Untimely Meditations
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| - | Published in [[1819]], '''''The World as Will and Representation''''', sometimes translated as '''''The World as Will and Idea''''' (original [[German language|German]] title: '''''Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung'''''), is the central work of [[Arthur Schopenhauer]]. | ||
| - | ==Will== | + | '''''Untimely Meditations''''' (''Unzeitgemässe Betrachtungen'', also translated as '''''Unfashionable Observations''''') consists of four works by the philosopher [[Friedrich Nietzsche]], started in 1873 and completed in 1876. |
| - | Schopenhauer used the word "[[will]]" as a human's most familiar designation for the concept that can also be signified by other words such as "[[desire]]", "striving", "wanting", "effort" and "[[urge|urging]]". | + | |
| - | ==Representation== | + | The work comprises a collection of four (out of a projected 13) essays concerning the contemporary condition of European, especially German, culture. A fifth essay, published posthumously, had the title "We Philologists", and gave as a "''Task for philology'': disappearance". Nietzsche here began to discuss the limitations of empirical knowledge, and presented what would appear compressed in later aphorisms. It combines the naivete of ''The Birth of Tragedy'' with the beginnings of his more mature polemical style. It was Nietzsche's most humorous work, especially for "David Strauss: the confessor and the writer," though this levity was not continued by Nietzsche much in later works. |
| - | He used the word ''representation'' (''Vorstellung'') to signify the mental idea or image of any object that is experienced as being external to the mind. It is sometimes translated as ''idea'' or ''presentation''. This concept includes the representation of the observing subject's own body. Schopenhauer called the subject's own body the ''immediate object'' because it is in the closest proximity to the mind, which is located in the brain. | + | |
| - | ==Epistemology (Vol. 1, Book 1)== | + | |
| - | As mentioned above, Schopenhauer's notion of the will comes from the Kantian things-in-itself, which Kant believed to be the fundamental reality behind the representation that provided the matter of perception, but lacked form. Kant believed that space, time, causation, and many other similar phenomena belonged properly to the form imposed on the world by the human mind in order to create the representation, and these factors were absent from the thing-in-itself. Schopenhauer pointed out that anything outside of time and space could not be differentiated, so the thing-in-itself must be one and all things that exist, including human beings, must be part of this fundamental unity. Our inner-experience must be a manifestation of the noumenal realm and the will is the inner kernel of every being. All knowledge gained of objects is seen as self-referential, as we recognize the same will in other things as is inside us. | + | |
| - | ==Ontology (Vol. 1, Book 2)== | + | ==Publication== |
| - | In Book Two, [[electricity]] and [[gravity]] are described as fundamental forces of the will. [[Knowledge]] is something that was invented to serve the will and is present in both human and non-human animals. It is subordinate to the demands of the will for all animals and most humans. The fundamental nature of the universe and everything in it is seen as this will. Schopenhauer presents a pessimistic picture on which unfulfilled desires are painful, and pleasure is merely the sensation experienced at the instant one such pain is removed. However, most desires are never fulfilled, and those that are fulfilled are instantly replaced by more unfulfilled ones. | + | ''Unzeitgemässe Betrachtungen'' has been one of the more difficult of Nietzsche's titles to be translated into English, with each subsequent translation offering a new variation. Thus: ''Untimely Meditations'' ([[Walter Kaufmann (philosopher)|Kaufmann]]), ''Thoughts Out of Season'' (Ludovici), ''Untimely Reflections'' (Hayman), ''Unmodern Observations'' (Arrowsmith) and ''Inopportune Speculations'' ''Unfashionable Observations'' or ''Essays in Sham Smashing'' ([[H. L. Menken|Menken]]). |
| - | ==Aesthetics (Vol. 1, Book 3)== | + | Many different plans for the series are found in Nietzsche's notebooks, most of them showing a total of thirteen essays. The titles and subjects vary with each entry, the project conceived to last six years (one essay every six months.) A typical outline dated "Autumn 1873" reads as follows: |
