Project Gutenberg 2004-01-01 Public domain in the USA. 4122 Schopenhauer, Arthur 1788 1860 Saunders, T. Bailey (Thomas Bailey) 1860 1928 Saunders, Thomas Bailey Saunders, Bailey The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer; Studies in Pessimism E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Josephine Paolucci, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team "The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer: Studies in Pessimism" by Arthur Schopenhauer is a philosophical text written in the early 19th century. The collection comprises various essays reflecting on the nature of existence, with a notably pessimistic viewpoint on human life and suffering. It covers themes like the inherent suffering of life, the vanity of existence, suicide, and philosophical reflections on education and women, all of which explore the darker aspects of the human condition and the quest for meaning within it. The opening of the work sets a bleak tone as Schopenhauer delves into the concept of suffering, suggesting that life's primary objective is intertwined with pain and misfortune. He critiques optimistic philosophies that dismiss the prevalence of evil and suffering, emphasizing that happiness is merely the absence of pain. Schopenhauer illustrates human existence as a series of disappointments, marked by an underlying madness due to unfulfilled desires. Through vivid analogies about life's futility and the inevitability of death, he positions existence as fundamentally flawed. He further argues that if humans could foresee the hardships of life, many would choose not to be born at all, thus framing existence as a burden rather than a gift. This opening establishes a strong foundation for the exploration of Schopenhauer's philosophical pessimism. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 59.0 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read. en Pessimism B Text Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches Category: Philosophy & Ethics 230140 2025-08-05T04:52:26.947664 text/html 209861 2024-10-28T18:01:17 text/html 174379 2025-08-05T04:52:34.256597 application/epub+zip 176202 2025-08-05T04:52:30.631629 application/epub+zip 142875 2025-08-05T04:52:29.327604 application/epub+zip 415661 2025-08-05T04:52:36.919561 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 397382 2025-08-05T04:52:33.397580 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 330148 2022-09-05T09:41:24.197796 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 195373 2025-08-05T04:52:26.513740 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 175371 2024-10-28T18:01:17 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17117 2025-08-05T04:52:37.057622 application/rdf+xml 23749 2025-08-05T04:52:29.860598 image/jpeg 4901 2025-08-05T04:52:29.606632 image/jpeg 173073 2025-08-05T04:52:26.966629 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia de.wikipedia