John Vespasian explains that history provides excellent examples of the philosophy put forward by Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860). For instance, Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD), who had favoured living in accordance with nature. Aurelius’ recipe for happiness is understanding the order of the universe and aligning our actions with it. However, when he talked about “the order of the universe,” he was assuming that the world is rational and that humans can grasp its laws. In contrast, Schopenhauer theorised that the universe is not necessarily orderly. His theory of the will (“life force”) points to a blind, eternal force as a driver of all living creatures. Thus, he was expecting the will to exert an irrational influence on the decisions and actions of humans. Despite his different conception of the universe, the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius constitutes a good practical example of Schopenhauer’s philosophy of life. Every aspect of Aurelius’ life matches Schopenhauer’s ethics. Marcus Aurelius expected the universe to be rational and, to a certain extent, comprehensible to our minds. Nonetheless, he acknowledged the inevitability of change, accepting that often we must face external events beyond our control. Schopenhauer placed great emphasis on self-reliance and on all elements that help humans build their self-confidence. The terminology used in Marcus Aurelius’ work “Meditations” does not exactly match Schopenhauer’s, but the meaning is similar. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/an-example-of-schopenhauers-philosophy-of-life/

Ver todos los episodios