| - | Like many other aesthetic theories, Schopenhauer's centers on the concept of [[genius]]. Genius, according to Schopenhauer, is possessed by all people in varying degrees and consists of the capacity for aesthetic experience. An aesthetic experience occurs when an individual perceives an object and understands by it not the individual object itself, but the [[Platonic form]] of the object. The individual is then able to lose himself in the object of contemplation and, for a brief moment, escape the cycle of unfulfilled desire by becoming "the pure subject of will-less knowing." Those who have a high degree of genius can be taught to communicate these aesthetic experiences to others, and objects that communicate these experiences are works of art. Based on this theory, Schopenhauer viewed Dutch [[still-life]] as the best type of painting, because it was able to help viewers see beauty in ordinary, everyday objects. However, he sharply criticized depictions of nude women and prepared food, as these stimulate desire and thus hinder the viewer from the aesthetic experience and becoming "the pure subject of will-less knowing." | + | {{columns |width=15em |gap=3em |
| + | |col1 = | ||
| + | 1. The Cultural Philistine<br> | ||
| + | 2. History<br> | ||
| + | 3. The Philosopher<br> | ||
| + | 4. The Scholar<br> | ||
| + | 5. Art<br> | ||
| + | 6. The Teacher<br> | ||
| + | 7. Religion | ||
| + | |col2 = | ||
| + | 8. State War Nation<br> | ||
| + | 9. The Press<br> | ||
| + | 10. Natural Science<br> | ||
| + | 11. Folk Society<br> | ||
| + | 12. Commerce<br> | ||
| + | 13. Language | ||
| + | }} | ||
| - | Music also occupies a privileged place in Schopenhauer's aesthetics, as he believed it to have a special relationship to the will. Where other forms of art are imitations of things perceived in the world, music is a direct copy of the will. | + | Nietzsche abandoned the project after completing only four essays, seeming to lose interest after the publication of the third. |
| - | ==Ethics (Vol. 1, Book 4)== | + | == ''David Strauss: the Confessor and the Writer'' == |
| - | Schopenhauer claims in this book to set forth a purely descriptive account of human ethical behavior, in which he identifies two types of behavior: the affirmation and denial of the will. | + | |
| - | According to Schopenhauer, the Will (the great Will that is the [[thing-in-itself]], not the individual wills of humans and animals, which are phenomena of the Will) conflicts with itself through the [[Psychological egoism|egoism]] that every human and animal is endowed with. Compassion arises from a transcendence of this egoism (the penetration of the illusory perception of individuality, so that one can [[empathise]] with the suffering of another) and can serve as a clue to the possibility of going beyond desire and the will. Schopenhauer categorically denies the existence of the "freedom of the will" in the conventional sense, and only adumbrates how the will can be "released" or negated, but is not subject to change, and serves as the root of the chain of [[causality|causal]] [[determinism]]. His praise for [[asceticism]] led him to think highly of [[Buddhism]] and [[Vedanta]] [[Hinduism]], as well as some monastic sects of [[Catholicism]]. He expressed contempt for [[Protestantism]], [[Judaism]], and [[Islam]], which he saw as optimistic, devoid of [[metaphysics]] and cruel to non-human animals. According to Schopenhauer, the deep truth of the matter is that in cases of the over-affirmation of the will – that is, cases where one individual exerts his will not only for its own fulfillment but for the improper domination of others – he is unaware that he is really identical with the person he is harming, so that the Will in fact constantly harms itself, and justice is done in the moment in which the crime is committed, since the same metaphysical individual is both the perpetrator and the victim. | + | ''[[s:David Strauss: the Confessor and the Writer|David Strauss: the Confessor and the Writer]]'', 1873 (''David Strauss: der Bekenner und der Schriftsteller'') attacks [[David Strauss]]'s ''The Old and the New Faith: A Confession'' (1871), which Nietzsche holds up as an example of the German thought of the time. He paints Strauss's "New Faith" - scientifically-determined universal mechanism based on the progression of history - as a vulgar reading of history in the service of a degenerate culture, [[polemic]]ally attacking not only the book but also Strauss as a [[Philistinism|Philistine]] of pseudo-culture. |
| - | Schopenhauer discusses suicide at length, noting that it does not actually destroy the Will or any part of it in any substantial way, since death is merely the end of one particular phenomenon of the Will, which is subsequently rearranged. By [[asceticism]], the ultimate denial of the will, one can slowly weaken the individual will in a way that is far more significant than violent suicide, which is, in fact, in some sense an affirmation of the will. | + | == ''On the Use and Abuse of History for Life'' == |
| + | [[Image:HL Fr 30-2-.JPG|thumb|80px|Draft for the first chapter of the second Unzeitgemässe Betrachtung]] | ||
