Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860)
Author of Essays and Aphorisms
About the Author
Arthur Schopenhauer traveled in childhood throughout Europe and lived for a time in Goethe's Weimar, where his mother had established a salon that attracted many of Europe's leading intellectuals. As a young man, Schopenhauer studied at the University of Gottingen and in Berlin, where he attended show more the lectures of Fichte and Schleiermacher. Schopenhauer's first work was The Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason (1813), followed by a treatise on the physiology of perception, On Vision and Colors (1816). When Schopenhauer wrote his principal work, The World as Will and Idea (1819), he was confident that it was a work of great importance that would soon win him fame, but in this he was badly disappointed. In 1819 he arranged to hold a series of philosophical lectures at the same time as those of the newly arrived professor Hegel, whom Schopenhauer despised (calling him, among other creative epithets, an "intellectual Caliban"). This move resulted only in further humiliation for Schopenhauer, since no one showed up to hear him. Schopenhauer continued to be frustrated in repeated attempts to achieve recognition. In 1839 and 1840 he submitted essays on freedom of the will and the foundation of morality to competitions sponsored by the Royal Danish Academy but he won no prize, even when his essay was the only entry in the competition. In 1844 he published a second volume of The World as Will and Idea, containing developments and commentaries on the first. Around 1850, toward the end of his life, Schopenhauer's philosophy began to receive belated recognition, and he died in the confidence that his long-awaited and deserved fame had finally come. Schopenhauer's philosophy exercised considerable influence in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, not only among academic philosophers but even more among artists and literati. This may be in part because, unlike his German idealist contemporaries, Schopenhauer is a lucid and even witty writer, whose style consciously owes more to Hume than to Kant. Schopenhauer's philosophy is founded on the idea that reality is Will--a single, insatiable, objectless striving that manifests itself in the world of appearance as a vast multiplicity of phenomena, engaged in an endless and painful struggle with one another. He saw the same vision in the texts of Indian religions---Vedanta and Buddhism---which he regarded as vastly superior to Western monotheism. Schopenhauer's theory of the empirical world is an idealism, in which the doctrines of Kant are identified with those of Berkeley. In aesthetic enjoyment Schopenhauer saw a form of knowledge that is higher than ordinary empirical knowledge because it is a disinterested contemplation of the forms or essences of things, rather than a cognition of causal connections between particulars driven by the will's interest in control and domination. True salvation, however, lies in an intuitive insight into the evil of willing, which in its highest manifestations is capable of completely extinguishing the will in a state of nirvana. In his perceptive development of the psychological consequences of his theory, Schopenhauer gives particular emphasis to the way in which our knowledge and behavior are insidiously manipulated by our unconscious volition; this stress, plus the central role he gives to sexuality in his theory of the will, contains much that is found later in Freud (who acknowledged that Schopenhauer had anticipated his theory of repression). Schopenhauer's main influence on twentieth-century philosophy, however, was mediated by Nietzsche, whose theory of the will to power added a poignant twist by committing itself to the affirmation of the will while still conceiving it in essentially the same way---insatiable, painful, predatory, deceptive, and subversive of rational thought---which it had been in Schopenhauer's metaphysical pessimism. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: From Wikimedia Commons
Series
