The worldly wisdom of A. Schopenhauer

  • Anatoly V. Rubanau Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaliezhnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, Belarus

Abstract

The views of A. Schopenhauer on the concept «worldly wisdom» are presented. It is revealed that the philosopher contrary to his metaphysical-ethical point of view considers this term as an art of spending life as pleasantly and happily as possible. It is shown that a person’s happy life is connected with who he is as a person, as well as with his attitude to property and the opinion of other people. Two main factors that hinder the achievement of happiness (pain and boredom) are named. The first factor correlates with the state of health, the second factor correlates with inner emptiness. It is pointed out that overcoming the inner emptiness consists in the formation of spiritual needs thanks to which a person’s life is filled with meaning. Practical advice of A. Schopenhauer on achieving happiness is given.

Author Biography

Anatoly V. Rubanau, Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaliezhnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, Belarus

doctor of science (sociology), full professor; professor at the department of sociology, faculty of philosophy and social sciences

References

  1. Шопенгауэр А. Афоризмы житейской мудрости. Айхенвальд ЮИ, переводчик. Москва: Рипол классик; 2016. 368 c. (PRO власть).
  2. Шопенгауэр А. Собрание сочинений. Том 1, Мир как воля и представление. Чанышева АА, составитель; Айхенвальд ЮИ, переводчик. Москва: Московский клуб; 1992. 395 с.
Published
2025-01-21
Keywords: worldly wisdom, happiness, personality, needs, paranesis, maxims
How to Cite
Rubanau, A. V. (2025). The worldly wisdom of A. Schopenhauer. Journal of the Belarusian State University. Philosophy and Psychology, 1, 4-15. Retrieved from https://journals.bsu.by/index.php/philosophy/article/view/6846
Issue
No 1 (2025): Journal of the Belarusian State University. Philosophy and Psychology
Section
History of Philosophy

Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of the Belarusian State University. Philosophy and Psychology

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

The authors who are published in this journal agree to the following:

  1. The authors retain copyright on the work and provide the journal with the right of first publication of the work on condition of license Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial. 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
  2. The authors retain the right to enter into certain contractual agreements relating to the non-exclusive distribution of the published version of the work (e.g. post it on the institutional repository, publication in the book), with the reference to its original publication in this journal.
  3. The authors have the right to post their work on the Internet (e.g. on the institutional store or personal website) prior to and during the review process, conducted by the journal, as this may lead to a productive discussion and a large number of references to this work. (See The Effect of Open Access.)