works offering insights into his philosophy as a whole as well as the human condition.