DOCSLIB.ORG

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) - Utilitarianism

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) - Utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) - Utilitarianism British economist Jeremy Bentham is most often associated with his theory of utilitarianism. Bentham's views ran counter to Adam Smith's vision of "natural rights." He believed in utilitarianism, or the idea that all social actions should be evaluated by the axiom "It is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong." Unlike Smith, Bentham believed that there were no natural rights to be interfered with. Trained in law, Bentham never practiced, choosing instead to focus on judicial and legal reform. His reform plans went beyond rewriting legislative acts to include detailed administrative plans to implement his proposals. In his plan for prisons, workhouses, and other institutions, Bentham devised compensation schemes, building designs, worker timetables, and even new accounting systems. A guiding principle of Bentham's schemes was that incentives should be designed "to make it each man's interest to observe on every occasion that conduct which it is his duty to observe." Interestingly, Bentham's thinking led him to the conclusion, one he shared with Smith, that professors should not be salaried. In his early years Bentham professed a free-market approach. He argued, for example, that interest rates should be free from government control. (See Defence of Usury.) But by the end of his life, he had shifted to a more interventionist stance. He predated Keynes in his advocacy of expansionist monetary policies to achieve full employment and advocated a range of interventions, including the minimum wage and guaranteed employment. His publications were few, but Bentham influenced many during his lifetime and lived to see some of his political reforms enacted shortly before his death in London at the age of eighty-four. Selected Works Defence of Usury. 1787. • Defence of Usury. Payne and Foss. 1818. (4th edition, last in Bentham's lifetime.) An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. 1789. • An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. Clarendon Press. 1907. (Reprint of the 1823 edition, last in Bentham's lifetime, which was corrected and modified by Bentham) • Reprint, edited by J. H. Burns and H. L. A. Hart. 1970. The Theory of Legislation. 1802. • Reprint, edited by C. K. Ogden. 1931. For more works by Jeremy Bentham, see the OLL. Friedrich Nietzsche - Elitism Friedrich Nietzsche was born on October 15, 1844, in Rocken, Prussia. His father, a Lutheran minister, died when Nietzsche was five, and Nietzsche was raised by his mother in a home that included his grandmother, two aunts, and a sister. He studied classical philology at the universities of Bonn and Leipzig and was appointed professor of classical philology at the University of Basel at the age of 24.Ill health (he was plagued throughout his life by poor eyesight and migraine headaches) forced his retirement in 1879. Ten years later he suffered a mental breakdown from which he never recovered. He died in Weimar on August 25, 1900. In addition to the influence of Greek culture, particularly the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle, Nietzsche was influenced by the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, by the theory of evolution, and by his friendship with the German composer Richard Wagner. A prolific writer, he wrote several major works, among them The Birth of Tragedy (1872; trans. 1966), Thus Spoke Zarathustra 1883-1885; trans. 1954), Beyond Good and Evil (1886; trans. 1966), On the Genealogy of Morals (1887; trans. 1966), The Antichrist (1888; trans. 1954), Ecce Homo (1889; trans. 1966), and The Will to Power (1901; trans. 1910). One of Nietszche's fundamental contentions was that traditional values (represented primarily by Christianity) had lost their power in the lives of individuals. He expressed this in his proclamation "God is dead." He was convinced that traditional values represented a "slave morality," a morality created by weak and resentful individuals who encouraged such behavior as gentleness and kindness because the behavior served their interests. Nietzsche claimed that new values could be created to replace the traditional ones, and his discussion of the possibility led to his concept of the overman or superman. According to Nietzsche, the masses, whom he termed the herd or mob, conform to tradition, whereas his ideal overman is secure, independent, and highly individualistic. The overman feels deeply, but his passions are rationally controlled. Concentrating on the real world, rather than on the rewards of the next world promised by religion, the overman affirms life, including the suffering and pain that accompany human existence. His overman is a creator of values, a creator of a "master morality," (not "master race!") that reflects the strength and independence of one who is liberated from all values, except those that he deems valid. Nietzsche maintained that all human behavior is motivated by the will to power. In its positive sense, the will to power is not simply power over others, but the power over oneself that is necessary for creativity. Such power is manifested in the overman's independence, creativity, and originality. Although Nietzsche explicitly denied that any overmen had yet arisen, he mentions several individuals who could serve as models. Among these models he lists Socrates, Jesus, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Goethe, Julius Caesar, and Napoleon. The concept of the overman has often been interpreted as one that postulates a master-slave society and has been identified with totalitarian philosophies. Many scholars deny the connection andattribute it to misinterpretation of Nietzsche's works. John Rawls – Egalitarianism "John Rawls, was the James Bryant Conant University Professor Emeritus at Harvard University, whose 1971 book, "A Theory of Justice" argued persuasively for a political philosophy based on equality and individual rights. Rawls is considered by many to be the most important political philosopher of the second half of the 20th century and a powerful advocate of the liberal perspective. In "A Theory of Justice", Rawls sets forth the proposition that "Each person possesses an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override. Therefore, in a just society the rights secured by justice are not subject to political bargaining or to the calculus of social interests." Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Rawls attended the Kent School in Kent, Conn., and earned a B.A. degree from Princeton in 1943. He served in the armed forces from 1943 to 1945, returning to Princeton the following year to take up graduate studies. He received his Ph.D. in 1950. Before joining the Harvard Philosophy Department in 1962, he was an instructor at Princeton (1950-52), assistant and associate professor of philosophy at Cornell (1953-59), and professor of philosophy at M.I.T. (1960-62). He was appointed the Conant University Professor at Harvard in 1979. University professors hold Harvard’s highest professorial posts. These special endowed positions were established in 1935 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College for "individuals of distinction ... working on the frontiers of knowledge, and in such a way as to cross the conventional boundaries of the specialties." In addition to "A Theory of Justice" (nominated for a National Book Award), his publications include "Political Liberalism" (1993), "Collected Papers" (1999), "Lectures on the History of Moral Philosophy" (2000), and "Justice as Fairness: A Restatement" (2001)." Robert Nozick - Libertarianism Nozick, known for his wide-ranging intellect and engaging style as both writer and teacher, had taught a course on the Russian Revolution during the fall semester and was planning to teach again in the spring. His last major book, "Invariances: The Structure of the Objective World," was published by Harvard University Press in October 2001... Nozick's controversial and challenging views gained him considerable attention and influence in the world beyond the academy. His first book, "Anarchy, State, and Utopia" (1974), transformed him from a young philosophy professor known only within his profession to the reluctant theoretician of a national political movement. He wrote the book as a critique of "Theory of Justice" (1971), by his Harvard colleague John Rawls, the James Bryant Conant University Professor Emeritus. Rawls' book provided a philosophical underpinning for the bureaucratic welfare state, a methodically reasoned argument for why it was right for the state to redistribute wealth in order to help the poor and disadvantaged. Nozick's book argued that the rights of the individual are primary and that nothing more than a minimal state - sufficient to protect against violence and theft, and to ensure the enforcement of contracts - is justified. "Anarchy, State, and Utopia" won the National Book Award and was named by The Times Literary Supplement as one of "The Hundred Most Influential Books Since the War." A former member of the radical left who was converted to a libertarian perspective as a graduate student, largely through his reading of conservative economists Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman, Nozick was never comfortable with his putative status as an ideologue of the right. In a 1978 article in The New York Times Magazine he said that "right-wing people like the pro-free-market argument, but don't like the arguments for individual liberty in cases like gay rights - although I view them as an interconnecting whole.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Arthur Schopenhauer
    03/05/2017 Arthur Schopenhauer (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Arthur Schopenhauer First published Mon May 12, 2003; substantive revision Sat Nov 19, 2011 Among 19th century philosophers, Arthur Schopenhauer was among the first to contend that at its core, the universe is not a rational place. Inspired by Plato and Kant, both of whom regarded the world as being more amenable to reason, Schopenhauer developed their philosophies into an instinct­recognizing and ultimately ascetic outlook, emphasizing that in the face of a world filled with endless strife, we ought to minimize our natural desires for the sake of achieving a more tranquil frame of mind and a disposition towards universal beneficence. Often considered to be a thoroughgoing pessimist, Schopenhauer in fact advocated ways — via artistic, moral and ascetic forms of awareness — to overcome a frustration­filled and fundamentally painful human condition. Since his death in 1860, his philosophy has had a special attraction for those who wonder about life's meaning, along with those engaged in music, literature, and the visual arts. 1. Life: 1788–1860 2. The Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason 3. Schopenhauer's Critique of Kant 4. The World as Will 5. Transcending the Human Conditions of Conflict 5.1 Aesthetic Perception as a Mode of Transcendence 5.2 Moral Awareness as a Mode of Transcendence 5.3 Asceticism and the Denial of the Will­to­Live 6. Schopenhauer's Later Works 7. Critical Reflections 8. Schopenhauer's Influence Bibliography Academic Tools Other Internet Resources Related Entries 1. Life: 1788–1860 Exactly a month younger than the English Romantic poet, Lord Byron (1788–1824), who was born on January 22, 1788, Arthur Schopenhauer came into the world on February 22, 1788 in Danzig [Gdansk, Poland] — a city that had a long history in international trade as a member of the Hanseatic League.