| + | ''[[s:On the Use and Abuse of History for Life|On the Use and Abuse of History for Life]]'', 1874 (''Vom Nutzen und Nachteil der Historie für das Leben'') offers — instead of the prevailing view of "knowledge as an end in itself" — an alternative way of reading history, one where living life becomes the primary concern; along with a description of how this might improve the health of a society. It also introduced an attack against the basic precepts of classic humanism. | ||
| - | The ultimate conclusion is that one can have a tolerable life not by complete elimination of desire, since this would lead to boredom, but by becoming a detached observer of one's own will and being constantly aware that most of one's desires will remain unfulfilled. | + | In this essay, Nietzsche attacks both the historicism of man (the idea that man is created through history) and the idea that one can possibly have an objective concept of man, since a major aspect of man resides in his subjectivity. Nietzsche expands the idea that the essence of man dwells not inside of him, but rather above him, in the following essay, "Schopenhauer als Erzieher" ("Schopenhauer as Educator"). Glenn Most argues for the possible translation of the essay as "The Use and Abuse of History Departments for Life", as Nietzsche used the term ''Historie'' and not ''Geschichte''. Furthermore, he alleges that this title may have its origins via [[Jacob Burckhardt]], who would have referred to [[Leon Battista Alberti]]'s treatise, ''De commodis litterarum atque incommodis'' (1428 — "On the Advantages and Disadvantages of Literary Studies"). Glenn Most argues that the untimeliness of Nietzsche here resides in calling to a return, beyond historicism, to [[Wilhelm von Humboldt|Humboldt]]'s humanism, and, maybe even beyond, to the first humanism of the [[Renaissance]]. |
| - | ==Criticism of the Kantian Philosophy (Vol. 1, Appendix)== | + | The problem of the "history-versus-life" contrariety which Nietzsche's essay raises has recently been revived in another essay reflecting on the nature of religiosity in [[Thucydides]]' [[History of the Peloponnesian War|''History'']]. Thucydides is shown to do exactly what Nietzsche asks of a historian: to offer a narrative about the emergence and decay of the healthy society, in this case, Greek society. The crux of what constitutes "health" is argued to hinge upon answering the question, what is religious? |
| - | At the end of Book 4, Schopenhauer appended a thorough discussion of the merits and faults of Kant's philosophy. [[Schopenhauer's criticism of the Kantian philosophy]] asserted that Kant's greatest error was the failure to distinguish between perceptual, intuitive knowledge and conceptual, discursive knowledge. One of Kant's greatest contributions, according to Schopenhauer, was the distinction of the [[phenomenon]] from the [[thing-in-itself]]. | + | |
| - | ==Volume 2== | + | |
| - | The second volume consisted of several essays expanding topics covered in the first. Most important are his reflections on [[death]] and his [[theory on sexuality]], which saw it as a manifestation of the whole will making sure that it will live on and depriving humans of their [[reason]] and sanity in their longing for their loved ones. While this has been much improved on since, his honesty on the subject is unusual for the time and the central role of sexuality in human life is now widely accepted. Less successful is his theory of [[genetics]]: he argued that humans inherit their will, and thus their character, from their fathers, but their intellect from their mothers and he provides examples from biographies of great figures to illustrate this theory. The second volume also contains what many readers view as attacks on contemporary philosophers such as [[Fichte]], [[Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling|Schelling]], and [[Hegel]]. | + | |
| - | The contents of Volume II are as follows. | + | == ''Schopenhauer as Educator'' == |
| + | ''[[s:Schopenhauer as Educator|Schopenhauer as Educator]]'', 1874 (''Schopenhauer als Erzieher'') describes how the philosophic genius of [[Arthur Schopenhauer|Schopenhauer]] might bring on a resurgence of German culture. Nietzsche gives special attention to Schopenhauer's individualism, honesty and steadfastness as well as his cheerfulness, despite Schopenhauer's noted pessimism. | ||
| - | '''Supplements to the First Book''' | + | == ''Richard Wagner in Bayreuth'' == |
| + | ''[[s:Richard Wagner in Bayreuth|Richard Wagner in Bayreuth]]'' (1876 - that is, after a gap of two years from the previous essay) investigates the music, drama and personality of [[Richard Wagner]] — less flatteringly than Nietzsche's friendship with his subject might suggest. The original draft was in fact more critical than the final version. Nietzsche considered not publishing it because of his changing attitudes to Wagner and his art. He was persuaded to redraft the article by his friend, the enthusiastic Wagnerian [[Peter Gast]] who helped him prepare a less contentious version. Shortly after its publication, Nietzsche visited [[Bayreuth]] for the opening of the [[Bayreuth Festival]]. The essay was well-received by Wagner and his circle. However in the event the Festival confirmed Nietzsche's growing misgivings. The essay thus foreshadows the philosopher's imminent split with Wagner and his ideas. | ||
