This book accurately depicts Arthur Schopenhauer's life, as well as spends a great deal of time discussing said philosophy. To that end, it does as it seeks to accomplish, yet as a historian, I was still left wanting more about Schopenhauer's life and the relationship between the events his life was subject to. Instead, the book gave a whole lot more discourse on the relationship of Schopenhauer's ideas to Kant and Hegel's ideas. ( )

For those within whom passion for the experience of life rushes vigorously, much of philosophy comes across cold and sterile, disturbingly lacking in humanness in its schematic generality, emphasis on rationality and logicality over emotional concerns. The systematic and elaborate presentation of a single idea or simple truth, expressed in mechanistic articulation as if churned out by a machine, devoid of distinguishable personality, with only the known ideas of a particular thinker serving as distinction, is alienating to the passionate souls sensitive to the fluctuation of existence that awards pain and pleasure in unequal measure, that beats down and lifts up unexpectedly, that fills with love and hate without any identifiable reason, and that kills in tragedy all that is noble, heroic, and beautiful. The few lovers of wisdom and truth blessed with the gift of articulation of the abstract who are the exception to this tradition are thus considered mavericks who infuse their lust for life, sensitivity to pain, and adoration of beauty into their explications, not for the sake of rebellion, but because their humanness shines that much brighter than the rest who present their ideas in lifeless safety either to mask their apathy for existence or to honor tradition like a good servant. One such philosophical renegade is Arthur Schopenhauer, who expressed this very same sentiment in this striking passage:

"A philosophy in between the pages of which one does not hear the tears, the weeping and gnashing of teeth and the terrible din of mutual universal murder is no philosophy."

From this, it is no wonder why a number of prominent artists and musicians have been so drawn to the works of Schopenhauer. Not only did Schopenhauer express a profound affection for the arts, and especially music, but he did so through one of the most compelling and convincing aesthetic theories in the history of philosophy. Not only this, but his clear and powerful reasoning and gift of eloquent expression allow his ideas a clarity of deliverance, making him one of the most palatable and readable philosophers, particularly in comparison with his contemporaries in 19th Century Germany. But most of all, it is his amazing penetration into the nature of humanity, from a combination of acute observation, careful reflection, sensitivity to experience, with a brilliant logical reasoning, along with a strangely endearing curmudgeonly and broody character, that arouses an affection in his readers, which moves them to want to know, as much as possible, the life of this intriguing man.

In Schopenhauer And The Wild Years Of Philosophy, Rudiger Safranski vividly chronicles the life of Arthur Schopenhauer, paralleling the events of his life with the development of his work, presenting an engaging account of how the philosopher's experiences influenced his ideas, and how those ideas contrasted with the intellectual flavor of 19th‑Century Germany. Defiantly opposed to the Absolutism and appeal to universal Rationalism that reigned supreme in the leading philosophical minds of the era (Hegel, Fichte, Schelling etc..), Schopenhauer's pessimistic Idealism alienated him from and left him largely ignored by the philosophical academy of his time. Safranski details how Schopenhauer's resulting bitterness and frustration affected his associations with colleagues and family. Yet, despite this wide‑spread neglect towards his work, Schopenhauer never once compromises his values and beliefs to acquire his highly sought‑after recognition, all the while, to the very final years of his life, maintaining an unwavering self‑confidence and allegiance to his philosophy worthy of fullest respect and admiration. Through years of being overlooked, Schopenhauer stands firm in his belief that his genuine pursuit of truth, and original presentation of that truth, will one day meet with its worthy acceptance. During his last years, and as the tide of intellectual culture in Germany turned in the aftermath of a series of political and social dissatisfactions, Schopenhauer's work finally began to gather interest, devoted followers, and influential merit.

