Young Schopenhauer

The Origin of the Metaphysics of Will and its Aporias

Alessandro Novembre, Sarah De Sanctis

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN:
  9783110665598
• eBook ISBN:
  9783110665468
• Topic: Philosophie
• Subtopic: Philosophische Metaphysik

This book provides a detailed reconstruction of the origins of Schopenhauer's philosophy and its inherent aporias.

It is divided into four parts. The first section delves into the pietistic upbringing of young Schopenhauer and his introduction to philosophy through the teachings of G.E. Schulze, as well as his study of Plato, Schelling, and Kant. Faced with the "negative" outcomes of Kant's criticism, particularly the unknowability of the thing-in-itself, young Schopenhauer initially engaged with Fichte and Schelling (this is covered in the second part of the volume). However, Schopenhauer formed the opinion that these two philosophers, instead of upholding and expanding upon Kant's ideas, ultimately diverge from them. That notwithstanding, he implicitly inherited certain pivotal concepts from Fichte and Schelling.

The third part explores Schopenhauer's initial endeavor to formulate a new metaphysics after Kant, known as the theory of "better consciousness." In the fourth part, the book demonstrates how the internal contradictions within that theory and Schopenhauer's transformative encounter with Indian wisdom (Hinduism and Buddhism) lead him to abandon his first attempt at a system and develop his metaphysics of will.

The last and most substantial chapter of the book focuses on the author's analysis of the inherent aporias within Schopenhauer's mature system, approaching them from a genetic perspective.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Notes on Text and Translation
• Abbreviations and Short Citations
• Introduction
• Part 1 The Manuscripts of the Years 1804 – 1811: From a Pietist Education to the Study of Philosophy
• Part 2 The Critical Confrontation with Fichte and Schelling (1811/12): From Initial Enthusiasm to Complete Rejection
• Part 3 A First Attempt at a Post-Kantian Metaphysics: The Theory of the “Better Consciousness”
• Part 4 The Abandonment of the Theory of the Better Consciousness and the Origin of the Metaphysics of Will
• Bibliography of Works Cited
• Index