    [Show full text]
  • JAHR 4-2011.Indd
    JAHR Vol. 2 No. 4 2011 UDK 575.4:17.03 Conference paper Eve-Marie Engels* Th e importance of Charles Darwin‘s theory for Fritz Jahr‘s conception of bioethics "Man in his arrogance thinks himself a great work. worthy the interposition of a deity, more humble & I believe true to consider him created from animals."** Charles Darwin, 1838 ABSTRACT Fritz Jahr is a pioneer of bioethics. In this article I will present and outline Jahr’s bioethical programme with a special emphasis on Charles Darwin’s role in Jahr’s ethics. According to Jahr, useful and effi cient animal protection can only be practised well if we have enough knowledge of nature. Jahr refers to Darwin who revolutionised our view of life and of the relationship between the human being and the rest of living nature. In the fi rst introductory section I will shortly present Jahr’s overall perspective and his bioethical imperative. I will also give a very short sketch of today’s bioethics. In the second and third section I will outline Dar- win’s revolutionary theory and its application to the human being. I will also present some of the reactions of his contemporaries which refl ect Darwin’s achievement for our understanding of living nature. In the fourth section I will go back to Fritz Jahr and will present and discuss diff erent aspects of his approach in more detail. A fi nal quotation from Hans Jonas about the dialectical character of Darwinism will trenchantly highlight Darwin’s importance for Fritz Jahr’s ethics.
    [Show full text]
  • A Feminist Caring Ethic for the Treatment of Animals
    81 ATTENTION TO SUFFERING: A FEMINIST CARING ETHIC FOR THE TREATMENT OF ANIMALS Josephine Donovan Many feminists, including myself, have criticized contemporary animal welfare theory for its reliance upon natural rights doctrine, on the one hand, and utilitarianism on the other. The main exponent of the former approach has been Tom Regan, and of the latter, Peter Singer. However incompatible the two theories may be, they nevertheless unite in their rationalist rejection of emotion or sympathy as a legitimate base for ethical theory about animal treatment. Many feminists have urged just the opposite, claiming that sympathy, compassion, and caring are the ground upon which theory about human treatment of animals should be constructed. Here I would like to further deepen this assertion. To do so I will argue that the terms of what constitutes the ethical must be shifted. Like many other feminists, I contend that the dominant strain in contemporary ethics reflects a male bias toward rationality, defined as the construction of abstract universals that elide not just the personal, the contextual, and the emotional, but also the political compo- nents of an ethical issue. Like other feminists, particularly those in the "caring" tradition, I believe that an alternative epistemology and ontol- ogy may be derived from women's historical social, economic, and political practice. I will develop this point further below. In addition to recent feminist theorizing, however, there is a long and important strain in Western (male)philosophy that does not express the rationalist bias of contemporary ethical theory, that in fact seeks to root ethics in emotion-in the feelings of sympathy and compassion.
