Schopenhauer, like many others before him, believed that the world is experienced from the perspective of the mind, as representation. He believed that the noumenal reality (the universe of pure experience) is characterized by will, and as such is one undifferentiated, all-encompassing Will. Because the Will is not differentiated in time and space in the noumena, there can be no difference between individuals’ wills, or between my will and yours. Each individual’s will is simply another aspect of the same underlying will. As such, the will is universal, and all of us share it. Individual wills are thus parts of the same universal will, a single form of energy that controls the world of representation, including our basic drives and instinctual behavior. If we wish to overcome this fundamental urge towards suffering, all we need to do is realize that we are nothing separate from the will itself. There is no division between the individual and the universal, nor any possibility of escape. We must resign ourselves to the fact that we will never reach self-actualization, and instead learn to appreciate life as it is, accepting its fleeting nature.
Introduction
How do we really define Philosophy? The Greek word φιλοσοφία – Philosophia. Or as the term has been coined by modern Western language – Philosophy. The literal meaning of this word is relatively static. Derived from its Greek origin it comprises two separate words...
