I can summarise in one sentence the #philosophy of life put forward by Arthur #schopenhauer (1788–1860); my summary is the following: “Unless you make steady efforts to improve and protect yourself, chances are that bad luck will wipe you out.” Mainstream philosophers call Schopenhauer a #pessimist and consider his work uninteresting. They argue that Schopenhauer had little concern for social issues and that, for that reason, his ideas are unsuited for today’s world. I would argue that the opposite is true. If you devote time to studying Schopenhauer, you will learn to appreciate the finesse and soundness of his analysis. His works provide insights that are not available elsewhere, and are #intellectually stimulating. Besides, Schopenhauer was an excellent, polished writer. In his books, you’ll find a seamless compilation of wisdom drawn from Christianity, #buddhism and Hinduism. Very few philosophers in #history are as practically oriented as Schopenhauer. He really disliked wasting his own time and the time of his readers. In his books, he aims at providing valid and timely advice to solve the reader’s problems. Schopenhauer based his philosophy of life on a simple idea, namely, the existence of a life force (“the will”) that drives all living entities towards survival, reproduction and the pursuit of short-term pleasure. The theory of the will is presented in Schopenhauer’s books “About the fourfold root of the principle of sufficient reason” (1814) and “The world as will and representation” (1818). His description of the will is very graphic. He calls it “blind and insatiable” to indicate the impossibility to satisfy people in search of short-term pleasures. They are like a dog chasing its own tail. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/schopenhauers-philosophy-of-life/