The World As Will and Representation - Influence

Influence

The value of this work is much disputed. Some rank Schopenhauer as one of the most original and inspiring of all philosophers, while others see him as inconsistent and too pessimistic. He has had a huge effect on psychoanalysis and the works of Freud; some researchers have even questioned whether Freud was telling the truth when he said that he had not read Schopenhauer until his old age. The notion of the subconscious is present in Schopenhauer's will and his theory of madness was consistent with this. Also, his theory on masochism is still now widely proposed by doctors. Nietzsche, Popper, Wittgenstein, Tolstoy, Jung, Borges, D.H. Lawrence, Camus, Beckett, Mahler and Wagner were all strongly influenced by his work. For Nietzsche, the reading of The World as Will and Representation aroused his interest in philosophy. Although he despised especially Schopenhauer's ideas on compassion, Nietzsche would admit that Schopenhauer was one of the few thinkers that he respected, lauding him in his essay Schopenhauer als Erzieher (Schopenhauer as Educator 1874), one of his Untimely Meditations.

Schopenhauer's discussions of language and ethics were a major influence on Ludwig Wittgenstein. Some see Schopenhauer's account of the Will as closely resembling classic examples of Monism. Schopenhauer also developed some ideas that can be found in the theory of evolution, before Darwin began to publish his work, for example the idea that all life strives to preserve itself and to engender new life, and that our mental faculties are merely tools to that end. However, he saw species as fixed. His respect for the rights of animals – including a vehement opposition to vivisection - has led many modern animal rights activists to look up to him.