Works by Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer: v. 1: The World as Will and Presentation (1819) — Author — 1,366 copies, 6 reviews
Schopenhauer: 'The World as Will and Representation': Volume 1 (The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Schopenhauer) (2010) 52 copies, 1 review
Two Essays by Arthur Schopenhauer; I. on the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason, Ii. on the Will in Nature: a Literal (2007) 44 copies
Schopenhauer: Parerga and Paralipomena: Volume 1: Short Philosophical Essays (The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Schopenhauer) (2014) 41 copies
Schopenhauer: Parerga and Paralipomena: Volume 2: Short Philosophical Essays (The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Schopenhauer) (2015) 38 copies
Schopenhauer: On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason and Other Writings (The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Schopenhauer) (2012) 31 copies
Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer: Selected and translated by T. Bailey Saunders (New home library) (1902) 24 copies
Delphi Collected Works of Arthur Schopenhauer (Illustrated) (Delphi Series Eight Book 12) (2017) 23 copies
Schopenhauer: The World as Will and Representation (The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Schopenhauer) (2011) 21 copies
Sämtliche Werke: Parerga und Paralipomena II. Kleine philosophische Schriften.: Parerga Und Paralipomena 2: Bd 5 (1986) 14 copies
Sobre la visión y los colores: Seguido de la correspondencia con Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1998) 14 copies
O mundo como vontade e representação (III parte) ; Crítica da filosofia kantiana ; Parerga e Paralipomena (capítulos V, VIII, XII, XIV) (1991) 12 copies
Parerga und Paralipomena; Bd. 2, Teilbd. 1 Vereinzelte, jedoch systematisch geordnete Gedanken ueber vielerlei Gegenstae (1977) 11 copies
Meditaciones sobre el dolor del mundo, el suicidio y la voluntad de vivir (1999) 10 copies, 2 reviews
Respuestas Filosoficas: a la Etica, a la Ciencia y a la Religion (Biblioteca Edaf) (Spanish Edition) (1996) 9 copies
2 Bande. Hauptwerke Band I: Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung. Band II: Zur Erkenntnistheorie, Ethik, Logik und Religion (2000) 8 copies
Conversaciones con Arthur Schopenhauer: Testimonios sobre la vida y obra del filósofo pesimista (2016) 8 copies, 1 review
Manuscript Remains, Volume I: Early Manuscripts (184-1818) (Manuscript Remains, Vol 1) (1988) 7 copies
The Collected Works of Arthur Schopenhauer: The Complete Works PergamonMedia (Highlights of World Literature) (2015) 6 copies, 1 review
Arthur Schopenhauer. Das Gesamtwerk.: In chronologischer Reihenfolge. (Gesamtwerke der Weltliteratur 2) (2014) 5 copies
Schopenhauer: Hauptwerke: Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung (vollständige Ausgabe), Die Kunst Recht zu behalten, Aphorismen zur Lebensweisheit (2014) 5 copies
On the fourfold root of the principle of sufficient reason On vision and colours ; On will in nature (2012) 5 copies
Sämtliche Werke: Parerga und Paralipomena I. Kleine philosophische Schriften.: Parerga Und Paralipomena 1: Bd 4 (1986) 5 copies
Schopenhauer Collection: World as Will and Idea Volumes 1-3, Wisdom of Life, Counsels and Maxims, and The Art of Being Right (2021) 4 copies
La Sabiduria De La Vida En Torno a La Filosofia. El Amor, Las Mujeres, La Muerte Y Otros Temas (1851) 4 copies
Diarios de viaje: Los Diarios de viaje de los años 1800 y 1803-1804 (La Dicha de Enmudecer) (Spanish Edition) (2012) 4 copies
Alrededor de la filosofía 4 copies
ARTI I TË JETUARIT 3 copies
Como ganhar uma discussão (mesmo sem ter razão). 38 estratégias para vencer qualquer debate 3 copies
Maailm kui tahe ja kujutlus. neli raamatut ning Kanti filosoofia kriitikat sisaldav lisa / I köide (2018) 3 copies
Bd. 4. Kleinere Schriften 3 copies
Levenswijsheid 3 copies
The Collected Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer (Unexpurgated Edition) (Halcyon Classics) (2010) 3 copies, 1 review
Schopenhauer's solace : tips on surviving in the twenty first century, from a nineteenth century philosopher (2000) 3 copies