| - | First Half | ||
| - | |||
| - | The Doctrine of the Representation of Perception Through § 1 – 7 of Volume I | ||
| - | I. On the Fundamental View of Idealism | ||
| - | II. On the Doctrine of Knowledge of Perception or Knowledge of the Understanding | ||
| - | III. On the Senses | ||
| - | IV. On Knowledge a Priori | ||
| - | |||
| - | Second Half | ||
| - | |||
| - | The Doctrine of the Abstract Representation or of Thinking | ||
| - | V. On the Intellect Devoid of Reason | ||
| - | VI. On the Doctrine of Abstract Knowledge, or Knowledge of Reason | ||
| - | VII. On the Relation of Knowledge of Perception to Abstract Knowledge | ||
| - | VIII. On the Theory of the Ludicrous | ||
| - | IX. On Logic in General | ||
| - | X. On the Science of Syllogisms | ||
| - | XI. On Rhetoric | ||
| - | XII. On the Doctrine of Science | ||
| - | XIII. On the Methods of Mathematics | ||
| - | XIV. On the Association of Ideas | ||
| - | XV. On the Essential Imperfections of the Intellect | ||
| - | XVI. On the Practical Use of Our Reason and on Stoicism | ||
| - | XVII. On Man's Need for Metaphysics | ||
| - | |||
| - | '''Supplements to the Second Book''' | ||
| - | XVIII. On the Possibility of Knowing the Thing-in-Itself | ||
| - | XIX. On the Primacy of the Will in Self-Consciousness | ||
| - | XX. Objectification of the Will in the Animal Organism | ||
| - | XXI. Retrospect and More General Consideration | ||
| - | XXII. Objective View of the Intellect | ||
| - | XXIII. On the objectification of the Will in Nature without Knowledge | ||
| - | XXIV. On Matter | ||
| - | XXV. Transcendent Considerations on the Will as Thing-in-Itself | ||
| - | XXVI. On Teleology | ||
| - | XXVII. On Instinct and Mechanical Tendency | ||
| - | XXVIII. Characterization of the Will-to-Live | ||
| - | |||
| - | '''Supplements to the Third Book''' | ||
| - | XXIX. On Knowledge of the Ideas | ||
| - | XXX. On the Pure Subject of Knowing | ||
| - | XXXI. On Genius | ||
| - | XXXII. On Madness | ||
| - | XXXIII. Isolated Remarks on Natural Beauty | ||
| - | XXXIV. On the Inner Nature of Art | ||
| - | XXXV. On the Aesthetics of Architecture | ||
| - | XXXVI. Isolated Remarks on the Aesthetics of the Plastic and Pictorial Arts | ||
| - | XXXVII. On the Aesthetics of Poetry | ||
| - | XXXVIII. On History | ||
| - | XXXIX. On the Metaphysics of Music | ||
| - | |||
| - | '''Supplements to the Fourth Book''' | ||
| - | XL. Preface | ||
| - | XLI. On Death and Its Relation to the Indestructibility of Our Inner nature | ||
| - | XLII. Life of the Species | ||
| - | XLIII. The Hereditary Nature of Qualities | ||
| - | XLIV. [[The Metaphysics of Sexual Love]] | ||
| - | Appendix to the Preceding Chapter | ||
| - | XLV. On the Affirmation of the Will-to-Live | ||
| - | XLVI. On the Vanity and Suffering of Life | ||
| - | XLVII. On Ethics | ||
| - | XLVIII. On the Doctrine of the Denial of the Will-to-Live | ||
| - | XLIX. The Road to Salvation | ||
| - | L. Epiphilosophy | ||
| - | |||
| - | ==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. While his name is less well known outside [[Germany]], 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 [[Insanity|madness]] was consistent with this. Also, his theory on [[Sadomasochism|masochism]] is still now widely proposed by doctors. [[Nietzsche]], [[Karl Popper|Popper]], [[Wittgenstein]], [[Tolstoy]], [[Carl Jung|Jung]], [[Borges]], [[D.H. Lawrence]], [[Albert Camus|Camus]], [[Samuel Beckett|Beckett]], [[Gustav Mahler|Mahler]] and [[Richard Wagner|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 discussion of language was a major influence on [[Ludwig Wittgenstein]]. | ||
| - | |||
| - | Many interpreters see Schopenhauer's account of the Will as closely resembling classic examples of [[Monism]], especially as propounded by [[Upanishads]] and [[Vedanta]] philosophy. Schopenhauer also developed some ideas that can be found in the theory of [[evolution]], before [[Charles Darwin|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. In contrast to what Darwin discovered, however, he saw species as fixed. His interest in [[Eastern philosophy]] brought new ideas to the West. 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. | ||
| - | |||
| - | ==See also== | ||
| - | * [[The Metaphysics of Sexual Love]] | ||
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Revision as of 17:39, 5 December 2010
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Untimely Meditations (Unzeitgemässe Betrachtungen, also translated as Unfashionable Observations) consists of four works by the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, started in 1873 and completed in 1876.
