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On a Positive Sense of Arthur Schopenhauer's Pessimism Applied to Strategic Management Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences 6 (2015 8) 1290-1299 ~ ~ ~ УДК 141.201 On a Positive Sense of Arthur Schopenhauer’s Pessimism Applied to Strategic Management Alexey I. Trotsak* The Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University 14 Nevskogo, Kaliningrad, 236041, Russia Received 24.01.2015, received in revised form 14.02.2015, accepted 20.05.2015 Some philosophers understand the pessimistic model of Schopenhauer like finished product. Pessimistic ideas, issued from the Plato and Buddhism, have been transformed by Schopenhauer in the full-fledged vision of World and human moral. However, this phenomenon or paradigm ought to be not only negative sense, but new positive concerning of pessimism in the strategic management in nowadays economy. That is why this article deals with the attempt of practical adaptation of the system pessimism by A. Schopenhauer as positive model: cautious strategy of behavior. It is used an analogy and the principle of ”Maximin”, which is spread on strategic management. The result of such interpretation can also be applied to social sciences and interdisciplinary researches. Keywords: pessimism, strategic management, ethics, casuistic situation, Schopenhauer. Research area: philosophy. 1. Interpretation opus The World as Will and Idea. It leaves one of Schopenhauer’s pessimism with the impression as if life was something In this article it applies the logical method meaningless; as if it was something that was of “reductio ad absurdum” to my remarks. This not worth caring for. We conclude this, since method is quite simple and can be a clear form he is saying the following: of demonstration that allows us to completely …life of our body is only a constantly grab our path of thought. The assumption is: prevented dying, an ever-postponed death: the Pessimism of Schopenhauer denies the will finally, in the same way, the activity of to life and therefore life is unimportant and our mind is a constantly deferred. Every coincidental. breath we draw wards off the death that is As a matter of fact, Schopenhauer constantly intruding upon us. In this way himself leads his readers to the conception we fight with it every moment, and again, at that he denies the will to life. This is the longer intervals, through every meal we eat, claim, which he even uses as a title in one every sleep we take, every time we warm of the last chapters of the first volume in his ourselves (Schopenhauer, 1909, p. 400). © Siberian Federal University. All rights reserved * Corresponding author E-mail address: [email protected] – 1290 – Alexey I. Trotsak. On a Positive Sense of Arthur Schopenhauer’s Pessimism Applied to Strategic Management From a linguistic point of view the words light. One encounters a multitude of negative “pessimism” and “optimism” are the superlatives evaluations. Especially in Russian philosophy of their corresponding adjectives. “Bonus” a negative attitude in the treatment of his work (good, positive, well-tempered) is becoming becomes apparent. Petr Kalatschinski, for “optimus” in the superlative, “malus” becoming example, writes in his book the following: “pessimus”. I want to address two inter pretations “From man being a goal driven creature, of optimism and pessimism in Schopenhauer, capable of having desires, does not follow which shall serve us as a testimony to the general that he is doomed to suffering; nature character of Schopenhauer’s Philosophy. neither denies him the forces nor the 1) The reading of optimism and pessimism, means to satisfy his desires, she gives him based on the system of possible worlds, the opportunity to extract joy from this. in which our world is perceived either Without need and poverty there wouldn’t as the best or the worst of all possible be any well-being, because well-being worlds (or something in between these is just that which compensates for the two). deficiencies. <…> When we succeed to 2) The Interpretation of optimism and complete our challenges and achieve our pessimism through the framework of the desired goals, we are filled with elevated historical process. feelings of satisfaction not only because In the first case our world is, because of we achieved the wanted result, but also its imperfection, the worst. In the second case, because we did it with our own strength” the scientific value of history is denied. For (Kalatschinski, 1887, p. 126). Schopenhauer its designated role is nothing In the German philosophical tradition more than to be the memory of the human race, Schopenhauer’s pessimism is explained through in which self-consciousness is presented to the prism of Buddhism, e.g. J. Rehmke (Rehmke, humankind. From this standpoint history mirrors 1882, S. 19 – 33). the suppressed existence of man, and likewise This historical view leads to an understanding his committed errors. His being is transformed of the roots