Schopenhauer's 'The World as Will and Representation': A Critical Guide

Description

Schopenhauer's The World as Will and Representation is one of the central texts in the history of Western philosophy. It is one of the last monuments to the project of grand synthetic philosophical system-building, where a single, unified work could aim to clarify, resolve, and ground all the central questions of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, religion, aesthetics and science. Poorly received at its initial publication, it soon became a powerful cultural force, inspiring not only philosophers but also artists, writers and musicians, and attracting a large popular audience of non-scholars. Perhaps equally importantly, Schopenhauer was one of the first European philosophers to take non-Western thought seriously and to treat it as a living tradition rather than as a mere object of study. This volume of new essays showcases the enormous variety of contemporary scholarship on this monumental text, as well as its enduring relevance.

Judith Norman is Professor of Philosophy at Trinity University, Texas. She has published articles on nineteenth- and twentieth-century philosophy, and has translated works by Schelling, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. Alistair Welchman is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He has published articles on Schopenhauer, Schelling and contemporary French philosophy, and has translated works by Schopenhauer and Maimon.

..".This book will be of interest to general readers, undergraduates, graduates, and scholars in the field." --George Lazaroiu, PhD, Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, New York, Analysis and Metaphysics