Arthur Schopenhauer - Aphorisms of worldly wisdom (collection)

Arthur Schopenhauer is one of the most famous thinkers of irrationalism, a misanthrope. Schopenhauer's metaphysical analysis of the will, his views on human motivation and desires, and his aphoristic writing style influenced many famous thinkers, including Nietzsche, Wagner, Einstein, Freud, and Jung. Schopenhauer's main philosophical work is “The World as Will and Representation” (1818), which Schopenhauer commented on and popularized until his death.

In “Aphorisms,” the philosopher for the first time tried to contrast his own “pessimistic-idealistic” concept with a different concept – the Epicurean one.

Introduction

The concept of worldly wisdom has a completely immanent meaning here - precisely in the sense of the art of leading one’s life as pleasantly and happily as possible, an art, the guide to which could also be called eudaimonology: it will, therefore, be an instruction in a happy existence. And this latter, again, could well be defined as an existence which, when viewed purely objectively, or rather (since here we are dealing with a subjective judgment), upon cold and mature reflection, would deserve a decisive preference over non-existence. This concept of a happy life shows that we hold on to it for its own sake, and not simply out of fear of death; from here it follows further that we would like it to last forever. The question arises whether human life corresponds to the concept of such an existence, and indeed whether it can correspond to it at all; my philosophy, as we know, answers this question in the negative, while eudaimonology presupposes a positive answer to it. After all, it comes precisely from that innate error, the analysis of which begins in the 49th chapter in volume II of my main work. Therefore, if I nevertheless take up this kind of work, I must completely abandon that highest, metaphysical-ethical point of view, to which, in fact, all my philosophy should lead. All, therefore, the arguments presented here are based to a certain extent on a compromise - precisely because they retain the usual, empirical point of view and preserve its fundamental error. Thus, the value of this treatise can only be conditional, since the word “eudaimonology” itself is nothing more than a euphemism. He also does not at all pretend to be complete: on the one hand, the topic itself is inexhaustible, and on the other, otherwise I would have to repeat what others have already said.

I can remember only one work written with a similar purpose to the proposed aphorisms, namely the very instructive book by Cardano “On the benefits that can be derived from misfortunes” (“De utilitate ex adversis capienda”), which can be supplemented with what given by me. True, Aristotle also inserted a brief eudaimonology into the 5th chapter of the first book of his “Rhetoric”; However, it came out very bland. I did not use the works of my predecessors, since compilation is not my specialty, especially since it loses the unity of point of view, this is the main condition for this kind of work. In general, of course, the wise men of all times always said the same thing, and the fools, who always constituted the vast majority, constantly did the same thing - just the opposite; This will continue in the future. That is why Voltaire says: "Nous laisserons ce monde aussi sot et aussi méchant que nous l'avons trouvé en y arrivant." (“We will leave this world as stupid and as evil as we found it.”)

Arthur Schopenhauer - Aphorisms of worldly wisdom (collection)

Arthur Schopenhauer

Aphorisms of worldly wisdom (collection)

Aphorisms of worldly wisdom

Happiness is not an easy thing: it is very difficult to find within yourself and impossible to find anywhere else.

Chamfort

Introduction

The concept of worldly wisdom has a completely immanent meaning here - precisely in the sense of the art of leading one’s life as pleasantly and happily as possible, an art, the guide to which could also be called eudaimonology: it will, therefore, be an instruction in a happy existence. And this latter, again, could well be defined as an existence which, when viewed purely objectively, or rather (since here we are dealing with a subjective judgment), upon cold and mature reflection, would deserve a decisive preference over non-existence. This concept of a happy life shows that we hold on to it for its own sake, and not simply out of fear of death; from here it follows further that we would like it to last forever. The question arises whether human life corresponds to the concept of such an existence, and indeed whether it can correspond to it at all; my philosophy, as we know, answers this question in the negative, while eudaimonology presupposes a positive answer to it. After all, it comes precisely from that innate error, the analysis of which begins in the 49th chapter in volume II of my main work. Therefore, if I nevertheless take up this kind of work, I must completely abandon that highest, metaphysical-ethical point of view, to which, in fact, all my philosophy should lead. All, therefore, the arguments presented here are based to a certain extent on a compromise - precisely because they retain the usual, empirical point of view and preserve its fundamental error. Thus, the value of this treatise can only be conditional, since the word “eudaimonology” itself is nothing more than a euphemism. He also does not at all pretend to be complete: on the one hand, the topic itself is inexhaustible, and on the other, otherwise I would have to repeat what others have already said.