Safranski tells the story of Schopenhauer's life in the context of the political and social climate of 19th Century Germany. The significant events and cultural character of Weimar, Berlin, Hamburg, and other surrounding locations are relayed in detail, and shown to serve as an interesting backdrop to Schopenhauer's development through the ages of his life. Accounts of his travels through Europe as a youth with his family, his struggles with accepting the inheritance of his father's merchant business, his reaction to the death of his father, followed by years of a tumultuous relationship with his mother, romantic affairs, and his turn away from mercantile life to a philosophical one ("Life is an unpleasant business; I have resolved to spend it reflecting upon it"), are all successively delivered in glorious detail by Safranski, assisted by quotes directly from Schopenhauer's own diary and letters. The wonderful result of this narrative approach is that the book reads less like a traditional biography and more as a classic novel as perhaps could have been written during the Romanticist era during which Schopenhauer himself lived for much of his life.

The development of Schopenhauer's philosophy through the events of his life is explored throughout the book in such a way that, while reading, one has the sense that they are witnessing the gradual blossoming of a magnificent creation. It is also made clear by Safranski that Schopenhauer's personal experiences and observations played a significant role in this development. The reader gains a deeper understanding of how Schopenhauer came to view the world as he did, through his youthful struggles with the freedom of choice, his melancholy nature which made him greatly moved by the pain and misery he witnessed through his travels, and his resulting conclusion that such a world as this could never have been made by an all‑loving God, but rather by a Devil. Safranski also writes of young Schopenhauer's struggles with the lusts of the flesh, his disappointments in intimate relationships, and the isolation he felt through those experiences; "...my richer experience and my totally different nature at all times led me into isolation and solitude." A solitary and brooding character, yet overly‑confident to the point of offensive arrogance, or perhaps simply that much aware of his intellectual superiority combined with his extreme intolerance and eccentricity, Schopenhauer seemed to have lived a lifetime before even seriously considering the thought of a philosophical life, which he began in the radical ages of his early twenties, completing his chief work, The World As Will And Representation, before he hit the age of thirty. His was an untraditional journey to philosophical immortality. Much of his work has come from the experience of real human living, which he held as the ultimate test of truth, and an important reason why he felt that the leading thinkers of his time were so far off the mark with their dialectic thinking and optimistic theories of "Rational Spirit" and "the Absolute". Schopenhauer saw these ideas as theology in disguise, developed by professional philosophers (Schopenhauer, having been blessed with a wealthy inheritance from his father, was freed from having to live by philosophy, and instead lived for philosophy) who were more concerned with honoring the wishes and traditions of the academy than with the sincere pursuit of truth. In his view, there was no "terrible din of universal murder" in such "sham‑philosophies".

"Arthur Schopenhauer, "blessed with the fruit", turned his back on the battleground of the great trends of his day in order to give birth to his work in some quiet corner"

In his departure from philosophical tradition, Schopenhauer was a true free spirit. As he knew, and as other free spirits have also known (particularly Nietzsche, the freest spirit in all of philosophy, who was greatly influenced by Schopenhauer), free spirits are a threat to the established tradition, and as such, must face a stiffer challenge than shackled spirits who see their safety and convenience in the honor of tradition as their source of sustenance. Every attempt is made to silence the free spirit. Yet, Schopenhauer's voice was far too strong, his conviction much too firm, and in the end he did arrive, and remains highly relevant to those who seek for a meaning in this mad suffering in a purposeless world, and those creative free spirits who know the meaning of "aesthetic contemplation" and "will‑less knowing subject".

"The style of his philosophy...marked Schopenhauer as an outsider. The attitude of the individual thinker is emphasized too aggressively."

For those who have been touched in some form by Arthur Schopenhauer's work, or those who simply have an attraction to 19th‑century European intellectual, political, and social culture, this book is an essential read. Safranski has provided the closest opportunity one will discover to getting to know Schopenhauer as the man he was. The reader will find this a thoroughly captivating and moving experience, having gained such an intimate glimpse into the life of one of the most important thinkers in the history of philosophy.

Boeiend overzicht van leven en werk van de meest misantropische van alle Duitse filosofen. ( )

excellent book. Made me very interested in Schopenhauer. I am now slowly reading Schopenhauer, World as Will and Representation.
Schopenhauers idea about knowledge of the wordl is outdated but his human approach is good.