The reasons why #philosophy books trace the inception of existentialism to Arthur #schopenhauer (1788–1860) are rather weak. Nonetheless, they have attained the status of mainstream opinion and deserve a robust refutation. I am going to address the arguments given in philosophy books and refute them one by one. My objective is to bring new light to a question that has been wrongly declared settled. Schopenhauer himself never declared himself to be an existentialist, not anything close to that term. You will not find such a concept in his works. Neither “On the fourfold root of the principle of sufficient reason”(1814), “The world as will and representation” (1818), or “Parerga and Paralipomena” (1851) contain any statements in favour of existentialist philosophy. Schopenhauer came up with a clear #philosophy to explain how the world works. His ground-braking theory of the will (“life force”) as a cosmological engine does explain events in the past and in the present. In contrast to existentialists, Schopenhauer rejected ideas of #randomness and lack of meaning. He acknowledged the major role played by the will in human decisions, but supplied advice to help his readers make the best of their lives. Even when confronted with setbacks, Schopenhauer never characterised human life as absurd. He never fell into the #nihilism of existentialists such as Albert #camus (1913-1960) or Jean-Paul #sartre (1905-1980). Although philosophy books label Schopenhauer a precursor of #existential anxiety, the truth is that you will not find traces of existential despair in Schopenhauer’s works. Indeed, he was realistic in stating that many goals cannot be achieved because life is too short or resources insufficient. Yet, his goal was not to preach nihilism, but to help his readers focus their energies in areas that can generate more happiness. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/schopenhauer-and-existentialism/