of Schopenhauer’s teachings, but into a succession of random events. As he says: it doesn’t contribute to a reconstruction of his “Therefore, there is no system of history, paradigm. as there is of every other science. It is An attempt to understand the pessimism of therefore certainly rational knowledge, Schopenhauer from the angle of his intelligible but it is not a science. For it never knows character is undertaken in the dissertation of the particular by means of the general, but David Neumark (Neumark, 1896, S. 82−85). must comprehend the particular directly, Usually the analysis of pessimism is done by and so, as it were, creeps along the ground starting with the term of Will, as seen in J. of experience” (Schopenhauer, 1996, p. Garewicz (Garewicz, 2002, S. 15 −17). 217). But none of his successors tried to break out Just in this conception of history, the careful and bust the framework of contextual analysis approach Schopenhauer’s to human action and in the study of Schopenhauer. Most interpreters his hope for a transformation of the world is are still roaming in the hermeneutical circle, displayed. But none of his interpreters is willing which sets certain limits to the interpretative to see Schopenhauer’s pessimism in a positive potential. – 1291 – Alexey I. Trotsak. On a Positive Sense of Arthur Schopenhauer’s Pessimism Applied to Strategic Management 2. The positive role of Pessimism of a life-affirming behavior and consequently it It needs to be underlined, that in his major doesn’t rule out the transformation of the world works Schopenhauer perceives the role of human for the better. beings in this world as a quite tragic one. But in It is necessary to carry out a synthesis of his writings for “the common man” (his popular economical conceptions and the philosophy of writings) his thought and style take on a very Schopenhauer to be able to treat the positive different coloring. For instance, in his book role of pessimism in a constructive way. For “Aphorismen zur Lebensweisheit” [“Aphorisms this purpose we want to make use of the term, on the Wisdom of Life”] he gives advice on how strategic management to open up the possibility to understand and develop oneself and on what to generate a “pessimistic scenario”. to avoid. In his text the tendency to propagate a cautious way of living is clearly visible. He is 3. Strategic management talking about a reasonable way of living, which is and a Maximin principle meant to help the individual to evaluate his gifts First, we want to take on some of the basic and talents objectively. characteristics of strategic management. It has „To live with complete prudence to be highlighted that there is an abundance of and to gather out of one’s experience all definitions for strategic management. Only a few the wisdom it contains, it is necessary to of them shall be mentioned here. B.C. Bowman often think back and to recap what one has for example is telling us the following: experienced, done and felt by it, and also “Strategic management is the type of to compare one’s former judgment with the administrative occupation that concerns present one and the intentions and ambitions itself with defining tasks and goals of with the success and satisfaction achieved. an institution, and to maintain positive This is the repetition of the privatissimus, relations between the institution and which experience reads to everyone” the environment, thereby allowing the (Schopenhauer, 1877, S. 444 – 445)1. institution to realize its potential, achieve He does not deny the fact that health is of its goals and to adapt itself to the outer critical importance for each human being and that circumstances” (Bowman, 1997, p. 171). it is even a prerequisite for personal happiness, As the objects of strategic management we therefore we should view health as a pursuit in consider different sorts of institutions, strategic its own right. economic branches, as well as distinct functional “After all 9/10 of our happiness is based areas within institutions. solely on health. With it everything The topics of strategic management are: becomes a source of pleasure: Without 1. Problems connected to the general goals it however no good, of whatever type, is set by an institution. pleasurable and even subjective faculties, 2. Problems and decisions, which are caused the properties of the mind, the wits and the by an element of the organization, if temper are lowered and crippled by illness” this element is critical for achieving the (Schopenhauer, 1877, S. 344). goal, but is temporary not or only partly In other words, we can interpret his pessimism available. as a cautious strategic approach to life. This 3. Problems created by – non controllable - means, pessimism doesn’t deny the possibility outer circumstances. – 1292 – Alexey I. Trotsak. On a Positive Sense of Arthur Schopenhauer’s Pessimism Applied to Strategic Management The strategic analysis concerns problems mathematician Abraham Wald.
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