Parerga and Paralipomena vol. 1: https://amzn.to/3pK6xCj
Parerga and Paralipomena vol. 2: https://amzn.to/3jJa2p0
The World as Will and Representation vol. 1: https://amzn.to/3FPGkIj
The World as Will and Representation vol. 2: https://amzn.to/3FT0nFC

Schopenhauer has a reputation as a pessimist. But beyond the writings of his main work, which teaches denial of life and the material world, we find essays filled with advice from a practical point of view, aimed at the average reader and not the scholar or philosopher.

In these essays, Schopenhauer gives advice on how to lead the good life, often borrowing heavily from the ancient Greeks and Romans, especially the Stoics.

And sometimes, his advice sounds very modern indeed. One section of the Parerga & Paralipomena deals with how foolish it is to ponder too much about either the future and the past. It’s about how we must live in the present, the only time we truly have.

But the tone is not entirely positive. Schopenhauer teaches us that attaining peace of mind, which is a necessary condition for truly living in the present, is a difficult task.

There are two obstacles to be overwon.

First, fear.

Some people are so preoccupied with worry about the future or what could go wrong, that they can never truly enjoy the present moment. Schopenhauer recommends an exercise that is also found among the Stoics:

We must analyze our fears and realize that either we do not know when some kind of evil will befall us, or we must realize it’s not likely to happen at all.


When we have conquered our fears, next up is the problem of desire. Desire is fundamental to our being, especially in Schopenhauer’s teachings. It’s the Will to Life at work directly through us. As such, it’s hard to keep desire at bay. But if you’re constantly preoccupied with what you want, you’re unlikely to enjoy the present moment.

This short section of Schopenhauer’s occupies a strange place in his philosophy. For the record, these essays are written for the general reader. And they discuss life with one major assumption being made, namely that life is worth living in the first place. As we saw repeatedly in other videos, Schopenhauer actually advocates for asceticism, the life of a monk. Fasting, prayer or meditation, abstinence, and so on. In his main work.

Yet he recognizes not every one is capable of making this sacrifice. Schopenhauer himself certainly wasn’t able of doing so.

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