Essays and Aphorisms (Penguin Classics)
by Arthur Schopenhauer
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Book Summary Information
Author: Arthur SchopenhauerTranslator: R. J. Hollingdale
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1973-05-30
ISBN: 0140442278
Number of pages: 240
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Book Reviews of Essays and Aphorisms (Penguin Classics)
Book Review: Eternal Optimist
Summary: 5 Stars
Who was the first to understand that newer, better ideas are always rejected and even violently resisted, before being finally accepted? Was It Schopenhauer? Was it Tom Paine, Louis Agassiz, George Bernard Shaw, Max Planck, or Gandi? Or perhaps the idea is as old as the ancient legend of Prometheus who "stole the fire of the gods," and in the process taught primitive humans all of the arts of civilization; for which he was punished by being bound to a rock eternally by Zeus so that an eagle could eat out his liver.
In modern times at least, the answer seems to be Arthur Schopenhauer, (1788 - 1860), who early published what may be the first clear formulation of the idea. Following are some memorable quotes from Essays and Aphorisms, which give an idea as to what is meant.
"The discovery of truth is prevented more effectively not by the false appearance of things present and which mislead into error, not directly by weakness of the reasoning powers, but by preconceived opinion, by prejudice. (Essays and Aphorisms, 120 § 9)
"Truth that has been merely learned is like an artificial limb, a false tooth, a waxen nose; at best, 'like a nose made out of another's flesh; it adheres to 'us only because it is put on. But truth acquired by thinking of our own is like a natural limb; it alone 'really belongs to us. This is the fundamental difference 'between the thinker and the mere scholar. (Essays and Aphorisms, 91 § 4)
"Truth is fairest naked, and the simpler its expression the profounder its influence. (Essays and Aphorisms, 205 § 8)
"How very paltry and limited the normal human intellect is, and how little lucidity there is in the human consciousness, may be judged from the fact that, despite the ephemeral brevity of human life, the uncertainty of our existence and the countless enigmas which press upon us from all sides, everyone does not continually and ceaselessly philosophize, but that only the rarest of exceptions do so. If they should ever feel any metaphysical need, it is taken care of from above and in advance by the various religions; and these, whatever they may be like, suffice. (Essays and Aphorisms, 123 § 16)
"Great minds are related to the brief span of time during which they live as great buildings are to a little square in which they stand: you cannot see them in all their magnitude because you are standing too close to them. (Essays and Aphorisms, 226 § 5-D)
"The difference between the genius and the normal intelligence is, to be sure, only a quantitative one, insofar as it is only a difference of degree: one is nevertheless tempted to regard it as a qualitative one when one considers how normal men, despite their individual diversity, all think along certain common lines, so that they are frequently in unanimous agreement over judgments which are, in fact, false. (Essays and Aphorisms, 131 § 23)
"To estimate a genius you should not take the mistakes in his productions, or his weaker works, but only those works in which he excels. For even in the realm of the intellect, weakness and absurdity cleave so firmly to human nature that even the most brilliant mind is not always entirely free of them: whence the mighty errors which can be pointed to even in the works of the greatest men. (Essays and Aphorisms, 223 § 5-A)
"The great misfortune for intellectual merit is that it has to wait until the good is praised by those who produce only the bad.
"It is the fate of the great here on earth to be recognized by us only when they are no more.
"After a hundred years Copernicus had not yet supplanted Ptolemy. Bacon, Descartes, Locke prevailed very slowly and very late. It was no different with Newton. Although Newton lived almost forty years after the appearance of his Principia, his theory was, when he died, recognized only in England, and there only partially, while abroad he could, according to Voltaire, count fewer than twenty adherents. Hume, although he wrote in a thoroughly popular style, was disregarded until his fiftieth year. Kant, although he wrote and taught his whole life long, became famous only after his sixtieth year. Artists and poets have a better chance than thinkers because their public is at least a hundred times bigger: and yet what did Mozart and Beethoven count for during their lifetimes? or Dante, or even Shakespeare? Every Portuguese is proud of Camoens, the only Portuguese poet: but he lived on alms procured for him in the streets. (Essays and Aphorisms, 224 § 5-B)
"As the sun needs an eye in order to shine, and music an ear in order to sound, so the worth of every masterpiece in art and science is conditioned by the mind related and equal to it to which it speaks. Only such a mind posses the incantation to arouse the spirits imprisoned in such a work and make them show themselves. The commonplace head stands before it as before a magic casket he cannot open or an instrument he cannot play. A beautiful work requires a sensitive mind, a speculative work a thinking mind, in order to really exist and live. (Essays and Aphorisms, 225 § 5-C)
"The poet [and novelist] presents the imagination with images from life and human characters and situations, sets them all in motion and leaves it to the beholder to let these images take his thoughts as far as his mental powers will permit. This is why he is able to engage men of the most differing capabilities, indeed fools and sages together. The philosopher [and scientist], on the other hand, presents not life itself but the finished thoughts which he has abstracted from it and then demands that the reader should think precisely as, and precisely as far as, he himself thinks. That is why his public is so small. (Essays and Aphorisms, 118 § 4, brackets added)
"If you want to earn the gratitude of your own age you must keep in step with it. But if you do that you will produce nothing great. If you have something great in view you must address yourself to posterity. (Essays and Aphorisms, 131 § 25)
"Talent works for money and fame; the motive which moves genius to productivity is, on the other hand, less easy to determine. It isn't money, for genius seldom gets any. It isn't fame: fame is too uncertain and, more closely considered, of too little worth. Nor is it strictly for its own pleasure, for the great exertion involved almost outweighs the pleasure. It is rather an instinct of a unique sort by virtue of which the individual possessed of genius is impelled to express what he has seen and felt in enduring works without being conscious of any further motivation. (Essays and Aphorisms, 131 § 26)
Schopenhauer said that the creative genius must write for posterity and expect to be rejected in one's own lifetime. That is a pessimistic attitude; or a self-deluded one if one's theory is wrong. But it may also be practical. Until a new theory is finally accepted, it can not be considered "true" objectively. And "accepted" must mean by a large enough scientific, philosophic, or academic community to make use of the idea, and to give it reality by passing it along to the general public. In the long run it must be accepted by society at large, or at least by a much larger group, or it will forever remain a cult phenomenon.
What it all comes down to is that the creative genius must have a sufficient degree of confidence in the truth of an idea, that one is willing to put one's life on the line. Possibly not in a sudden, life-or-death gamble, though that too sometimes happens; but--what can be more difficult--in a slow ebbing of the life-force that occurs when one risks everything on an idea that for the present is rejected by almost everyone; and gambles it on an unknown future where it will probably fail, or worse; where it may never see the light of day. But it also might be a future in which the new idea succeeds, thereby ushering in a future that will be better than the present, perhaps immeasurably so.
Summary of Essays and Aphorisms (Penguin Classics)
One of the greatest philosophers of the nineteenth century, Schopenhauer (1788-1860) believed that human action is determined not by reason but by 'will' - the blind and irrational desire for physical existence. This selection of his writings on religion, ethics, politics, women, suicide, books and many other themes is taken from Schopenhauer's last work, "Parerga and Paralipomena", which he published in 1851. These pieces depict humanity as locked in a struggle beyond good and evil, and each individual absolutely free within a Godless world, in which art, morality and self-awareness are our only salvation. This innovative - and pessimistic - view has proved powerfully influential upon philosophy and art, directly affecting the work of Nietzsche, Wittgenstein and Wagner among others.Essays Books
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