Posted by Ondra Burbicko on October 20, 19101 at 21:19:12:

Greetings readers! For the last couple of months, I've been working on several selections, "The World as Will and Representation (translated here as Idea);Comparative Anatomy; On Education & On Women, &." I was glad to find this site, since it will now be possible to pose questions and/or exchange opinions about his work. My first comment is that I don't know if it's really fair to dismiss his thought as mere Pessimism, when one considers how positively he seems to view ancient Eastern philosophical thought. In many instances I was even surprised by what appears to be an open, creative, and engaging mind (with the exception of how he views women.) Only if one is adamant on defending 17th & 18th century European rationalism, would his conclusions about human knowledge appear as overly pessimistic. Actually, his rejection of empirical based knowledge and perception as an end-all to knowing ultimate truth was a well timed reaction to the misguided philosophical optimism of his day. Sure, it seems like he's crashing the party for the "Enlightenment" European thinkers of his time, but skepticism always gives reason to be optimistic; the courage to reject accepted ideas is always necessary for true progress. Kant points out most accurately the limitations of human knowledge to get at the true nature of things by referring to the ever elusive “thing in itself." Schopenhauer altogether denies the possibility of knowing exactly what that is. But he does claim to know this: what Kant calls the thing in itself is, in fact, will. It is, he writes, the dominating impetus behind the universe, not intellect. The development of human reason in the world by way of Kantian 'understanding' and 'sensibility' is itself merely another example of will. Therefore, all that is known in the world is seen by Schopenhauer as striving, including our own agonizing compulsion to contemplate ourselves and the universe. We’re tempted to ask, but towards what universal end are we and all things striving for, and why? According to Schopenhauer, the answer to that can never be known. Progress in the realm of human knowledge only occurs in the world when an honest thinker comes along who is brave enough to admit its impossibility. Thank you for your time. -Ondra

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