Briefe, Aufzeichnungen, Gespräche 3 copies
Epistolario de Weimar : selección de cartas de Johanna, Arthur Schopenhauer y Goethe (1999) 3 copies
Over lezen en zelf-denken 3 copies
Sobre a Filosofia e Seu Metodo 3 copies
Eudemonologia 2 copies
A Liberdade da Vontade — Author — 2 copies
Sämtliche Werke in 7 Bänden 2 copies
Philosophy of Schopenhauer 2 copies
KËSHILLA PËR JETËN 2 copies
BOTA SI VULLNET DHE PËRFAQËSIM 2 copies
Maailm kui tahe ja kujutlus. mis sisaldab täiendusi esimese köite neljale raamatule / II köide (2018) 2 copies
Schopenhauers sämmtliche Werke in fünf Bänden (Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung, erster und zweiter Teil / Kleinere (1900) 2 copies
Werke in 5 Bänden 2 copies
Schopenhauers udødelige tanker 2 copies
A Arte De Argumentar 2 copies
Os Pensadores: Schopenhauer 2 copies
Eudemonologia 2 copies
Lebenswerte und Lebensfragen 2 copies
Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung, Band 1: Vollständige Originalausgabe, erster Band (German Edition) (2015) 2 copies
Schopenhauers Sämtliche Werke in fünf Bänden - Insel-Verlag Leipzig, Grossherzog Wilhelm Ernst Ausgabe - ohne Erscheinungsjahr ca. 1910-1920 (1920) 2 copies
Samtliche Werk, Book 4 2 copies
Pensées et fragments 2 copies
Schopenhauers sämtliche Werke in 8 Bänden (4 Doppelbände). Bd.1. u. 2. Schriften zur Erkenntnislehre. Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung. (1987) 2 copies
Ueber die, seit einigen Jahren, methodisch betriebene Verhunzung der Deutschen Sprache (1997) 2 copies
Die hohe Kunst der Kränkung 1 copy
Životní moudrost 1 copy
Über die vierfache Wurzel des Satzes vom zureichenden Grunde: 2. Auflage (1847) (German Edition) (2022) 1 copy
Aphorismes et insultes 1 copy
On Books and Reading 1 copy
Kan menneskets frie villie bevises af dets selvbevidsthet? : en med det Kongelige norske videnskabers selskabs større g (1993) 1 copy
Paraneze i maksime 1 copy
The Essays Of Arthur Schopenhauer On Human Nature [Paperback] Arthur Schopenhauer [Paperback] Arthur Schopenhauer (2023) 1 copy
Metafyfika lásky 1 copy
Shopenhauer 1 copy
Kant Felsefesi Eleştirisi 1 copy
El arte del buen vivir. Respuestas filosóficas a la ética a la ciencia y a la religión (2009) 1 copy
Σκέψεις και αποσπάσματα 1 copy
Arthur Schopenhauer's handschriftlicher Nachlaß - Vorlesungen und Abhandlungen (TREDITION CLASSICS) (German Edition) (2011) 1 copy
Philosophische Menschenkunde 1 copy
Aşkın Metafiziği 1 copy
Over lezen en boeken 1 copy
Životní moudrost. ** 1 copy
O ženách 1 copy
Estudios filosóficos 1 copy
El Arte del Buen Vivir 1 copy
Eristiline dialektika 1 copy
Clásicos inolvidables 1 copy
Arte del buen vivir 1 copy
Handschriftlicher Nachlass. Bd 4, Neue Paralipomena: vereinzelte Gedanken über vielerlei Gegenstände 1 copy
El Ocultismo 1 copy
Η ΣΧΕΣΗ ΜΑΣ ΜΕ ΤΟΥΣ ΑΛΛΟΥΣ 1 copy
Ölümün Anlamı 1 copy
SI TË SILLEMI ME GRATË 1 copy
METAFIZIKA E DASHURISË 1 copy
Arthurs Schopenhauers Briefwechsel und andere Dokumente. Ausgewählt und herausgegeben von Max Brahn. 1 copy
EL ARTE DE TENER RAZÓN. Expuesto en 38 estratagemas. Edición estudio y notas de Franco Volpi (2002) 1 copy
Schopenhauers Nachlass 2. 1 copy
L'arte di invecchiare 1 copy
Summary of The Art of Controversy by Arthur Schopenhauer: The Complete Work Plus an Overview, Chapter by Chapter Summary and Author Biography! (2017) — Author — 1 copy
Eseu despre liber arbitru 1 copy
Sulla volontà nella natura 1 copy
Schopenhauer [Opere di] 1 copy
Auswahl und Einleitung 1 copy
Anni e errori 1 copy
KËSHILLA PËR JETËN 1 copy
SI TË SILLEMI ME GRATË 1 copy
BAZA E MORALIT 1 copy
Instinto Sexual 1 copy
Pasaulis kaip valia ir vaizdinys: keturios knygos ir priedas, kuriame pateikiama Kanto filosofijos kritika (2012) 1 copy
Werke : in 1 Bd. 1 copy
O geniju 1 copy
Kunsten at være lykkelig 1 copy
Obras. La cuadruple raíz del principio de razón suficiente - El mundo como voluntad y representación - Eudemonología. Tomo 2. — Author — 1 copy
Gyvenimo išminties aforizmai 1 copy
SCHOPENHAUER 1 copy
I classici del pensiero libero [Corriere della sera]: Arthur Schopenhauer. Il giudizio degli altri 1 copy
Il filisteismo universitario 1 copy
