Zu The World as Will and Presentation, Volume 1 (Peason Longman 2008), dem ersten Band der Welt als Wille und Vorstellung in der englischen Uebersetzung von Richard E. Aquila und David Carus

This is a review of a major translation of the works of Schopenhauer

Schopenhauer and the Unconscious

This chapter explores the gradual emergence of the notion of the unconscious as it pertains to the tradition that runs from Arthur Schopenhauer via Eduard von Hartmann and Philipp Mainländer to Sabina Spielrein, C. G. Jung, and Sigmund Freud. A particular focus is put on the popularization of the term “unconscious” by von Hartmann and on the history of the death drive, which has Schopenhauer’s essay “Transcendent Speculation on the Apparent Deliberateness in the Fate of the Individual” as one of its precursors. In this essay, Schopenhauer develops speculatively the notion of a universal, intelligent, supraindividual unconscious—an unconscious with a purpose related to death. But the death drive also owes its origins to Schopenhauer’s “relative nothingness,” which Mainländer adopts into his philosophy as “absolute nothingness” resulting from the “will to death.” His philosophy emphasizes death as the goal of the world and its inhabitants. This central idea had a distinctive influence on the formation of the idea of the death drive, which features in Freud’s Beyond the Pleasure Principle

Im Schatten Schopenhauers: Nietzsche, Deussen und Freud

This study examines how Friedrich Nietzsche, Paul Deussen, and Sigmund Freud adopted and adapted essential elements of the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer. First, Nietzsche's critique of Schopenhauer's ethics of compassion is examined, along with its premises. Then, the distortions to which Deussen subjected Schopenhauer's philosophy are described; through these distortions Deussen, the friend of Nietzsche and founder of the Schopenhauer Society, sought, in the guise of the orthodox disciple, to justify philosophically a protestant Christ-image. Finally, Freud's borrowing of content and structure from Schopenhauer's writings are highlighted, and, among other things, his use of these to name and interpret depth-psychological phenomena. In doing so, his role in the history of ideas as the actual heir of Schopenhauer is emphasised. Nietzsche, Deussen, and Freud developed their respective approaches with reference to Schopenhauer's philosophy, without which they could not have come to their reflections. In this sense they stand in the shadow of Schopenhauer

Philipp Mainlander zwischen Schopenhauers Nirvana und Freuds Todestrieb

This chapter sketches a particular history of the Buddhist nirvana in Western philosophy and psychoanalysis. The Buddhist nirvana had a significant influence on Arthur Schopenhauer and his disciple Philipp Mainlaender, who radicalised it into "absolute nothingness". With Mainlaender, the search for an ever deeper tranquility is perceived as an echo of death in life. In turn, this became a foundational idea for the death drive in psychoanalysis. The present chapter analyses key passages of the original German texts in order to establish this particular trajectory in the history of ideas