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Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) lived through an era of great political turmoil, but previous assessments of his political thought have portrayed him as a pessimistic observer with no constructive solutions to offer. By assembling and contextualizing Schopenhauer's dispersed comments on political matters, this book reveals that he developed a distinct conception of politics. In opposition to rising ideological movements such as nationalism or socialism, Schopenhauer denied that politics can ever bring about universal emancipation or fraternal unity. Instead, he viewed politics as a tool for mitigating rather than resolving the conflicts of a fundamentally imperfect world. Jakob Norberg's fascinating book reconstructs Schopenhauer's political ideas and shows how they relate to the dominant debates and trends during the period in which he lived. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
List of contents
Introduction; 1. The independently wealthy Gentleman: Schopenhauer's political biography; 2. The World as war: Schopenhauer's political philosophy; 3. The politics of prudence: Schopenhauer on self-governance and statesmanship; 4. Beyond morality and politics: Schopenhauer's philosophy of sociability; 5. Schopenhauer's polemics: Kant, Hegel, and the young Hegelians; 6. The community of shame: Schopenhauer's critique of nationalism; 7. Schopenhauer's political world: European Monarchies, the American Republic, and imperial China; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.
About the author
Jakob Norberg is Professor of German Studies at Duke University. He is the author of The Brothers Grimm and the Making of German Nationalism (2022) and articles in the Schopenhauer Yearbook and The Schopenhauerian Mind.
Summary
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) lived through an era of great political turmoil, but previous assessments of his political thought have portrayed him as a pessimistic observer with no constructive solutions to offer. By assembling and contextualizing Schopenhauer's dispersed comments on political matters, this book reveals that he developed a distinct conception of politics. In opposition to rising ideological movements such as nationalism or socialism, Schopenhauer denied that politics can ever bring about universal emancipation or fraternal unity. Instead, he viewed politics as a tool for mitigating rather than resolving the conflicts of a fundamentally imperfect world. Jakob Norberg's fascinating book reconstructs Schopenhauer's political ideas and shows how they relate to the dominant debates and trends during the period in which he lived. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Foreword
By reconstructing and contextualizing Schopenhauer's key political ideas, this book challenges the common view that he is an apolitical philosopher.