Obras. La cuadruple raíz del principio de razón suficiente - El mundo como voluntad y representación - Eudemonología. Tomo 1. — Author — 1 copy
Natural Classics Library 1 copy
Sämtliche Werke [vol 1-5/5] 1 copy
Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung I II, Parerga und Paralipomena I II, Kleine Schriften, Beibuch zur Schopenhauer Ausgabe (1988) 1 copy
Schopenhauer (volume primo) 1 copy
Schopenhauer (volume terzo) 1 copy
Schopenhauer: antologia 1 copy
Om lidandet i världen 1 copy
Världsreflexer II 1 copy
L'oggetto dell'arte 1 copy
Sämtliche Werke 1 copy
Arthur Schopenhauer: Ein Wort Der Vertheidigung, Und Memorabilien, Briefe Und Nachlassstucke (1863) (German Edition) (2010) 1 copy
The Art of Controversy by Arthur Schopenhauer: The Complete Work Plus an Overview, Summary and Author Biography (2017) 1 copy
Livsførelse 1 copy
On Will and Virtue 论意识与品德 1 copy
Essays oor lewenswysheid 1 copy
Schopenhauers Filosofi 1 copy
W poszukiwaniu mądrości życia : parerga i paralipomena : drobne pisma filozoficzne. T. 2 (2004) 1 copy
19: Arthur Schopenhauer 1 copy
Neue Paralipomena 1 copy
Pesimističke misli 1 copy
Da necessidade metafísica 1 copy
Essays in ethics 1 copy
Vorlesung über Die gesamte Philosophie: Teil 3: Metaphysik des Schönen (Philosophische Bibliothek) (2018) 1 copy
Schopenhauer: Auswahl 1 copy
Arthur Schopenhauer Werke 1 copy
Obras Schopenhauer II 1 copy
Works 1 copy
Obras SCHOPENHAUER I 1 copy
Classic Phliosophy: eight books by Arthur Schopenhauer in a single file, improved 8/14/2010 (2009) 1 copy
Schopenhauer Arthur 1 copy
Pensieri diversi 1 copy
O mundo como vontade e representação (parte III) — Author — 1 copy
VONTADE DE AMAR, A 1 copy
On Reading and Books 1 copy
Kunsten at kende sig selv - selvbiografiske noter og iagttagelser (Die Kunst, sich selbst zu erkennen) (2007) 1 copy
Schopenhauer Selections 1 copy
Ljubov' 1 copy
Om Bøger og Læsning 1 copy
Brevijar 1 copy
O ženama 1 copy
TRAKTAT MBI JETËN E LUMTUR 1 copy
Associated Works
The Art of Worldly Wisdom (Oraculo manual y arte de prudentia) (1647) — Translator, some editions — 2,212 copies, 29 reviews
Philosophies of Art and Beauty: Selected Readings in Aesthetics from Plato to Heidegger (1976) — Contributor — 399 copies, 2 reviews
The intellectual tradition of modern Germany : A collection of writings from the eighteenth to the twentieth century (1973) — Contributor — 3 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Schopenhauer, Arthur
- Birthdate
- 1788-02-22
- Date of death
- 1860-09-21
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Runge Institute
Gothaer Gymnasium illustre
University of Göttingen
Berlin University
University of Jena (Ph.D | 1813) - Occupations
- philosopher
- Organizations
- Senckenbergische Naturforschende Gesellschaft (Senckenberg Nature Research Society)
- Relationships
- Schopenhauer, Johanna (mother)
- Short biography
- At Schopenhauer har hatt mye å si for vitenskapen eller fagfilosofien er derimot en overdrivelse. Tre store filosofer har mottatt avgjørende impulser av ham : Friedrich Nietzsche, Henri Bergson og Ludwig Wittgenstein, ellers har fagfilosofer stort sett ignorert ham. Men forfattere og kunstnere (og en psykolog) har hele tiden funnet veien til hans verker. Samuel Beckett, Jorge Luis Borges, August Strindberg, Richard Wagner, Thomas Mann, Italo Svevo, Leo Tolstoj, Marcel Proust, Sigmund Freud: alle disse og mange andre kunstnere har lest Schopenhauer og blitt fengslet av hans pessimisme, hans opphøyning av kunst (og særlig musikk) i sitt filosofiske system, hans misogyni, hans prosa som mange har betegnet som noe av den tyske kulturhistoriens fineste. "Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits a target no one else can see." -- Arthur Schopenhauer
- Cause of death
- respiratory failure
- Nationality
- Germany
- Birthplace
- Danzig, Kingdom of Poland
- Places of residence
- Danzig (Free City of the Hanseatic League; present-day Gdańsk, Poland)
Hamburg, Germany
Le Havre, France
Wimbledon, England, UK
Weimar, Germany
Gotha, Thuringia, Germany (show all 12)
Göttingen, Germany
Berlin, Germany
Rudolstadt, Thuringia, Germany
Dresden, Germany
Mannheim, Germany
Frankfurt, Germany - Place of death