    [Show full text]
  • An Ecocritical Examination of Whale Texts
    Econstruction: The Nature/Culture Opposition in Texts about Whales and Whaling. Gregory R. Pritchard B.A. (Deakin) B.A. Honours (Deakin) THESIS SUBMITTED IN TOTAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT OF THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY. FACULTY OF ARTS DEAKIN UNIVERSITY March 2004 1 Acknowledgements I would like to thank the following people for their assistance in the research and production of this thesis: Associate Professor Brian Edwards, Dr Wenche Ommundsen, Dr Elizabeth Parsons, Glenda Bancell, Richard Smith, Martin Bride, Jane Wilkinson, Professor Mark Colyvan, Dr Rob Leach, Ian Anger and the staff of the Deakin University Library. I would also like to acknowledge with gratitude the assistance of the Australian Postgraduate Award. 2 For Bessie Showell and Ron Pritchard, for a love of words and nature. 3 The world today is sick to its thin blood for lack of elemental things, for fire before the hands, for water welling from the earth, for air, for the dear earth itself underfoot. In my world of beach and dune these elemental presences lived and had their being, and under their arch there moved an incomparable pageant of nature and the year. The flux and reflux of ocean, the incomings of waves, the gatherings of birds, the pilgrimages of the peoples of the sea, winter and storm, the splendour of autumn and the holiness of spring – all these were part of the great beach. The longer I stayed, the more eager was I to know this coast and to share its mysteries and elemental life … Edward Beston, The Outermost House Premises of the machine age.
    [Show full text]
  • Animism, Empathy and Human Development
    Animism,1 Empathy and Human Development Michael W. Fox The Humane Society of the United States That people do feel pain when the earth is damaged is afflI1Iled by a Wintu Indian woman ofCalifornia who said, "We don't chop down trees. We only use dead wood. But the white people plow up the ground, pull down the trees, kill everything. The tree says, 'Don't. I am sore. Don't hurt me.' ... They blast rocks and scatter them on the ground. The rock says, 'Don't. You are hurting me."'} Such empathy lcads to a feeling of kinship with all life. Lakota ChiefLuther Standing Bear wrote: "Kinship with all creatures of the earth, sky and water, was a real Surely it is time for us all to make every effort to evolve and active principle. For the animal and bird world there as a species and become more fully human. To be fully existed a brotherly feeling that kept the Lakota safe human is to be humane. To be sub-human is to be among them and so elose did some of the Lakotas eome inhumane. In order to evolve in this way and become to their feathered and furred friends that in true more fully human we must defme and refine our ethical brotherhood they spoke a common tongue.,,3 Chief and spiritual responsibilities and sensibilities. And we Luther also asserted that lack of respect for growing, must redefine what it means to be human. 'Ine origin of living things soon led to lack ofrespect for humans also.
    [Show full text]
  • Two Fundamental Problems of Ethics
    Great Clarendon Street, Oxford Ox2 6DP Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With oces in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York Translation, Note on the Text and Translation, Select Bibliography, Chronology, Explanatory Notes © David E. Cartwright and Edward E. Erdmann 2010 Introduction © Christopher Janaway 2010 The moral rights of the authors have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published as an Oxford World’s Classics paperback 2010 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above
    [Show full text]
  • On Reading and Books
    Space for Notes Arthur Schopenhauer ↓ Parega and Paralipomena: Short Philosophical Essays* (1851) Chapter XXIV On Reading and Books § 290 Ignorance degrades a man only when it is found in company with wealth. A poor man is subdued by his poverty and distress; with him his work takes the place of knowledge and occupies his thoughts. On the other hand, the wealthy who are ignorant live merely for their pleasures and are like animals, as can be seen every day. Moreover, there is the reproach that wealth and leisure have not been used for that which bestows on them the greatest possible value. § 291 When we read, someone else thinks for us; we repeat merely his mental process. It is like the pupil who, when learning to write, goes over with his pen the strokes made in pencil by the teacher. Accordingly, when we read, the work of thinking is for the most part taken away from us. Hence the noticeable relief when from preoccupation with our thoughts we pass to reading. But while we are reading our mind is really only the playground of other people’s ideas; and when these finally depart, what remains? The result is that, whoever reads very much and almost the entire day but at intervals amuses himself with thoughtless pastime, gradually loses the ability to think for himself; just as a man who always rides ultimately forgets how to walk. But such is the case with very many scholars; they have read themselves stupid. For constant reading, which is at once resumed at every free moment, is even more paralysing to the mind than is manual work; for with the latter we can give free play to our own thoughts.
