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Arthur Schopenhauer — on Meaning, Wisdom and Living Well
To find meaning, seek experiences that transcend the limits of your will
There are many things in the world that seem pointless, confusing, and downright depressing. It can be hard to keep pushing forward when the road ahead seems so long and full of hard-to-swerve-away-from obstacles.
However, there is one thing you can do today to improve your outlook on life: — learn from brilliant thinkers and acquire wisdom from great minds to improve your perception of life and living it.
There are countless benefits to reading ancient philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, including increased intellectual stimulation and a better understanding of our human nature.
In the 18th century, German philosopher Schopenhauer made a name for himself by publishing his most famous work, The World as Will and Representation.
His work explored the apparent tension in life: we are subject to forces of nature, such as birth and death, while on the other hand, humans tend to objectify these natural forces and act as if they exist independently for our own benefit.
To illustrate this dichotomy in life, Schopenhauer used the example of an animal trap: it is built to catch a specific type of animal, but…