- Frankfurt am Main, German Confederation
- Burial location
- Hauptfriedhof, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Associated Place (for map)
- Germany
Members
Reviews
Reading this collection of essays by Schopenhauer has been very enlightening, as many of the topics covered are easily relevant during the global pandemic and growing American unrest these days. Much of this collection is about how to live one's life - intellectually, for the most part - as both an individual and a member of society, two positions that are almost always diametrically opposed. Schopenhauer's advice is geared towards a happiness derived from avoidance of pain rather than the show more pursuit of pleasure, and so much of it involves recommendations on how to avoid conflict - or indeed, interaction - through accepting the world and it's people for what they are, and then keep them at a manageable distance. It's deeper than that, of course, so take my thumbnail sketch for what it's worth.
As with any philosophical study, the trappings are there for those who want to avoid introspection and instead seek to twist all answers to fit their own unasked questions. However, those who reject the unexamined self will find plenty to think about.
One of my favorite quotes: "And on passing his fortieth year, any man of the slightest power of mind--any man, that is, who has more than the sorry share of intellect with which nature has endowed five-sixths of mankind--will hardly fail to show some trace of misanthropy." show less
As with any philosophical study, the trappings are there for those who want to avoid introspection and instead seek to twist all answers to fit their own unasked questions. However, those who reject the unexamined self will find plenty to think about.
One of my favorite quotes: "And on passing his fortieth year, any man of the slightest power of mind--any man, that is, who has more than the sorry share of intellect with which nature has endowed five-sixths of mankind--will hardly fail to show some trace of misanthropy." show less
Where he's good, Schopenhauer is very good (On the Suffering of the World, On Thinking for Yourself, On Philosophy and the Intellect), but where he's bad he's execrable (On Women).
Dour and pessimistic, he's the Morrissey of philosophy. All is vanity, life is short and joy is fleeting. I have to wonder if today he would be diagnosed with clinical depression, rather than the romantic melancholia of genius. So, that said, I found much in common with him, in a mordantly humourous way, as I'm show more inclined to a glass-half-empty view of life (much as I seek to amend that). Where I think he goes wrong, particularly so in his views upon women, is in not challenging the assumptions and cultural perspectives of his time and place. He takes these views as given and does not seem to be conscious of the possibility that the qualities he berates in woman may be roles forced upon them by society, nor that his own perspective may be skewed by the privileged position he holds in that society as a man.
Worth reading, though I'm sure he would not have said the same about this review, laden as it is with plebian affectations to style, parentheses and deviod of original thought, relying instead upon a disection of the thoughts of another. show less
Dour and pessimistic, he's the Morrissey of philosophy. All is vanity, life is short and joy is fleeting. I have to wonder if today he would be diagnosed with clinical depression, rather than the romantic melancholia of genius. So, that said, I found much in common with him, in a mordantly humourous way, as I'm show more inclined to a glass-half-empty view of life (much as I seek to amend that). Where I think he goes wrong, particularly so in his views upon women, is in not challenging the assumptions and cultural perspectives of his time and place. He takes these views as given and does not seem to be conscious of the possibility that the qualities he berates in woman may be roles forced upon them by society, nor that his own perspective may be skewed by the privileged position he holds in that society as a man.