    [Show full text]
  • A Genre That Matters: Schopenhauer on the Ethical Significance of Tragedy
    1 A Genre that Matters: Schopenhauer on the Ethical Significance of Tragedy A work in progress Sandy Shapshay, Dept. of Philosophy, Indiana University When even the best of us hear Homer or some other tragedian imitating one of the heroes sorrowing and making a long lamenting speech or singing and beating his breast, you know that we enjoy it, give ourselves up to following it, sympathize with the hero, take his sufferings seriously, and praise as a good poet the one who affects us most in this way. Plato Republic 605cd. One of the most vital areas in contemporary aesthetics concerns the experience of so- called “negative” emotions in an engagement with fiction. One persistent puzzle since the time of Aristotle is the problem of tragedy: How is it that we take pleasure in the inherently unpleasant emotions of fear and pity experienced in a serious engagement with tragic drama? The problem in its Humean formulation is generated by three propositions that seem mutually inconsistent: 1. Many people do enjoy tragedies 2. Typically one experiences unpleasant emotions such as anxiety, sorrow, pity, and fear as part of one’s emotional response to tragedies. 3. Generally those same people who enjoy tragedies do not seek out or enjoy the experience painful emotions in real life (outside of the theater). The charge is that those who seek out and enjoy tragedies are acting irrationally. If people don’t welcome and enjoy scenes of terrible suffering in real life, then why would 2 they seek out those scenes and enjoy them in tragic drama? The paradoxical nature of tragic pleasure is heightened by the fact that the tremendous value attributed to tragedy as an art form seems to derive precisely from the suffering it evokes as well as from the serious and terrible events depicted.1 As is well known, Aristotle, Burke, Hume, Nietzsche (to name just a few of the historical heavy-hitters) and scores of contemporary aestheticians have recognized that the apparent pleasure people derive in the experience of tragedy calls for an explanation.
    [Show full text]
  • Death Drive in Psychoanalysis Versus Existential Psychotherapy
    Psychology and Behavioral Science International Journal ISSN 2474-7688 Mini Review Psychol Behav Sci Int J Volume 8 Issue 1 - December 2017 Copyright © All rights are reserved by Pari Tirsahar DOI: 10.19080/PBSIJ.2017.08.555726 Death Drive In Psychoanalysis versus Existential Psychotherapy Pari Tirsahar* University of Tutor, UK Submission: November 15, 2017; Published: December 05, 2017 *Corresponding author: Pari Tirsahar, University of Tutor, London, UK, Email: Introduction In by [6] says that the In Greek myth, the demon of death was the son of Nix (god Civilisation and Its Discontents S Freud pleasure principle determines the purpose of life thus being of the night) and Erebus (god of darkness) and a twin to Hypnos analogous to the reality principle. But then Freud realized that time 1920 in Beyond the Pleasure Principle, according to which (sleep). The term ‘death drive’ was coined by Freud for the first could not explain with the pleasure principle, and that led him to ‘Thanatos‘ is posited opposite of Eros, the creative and productive there were three conflicting facts in the human mind that he another principle which he found beyond the pleasure principle, drives, sexuality and survival. In classic psychoanalytic theory and this in turn led him to the concept that later became known the death drive (Thanatos) is seen as a drive towards self- as the death drive. destruction and death. The death drive forces mankind into risky and self-destructive behaviors that could lead to death S Freud [1]. The death drive can be related to the work of the German was the paradox of PTSD in working with traumatized soldiers The first conflicting problem Freud was confronted with philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer who in his book The World who had participated in World War I.
