Arthur Schopenhauer, Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung [The World as Will and Idea]

Kelsey Wood (University of Arkansas at Little Rock)

Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Domains

Philosophy (any)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1819 - 1859

Places

Germany (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Treatise

Resources

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Arthur Schopenhauer's

magnum opus

Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung [The World as Will and Representation],

was published by the time he was thirty years old. Although it is now among the most acclaimed philosophical texts of the nineteenth century, at the time of its first publication it was virtually ignored. This was, in part, a result of the book's originality; for like the wilful character of its author, this unique work eludes categorization. Schopenhauer's maverick approach to philosophy and his disdain for what he considered the long-winded tendencies of his contemporaries, the German Idealists, lend his work a refreshing and authentic, rugged simplicity.

The World as Will and Representation

also anticipates, in significant ways, twentieth-century critiques of German Idealism.

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3484 words

Citation: Wood, Kelsey. "Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 February 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5602, accessed 23 November 2024.]