Worth reading, though I'm sure he would not have said the same about this review, laden as it is with plebian affectations to style, parentheses and deviod of original thought, relying instead upon a disection of the thoughts of another. show less
Шопенхауер е бил най-вероятно аутист и безспорен мизантроп, поради което прозренията му за обществото са ценни и на места поразяващо точни, без следа от политическа коректност дори за времето си (а днес някои от тях биха звучали на голяма част от публиката направо show more сквернословни).
Шопенхауер има склонността да използва доста тежък и тромав език - може би такъв е бил стилът на говорене на немски през ония години, като в тоя случай преводът на английски просто е смотан.
Друга склонност на автора е да пише нещата далеч по-дълги, отколкото е нужно, като след основната си идея, която описва добре в началото на всяко есе, добавя безбройни свързвани с нея мисли, които явно са му дошли в последствие и които, честно казано, рядко имах нервите да чета.
Прозренията му за жените биха накарали съвременните феминистки да пищят в праведен гняв и със запенена уста. Ама от друга страна те толкова много неща ги карат да правят така... ;) show less
Шопенхауер има склонността да използва доста тежък и тромав език - може би такъв е бил стилът на говорене на немски през ония години, като в тоя случай преводът на английски просто е смотан.
Друга склонност на автора е да пише нещата далеч по-дълги, отколкото е нужно, като след основната си идея, която описва добре в началото на всяко есе, добавя безбройни свързвани с нея мисли, които явно са му дошли в последствие и които, честно казано, рядко имах нервите да чета.
Прозренията му за жените биха накарали съвременните феминистки да пищят в праведен гняв и със запенена уста. Ама от друга страна те толкова много неща ги карат да правят така... ;) show less
This is as near as heavyweight German philosophers come to letting their hair down and having a good laugh (ok, Schopenhauer's hair naturally tended upwards, but you know what I mean). What in our time would have been a highly profitable little "How-to" book, this was actually written with satirical intent, in mock-defence of the proposition that in academic life it is more important to win the argument than to have the truth on your side.
Schopenhauer gives us a short introduction, heavily show more laced with references to Aristotle and other authorities, on the history of arguments as objects of philosophical enquiry, and then offers thirty-eight infallible strategies for winning one. The choice of thirty-eight is a masterful touch, of course. Had he taken ten, or fifty, or 1001, we would say "this is just another of those list books". But thirty-eight is a number that doesn't fit into any pattern: we feel that he must have picked it simply because he knew of precisely thirty-eight strategies worth documenting. Perhaps that should have been point 39: "If you use a list of heads of argument, never pick a predictable number..."
This sort of book works because it documents what we already know in an amusing way, not because it teaches us something new (cf. Scott Adams's Dilbert character). If you have ever lost an argument when you knew you were right, you will have seen at least some of the thirty-eight deployed against you: you have probably also used most of them against other people at one time or another. Schopenhauer somehow doesn't sound like the sort of person to have lost many arguments, but presumably he had some personal experience to fall back on too. And more than likely some of the examples he cites were not just random, but digs at specific people. Fun, anyway. show less
Schopenhauer gives us a short introduction, heavily show more laced with references to Aristotle and other authorities, on the history of arguments as objects of philosophical enquiry, and then offers thirty-eight infallible strategies for winning one. The choice of thirty-eight is a masterful touch, of course. Had he taken ten, or fifty, or 1001, we would say "this is just another of those list books". But thirty-eight is a number that doesn't fit into any pattern: we feel that he must have picked it simply because he knew of precisely thirty-eight strategies worth documenting. Perhaps that should have been point 39: "If you use a list of heads of argument, never pick a predictable number..."
This sort of book works because it documents what we already know in an amusing way, not because it teaches us something new (cf. Scott Adams's Dilbert character). If you have ever lost an argument when you knew you were right, you will have seen at least some of the thirty-eight deployed against you: you have probably also used most of them against other people at one time or another. Schopenhauer somehow doesn't sound like the sort of person to have lost many arguments, but presumably he had some personal experience to fall back on too. And more than likely some of the examples he cites were not just random, but digs at specific people. Fun, anyway. show less
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 729
- Also by
- 13
- Members
- 14,914
- Popularity
- #1,537
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 150
- ISBNs
- 1,536
- Languages
- 29
- Favorited
- 72