I can remember only one work written with a similar purpose to the proposed aphorisms, namely the very instructive book by Cardano “On the benefits that can be derived from misfortunes” (“De utilitate ex adversis capienda”), which can be supplemented with what given by me. True, Aristotle also inserted a brief eudaimonology into the 5th chapter of the first book of his “Rhetoric”; However, it came out very bland. I did not use the works of my predecessors, since compilation is not my specialty, especially since it loses the unity of point of view, this is the main condition for this kind of work. In general, of course, the wise men of all times always said the same thing, and the fools, who always constituted the vast majority, constantly did the same thing - just the opposite; This will continue in the future. That is why Voltaire says: "Nous laisserons ce monde aussi sot et aussi méchant que nous l'avons trouvé en y arrivant." (“We will leave this world as stupid and as evil as we found it.”)

Chapter I

Main departments

Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics, I, divides the goods of human life into three classes: external goods, mental goods and physical goods. For my part, I will retain from this classification only its three-foldness: that on which the difference in the lot of mortals depends, perhaps by in my opinion, it comes down to three main points, here they are:

1) What is an individual - that is, a personality in the broadest sense of the word. This includes, therefore, health, strength, beauty, temperament, moral character, intelligence and its development.

2) What an individual has - that is, all kinds of property and possession.

3) How the individual appears to be. By this expression, as is known, they understand what he is like in the minds of others, that is, in fact, how they imagine him. Thus, here we have to deal with their opinion of him, which manifests itself in threefold form - as honor, rank and glory.

The differences that nature itself has made between people are subject to consideration under the first heading. Already from this it can be understood that their influence on human happiness and misfortune must be much more significant and decisive than that which can belong to the distinctions indicated in the other two headings, which are simply determined by human definitions. Before genuine personal advantages, a great mind or a great heart, all the advantages of rank, birth, even royal birth, wealth, etc. are the same as theatrical kings over real ones. Already Metrodorus, the first student of Epicurus, named one of his chapters: “Peri toy meizona einae ten par'emas aetian pros eudaemonian tes ec ton pragmaton”[1]. And in general, obviously, a person’s well-being, and indeed the entire character of his existence, mainly depends on what in himself has permanent or transitory significance. After all, this directly consists of his inner contentment and discontent, which are primarily the result of his feeling, volition and thinking; nevertheless, external influences on his well-being only indirectly. That is why the same external events and relationships respond to each person completely differently, and under the same circumstances, everyone still lives in his own special world. For every person is directly aware only of his own ideas, feelings and volitional movements: external things influence him only insofar as they give rise to these mental states. The world in which each of us lives primarily depends on how we imagine it - it takes on a different form, depending on the individual characteristics of the psyche: for some it turns out to be poor, empty and vulgar, for others - rich, full of interest and meaning. When, for example, someone envies interesting adventures encountered in the life of another person, one should rather envy the gift of understanding, by virtue of which these adventures receive the significance that they have in the description of the person who experienced them: after all, one and the same incident, which seems so interesting for a highly gifted intellect, in the imagination of a flat dozen head takes on the appearance of the most empty case from everyday life. This is extremely noticeable in some of the works of Goethe and Byron, the reason for which is obviously given by real events: a stupid reader will, perhaps, envy the most charming sketch depicted by the poet, instead of directing his envy to a powerful fantasy, which is capable of making something out of a rather ordinary incident great and beautiful. Likewise, a melancholic person sees tragedy where a sanguine person sees only an interesting conflict, and a phlegmatic person sees something insignificant. All this has its root in the fact that every reality, that is, every filled present, consists of two halves, a subject and an object, although they are in as necessary and close connection with each other as oxygen and hydrogen in water. Therefore, with completely identical objective data, but different subjective ones, and also in the opposite case, existing reality takes on a completely different form: the most beautiful and best objective side, with a dull, bad subjective side, will still give only a bad real and present, exactly like the beautiful terrain in bad weather or in the reflection of a bad pinhole camera. To put it simply, everyone is closed in his consciousness, as well as in his skin, and only lives directly in it; that is why he cannot be given much help from the outside. On stage, one plays a prince, another an adviser, a third a servant, a soldier, a general, etc. But these differences are purely external; in the inner essence of such a phenomenon, everyone hides the same core: the poor actor with his care and need. It's the same in life. Differences in rank and wealth assign their own role to everyone, but this is not at all corresponded to by the internal difference in happiness and contentment: and here, too, the same poor man with his need and care is hidden in everyone. True, in terms of their content, these latter are different for everyone, but in form, that is, in their true essence, they are almost the same for everyone, although they differ in degree, but this difference is not at all determined by the position and wealth of a person, that is, his role . Namely: since everything that exists and happens for a person directly exists only in his consciousness and happens for this latter, then the nature of consciousness itself has the most significant significance, and in most cases it plays a greater role than those images which arise in it. All the luxury and pleasures reflected in the dull consciousness of a fool are very poor in comparison with the consciousness of Cervantes when he wrote Don Quixote in his sad prison.