    [Show full text]
  • Plato's Conception of Time at the Foundation of Schopenhauer's
    chapter 9 Plato’s Conception of Time at the Foundation of Schopenhauer’s Philosophy Robert Wicks When commonly thinking about Arthur Schopenhauer’s philosophy, Plato’s influence does not immediately come to mind. Schopenhauer’s reputation as a “pessimist” is probably the first thought, and if one’s acquaintance is more than passing, his belief that a meaningless, blind “Will” is at the bottom of all things quickly follows. Perhaps next, in no particular order, are his vanguard incorpo- ration of Asian thought into Western philosophy, his bitter condemnations of G.W.F. Hegel and salaried university professors, the uncomfortable anecdote of his having angrily thrown a noisy cleaning woman down a staircase in a fit of frustration, and for those who are more well-versed, his deep and abiding influence on Richard Wagner and Friedrich Nietzsche. Concerning Plato, most scholarly discussions of Schopenhauer tend to con- centrate on the status and role of Platonic Ideas in his philosophy, usually in reference to how they inform Schopenhauer’s aesthetic theory.1 This is a fruit- ful approach, as circumscribed as it is, and we will consider Schopenhauer’s understanding of Platonic Ideas near the end of this essay. More important, however, is to situate such an inquiry within the context of the more funda- mental recognition that Schopenhauer’s initial reading of Plato, a philosopher he often called “the divine”, set the groundwork for Schopenhauer’s philosoph- ical ascension to a so-called better consciousness through art, morality and asceticism. In the absence of this wider context, it is easy to overlook how Plato’s ini- tial influence kindled the driving insight at the foundation of Schopenhauer’s philosophy—an insight more deep-seated than Schopenhauer’s famous metaphysical apprehension that the world is Will.
    [Show full text]
  • Character and Self-Knowledge in Conrad and Schopenhauer
    UNDERSTANDING OURSELVES: CHARACTER AND SELF- KNOWLEDGE IN CONRAD AND SCHOPENHAUER By NORMAN STINCHCOMBE A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Philosophy College of Arts and Law The University of Birmingham September 2010 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT That Conrad was familiar with Schopenhauer’s philosophy has been proposed by literary scholars and seconded, in passing, by philosophers. This has resulted in one-way studies of literary influence. This thesis is instead a two-way study in the philosophy of literature. It shows how Schopenhauer’s philosophy can illuminate Conrad’s fiction and how the fiction can become an analytical tool for exploring the philosophy. There are two strands in Schopenhauer’s philosophy. One is uncompromisingly concerned with salvation and will-denial. The second focuses on self- knowledge and character, which leads to self-fulfilment and accommodation with the world. It is the latter strand, with character at its core, where the interests of the philosopher and creative writer coincide. My methodology is different from previous studies in that I propose Conrad’s direct source for Schopenhauer was not The World as Will and Idea but his essays, which are directed more towards the worldly strand of his philosophy.
    [Show full text]
  • Redalyc.Psychotherapists: Should We Meet Arthur Schopenhauer?
    Investigación Clínica ISSN: 0535-5133 [email protected] Universidad del Zulia Venezuela Baptista, Trino Psychotherapists: Should we meet Arthur Schopenhauer?. Investigación Clínica, vol. 57, núm. 4, diciembre, 2016, pp. 409-426 Universidad del Zulia Maracaibo, Venezuela Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=372948485009 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative Invest Clin 57(4): 409 - 426, 2016 Psychotherapists: Should we meet Arthur Schopenhauer?. Trino Baptista Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela. Key words: Schopenhauer; asceticism; compassion; cognitive neurosciences; evolution theory; psychoanalysis. Abstract. Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) is known as the pessimist philosopher and the psychologist of the will. He anticipated some features of cognitive neuroscience, psy- choanalysis and evolutionary psychology, but he is relatively unfamiliar to most contemporary mental health professionals. Schopenhauer conceived the will as the universe’s essence; pur- poseful human actions are a small part of it. We do not directly perceive the will, but only its phenomena through the ‘Veil of Maya’, which, in contemporary terms, refers to the cognitive and perceptual limits imposed by our own biological species. This is why Schopenhauer posits that we have a representation (idea) of the world. We have a direct access to the will by per- ceiving our body’s desires. The will is insatiable and selfish. Because of these will’s features, there is no possibility of collective or global salvation.
    [Show full text]