The scope and the significance of suffering in Schopenhauer
Presenter: Stephan Atzert
Synopsis: Suffering means “being subjected to”, “to endure”. In relation to Schopenhauer, it means being subjected to the will. The will is noticable as that which is felt, or when we have to endure feelings. This becomes particularly apparent when a feeling is unwanted. No matter what the state of mind may be, a feeling is intertwined with it. We know from Schopenhauer’s philosophy that this is one of the many ways in which the will appears, but interestingly, the will exerts is opressive force through what is felt, not through that which is thought. And, of course, the will does not just manifest in that which is felt, the will manifests as the entire experience, including as the so-called representation, a by-product of the body, which in turn consists of matter. My paper will explore the centrality of the understanding of suffering and argue that this understanding forms the pivot of Schopenhauer's philosophy.
About Studies in Culture Events
Through the scholarly analysis of many different kinds of cultural products, texts and phenomena, Studies in Culture brings together researchers who seek to understand how the world is understood differently by people coming from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Researchers in this cluster work on literature, film, music, theatre, the visual arts, intangible heritage, testimonies and historical narratives.
Research in Studies in Culture within the School centres around four broad sub-themes of Heritage, memory and trauma studies; Intellectual and cultural history; Literature; and Film and visual cultures.
To view more on the research and interests of the Studies in Culture cluster, please click here.