Chapter I Main departments

Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics, I, divides the goods of human life into three classes: external goods, mental goods and physical goods. For my part, I will retain from this classification only its three-foldness: that on which the difference in the lot of mortals depends, perhaps by in my opinion, it comes down to three main points, here they are:

1) What is an individual - that is, a personality in the broadest sense of the word. This includes, therefore, health, strength, beauty, temperament, moral character, intelligence and its development.

2) What an individual has - that is, all kinds of property and possession.

3) How the individual appears to be. By this expression, as is known, they understand what he is like in the minds of others, that is, in fact, how they imagine him. Thus, here we have to deal with their opinion of him, which manifests itself in threefold form - as honor, rank and glory.

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Arthur Schopenhauer

Born in Danzig (now Gdansk) into the family of a successful merchant. He was educated at home, traveled a lot with his parents, and in 1809 entered the University of Göttingen, then studied at the University of Berlin, where he attended lectures by I-G.

Before you is one of the most unusual works in Schopenhauer’s creative heritage. Is it because he called the whole, absolutely complete work “Aphorisms”? Or - because it was here that he first tried to contrast his own “pessimistic-idealistic” concept with a different concept - an Epicurean one?

You can understand this only by getting acquainted with the “Aphorisms”...

Section of Aphorisms and wise sayings on various topics of our life.

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• Feminine “I’ll be ready in 15 minutes!” equivalent to a man’s “I’ll be home in 15 minutes!”
• Only an unhappy person knows what happiness is. A happy person feels the joy of life no more than a mannequin: he only demonstrates this joy, but it is not given to him. The light doesn't shine when it's light. He shines in the darkness.
• There is no phrase “I can’t”, there is a phrase “I’m a lazy bastard”
• The most wonderful day of the week is tomorrow. Tomorrow everyone will quit smoking, go on a diet, go in for sports, start studying)
• Looking for an answer in the past is better than looking for solace in the past. Searching for an answer means hoping for the best. They look for consolation when nothing can be returned.
• There is only one true sadness in the world. – This is when you have no one to share your sadness with.
• Everything that happens in our lives is for the better. Sometimes it seems like a dead end, it didn’t work out, it didn’t happen, it didn’t come true. It turns out that it is not a dead end, but a sharp turn, not the end of life, but the beginning of a new one. And the most severe disappointments turn into new happy meetings.
• You can only change your future. Leave the past alone.
• Age does not mean anything, just as a serious face does not mean intelligence.
• Sometimes, when we are around some people, we don’t notice how incredibly great it is that they simply exist.
• There is no more life-giving force in the world than the feeling that someone on this earth needs you.
• The ability to not attach importance is even more valuable than the ability to forgive. For we are forced to forgive what we have already attached meaning to.
• The most wasted day is the one in which you never laughed.
• There are words that remain in the soul for a lifetime.
• The danger of deceiving people is that in the end you begin to deceive yourself.
• People pay so much attention to appearance. And when you get used to a person, you no longer care what he looks like. Some are beautiful, some not so much. This is not the main thing.
• If you dare to say “goodbye”, life will reward you with a new “hello”
• The phrase “We are together” sounds much better than “We are dating”
• There is no point in looking for a place where you will feel good. It makes sense to learn how to create this “good” anywhere.
• Don’t be afraid to change anything in your life if your hearts and soul want it, otherwise you will have to live by changing both your soul and heart.
• There are people whom you can know all your life and forget in 1 day, and there are people whom you can know for 1 day and not forget in your entire life.
• And if wings do grow, where should you fly?
• Everything comes on time if people know how to wait.
• No one needs our sincerity and no one will love us for who we are. They are attached not to us, but to the role we play in life.
• The world has deteriorated so much that when there is a pure, sincere person in front of you who wants to be around, you look for a catch in this.
• Only the one who defeats himself wins in this life. Who conquered his fear, his laziness and his uncertainty.