What Arthur Schopenhauer thinks about optimism

@arthur-schopenhauer · 8 positions · 0 changes of mind

German philosopher (1788 to 1860); author of The World as Will and Representation (1818) and Parerga and Paralipomena (1851), from which his essays on the wisdom of life are drawn.

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Arthur Schopenhauer did not write this page.

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2 dated positions, c. 1851, in their own words. Our reading of what Arthur Schopenhauer has said — not written or endorsed by them.

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1. c. 1851

   Our readingThe safest way not to be very miserable is not to expect to be very happy

   Their wordsFor the safest way of not being very miserable is not to expect to be very happy.

   ↗Counsels and Maxims (Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer, tr. T. Bailey Saunders)gutenberg.org All 3 from this book

3. c. 1851

   Our readingEach misfortune seems exceptional, but misfortune in general is the rule

   Their wordsEach separate misfortune, as it comes, seems, no doubt, to be something exceptional; but misfortune in general is the rule.

   ↗Studies in Pessimism (Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer, tr. T. Bailey Saunders)gutenberg.org