The work comprises a collection of four (out of a projected 13) essays concerning the contemporary condition of European, especially German, culture. A fifth essay, published posthumously, had the title "We Philologists", and gave as a "Task for philology: disappearance". Nietzsche here began to discuss the limitations of empirical knowledge, and presented what would appear compressed in later aphorisms. It combines the naivete of The Birth of Tragedy with the beginnings of his more mature polemical style. It was Nietzsche's most humorous work, especially for "David Strauss: the confessor and the writer," though this levity was not continued by Nietzsche much in later works.
Contents |
Publication
Unzeitgemässe Betrachtungen has been one of the more difficult of Nietzsche's titles to be translated into English, with each subsequent translation offering a new variation. Thus: Untimely Meditations (Kaufmann), Thoughts Out of Season (Ludovici), Untimely Reflections (Hayman), Unmodern Observations (Arrowsmith) and Inopportune Speculations Unfashionable Observations or Essays in Sham Smashing (Menken).
Many different plans for the series are found in Nietzsche's notebooks, most of them showing a total of thirteen essays. The titles and subjects vary with each entry, the project conceived to last six years (one essay every six months.) A typical outline dated "Autumn 1873" reads as follows: Template:Columns
Nietzsche abandoned the project after completing only four essays, seeming to lose interest after the publication of the third.
David Strauss: the Confessor and the Writer
David Strauss: the Confessor and the Writer, 1873 (David Strauss: der Bekenner und der Schriftsteller) attacks David Strauss's The Old and the New Faith: A Confession (1871), which Nietzsche holds up as an example of the German thought of the time. He paints Strauss's "New Faith" - scientifically-determined universal mechanism based on the progression of history - as a vulgar reading of history in the service of a degenerate culture, polemically attacking not only the book but also Strauss as a Philistine of pseudo-culture.
On the Use and Abuse of History for Life
On the Use and Abuse of History for Life, 1874 (Vom Nutzen und Nachteil der Historie für das Leben) offers — instead of the prevailing view of "knowledge as an end in itself" — an alternative way of reading history, one where living life becomes the primary concern; along with a description of how this might improve the health of a society. It also introduced an attack against the basic precepts of classic humanism.
In this essay, Nietzsche attacks both the historicism of man (the idea that man is created through history) and the idea that one can possibly have an objective concept of man, since a major aspect of man resides in his subjectivity. Nietzsche expands the idea that the essence of man dwells not inside of him, but rather above him, in the following essay, "Schopenhauer als Erzieher" ("Schopenhauer as Educator"). Glenn Most argues for the possible translation of the essay as "The Use and Abuse of History Departments for Life", as Nietzsche used the term Historie and not Geschichte. Furthermore, he alleges that this title may have its origins via Jacob Burckhardt, who would have referred to Leon Battista Alberti's treatise, De commodis litterarum atque incommodis (1428 — "On the Advantages and Disadvantages of Literary Studies"). Glenn Most argues that the untimeliness of Nietzsche here resides in calling to a return, beyond historicism, to Humboldt's humanism, and, maybe even beyond, to the first humanism of the Renaissance.
The problem of the "history-versus-life" contrariety which Nietzsche's essay raises has recently been revived in another essay reflecting on the nature of religiosity in Thucydides' History. Thucydides is shown to do exactly what Nietzsche asks of a historian: to offer a narrative about the emergence and decay of the healthy society, in this case, Greek society. The crux of what constitutes "health" is argued to hinge upon answering the question, what is religious?
Schopenhauer as Educator
Schopenhauer as Educator, 1874 (Schopenhauer als Erzieher) describes how the philosophic genius of Schopenhauer might bring on a resurgence of German culture. Nietzsche gives special attention to Schopenhauer's individualism, honesty and steadfastness as well as his cheerfulness, despite Schopenhauer's noted pessimism.
Richard Wagner in Bayreuth
Richard Wagner in Bayreuth (1876 - that is, after a gap of two years from the previous essay) investigates the music, drama and personality of Richard Wagner — less flatteringly than Nietzsche's friendship with his subject might suggest. The original draft was in fact more critical than the final version. Nietzsche considered not publishing it because of his changing attitudes to Wagner and his art. He was persuaded to redraft the article by his friend, the enthusiastic Wagnerian Peter Gast who helped him prepare a less contentious version. Shortly after its publication, Nietzsche visited Bayreuth for the opening of the Bayreuth Festival. The essay was well-received by Wagner and his circle. However in the event the Festival confirmed Nietzsche's growing misgivings. The essay thus foreshadows the philosopher's imminent split with Wagner and his ideas.
