The Wisdom of Life & On the Suffering of the World - Arthur Schopenhauer

Reasoning

I wanted to read some of Schopenhauer's work to try and pick out some similarities between him and Nietzsche. I think it's important to see what Nietzsche's thoughts were developed from Schopenhauer's given his emphasis on creation of individual values.

I chose to read these two books in particular because they touched on the subjects of suffering, happiness, creativity and religion, topics which are appropriate given my subject and my previous readings of Nietzsche, without being too long that they could lead me of topic.

What I Gained

It's clear that Schopenhauer's thoughts formed a basis for Nietzsche to build his thoughts on, specifically that: 

1. All people will react differently to the same scenario, even if they're in the same surroundings. This is because you can only ever react to your own feelings. This idea of following your own instincts and thoughts could have lead to the idea of the overman.
2. Having natural talents and not pursuing them because you've been overcome by external forces to do something else will lead you to be unhappy. This idea of being overpowered by an external will could have lead to the idea of the will to power.
3. Doing evil things is an affirmation of the will to live by the person who does them. This could also have lead to the will to power.
4. The idea that something could be transformed by art from something that existed temporarily into something to exist "time and time again". This could have lead to the idea of the eternal recurrence.
5. On top of all these things, Schopenhauer wrote about how people are looked down on for wanting money above everything else, saying that money is the only true good thing in the world because it can be used to satisfy and need. Whilst the common phrase 'money can't buy you happiness' questions this, it is a strong point to back the consumeristic market the First Things Manifesto tries to subdue.

Potentially useful quotes:

Next Steps

I'm satisfied with the amount of reading I've done on Schopenhauer, and now want to look at other philosophers who could have had useful standpoints on either religion or consumerism. It would be particularly useful if they were Christians, as this adds relevance to their thoughts in relation to my project.