Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fundamentals
77
https://eipublication.com/index.php/jsshrf
TYPE
Original Research
PAGE NO.
77-80
DOI
OPEN ACCESS
SUBMITED
29 January 2025
ACCEPTED
28 February 2025
PUBLISHED
31 March 2025
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue03 2025
COPYRIGHT
© 2025 Original content from this work may be used under the terms
of the creative commons attributes 4.0 License.
The Spirit of Pessimism in
Arthur Schopenhauer’s
Moral Philosophy
Sadullayev Sardor Saydiganiyevich
Independent researcher at the National University of Uzbekistan
Abstract:
This article is dedicated to the philosophy of
Arthur Schopenhauer, particularly focusing on his
concepts of will, morality, and piety. From
Schopenhauer's point of view, the will is the primary
creative principle of the world, functioning as an
unconscious and blind force. He bases moral
consciousness on compassion, which he considers the
foundation for human solidarity and overcoming
selfishness. The article analyzes the contradictory
relationship between goodness and the will to live: the
moral individual seeks piety through an understanding
of suffering, which ultimately leads to the denial of the
will and results in either deep philosophical pessimism
or supreme serenity. Schopenhauer's views on suicide,
palingenesis, and nirvana are also explored. This
analysis reveals the profound meanings behind the
philosopher's pessimistic worldview and moral
philosophy.
Keywords:
Will,
consciousness,
representation,
aesthetic
contemplation,
moral
consciousness,
compassion, justice, philanthropy, denial of the will,
piety, palingenesis, ecstasy, philosophical pessimism.
Introduction:
Arthur Schopenhauer is one of the most
complex and influential philosophers of the 19th
century, distinguished by his unique views on the
fundamental forces of the world and human existence.
This article examines Schopenhauer’s concept of “will,”
its unconscious nature, and its relationship to morality.
According to him, the will is the main driving force of the
world, characterized by blind and uncontrollable traits.
Moral consciousness, in his view, is based on
compassion, which appears as the source of goodness
and philanthropy. However, in Schopenhauer’s
pessimistic worldview, the moral individual is compelled
to struggle against the suffering brought by the will to
live and seeks higher goals through piety and denial of
the will. This analysis aims to reveal key aspects of
Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fundamentals
78
https://eipublication.com/index.php/jsshrf
Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fundamentals
Schopenhauer’s philosophy concerning morality,
goodness, and human destiny, providing a deeper look
into his paradoxical ideas.
METHODOLOGY
The article employs various methods such as historical-
analytical,
comparative,
logical-analytical,
philosophical-ontological, gnoseological, axiological
(value-based) analysis, and ethical-moral analysis.
Literature Review
This article uses various sources to analyze
Schopenhauer’s philosophy, which serve as a scientific
foundation for explaining his worldview, doctrine of
will, moral views, and philosophical methodology.
Fundamental works on the history of philosophy and
studies on Schopenhauer take a central place,
particularly ideas from his major work The World as
Will and Representation. These sources are the
primary materials for analyzing the concept of “will,”
as well as his epistemology and ethics. Literature on
Immanuel Kant
’s philosophy and his influence—
especially Kant’s doctrine of transcendental idealism—
is highlighted as a key foundation of Schopenhauer’s
thought. Eastern philosophical sources, especially
those related to Buddhism and Hinduism, are
significant for unders
tanding Schopenhauer’s ideas
about struggle against the will. These works uncover
the roots of concepts like “nirvana” and “overcoming
desire.” Modern philosophical analyses and studies in
the form of scholarly articles, monographs, and
authorial works exp
lore Schopenhauer’s place in
contemporary philosophy, his influence, and critical
interpretations. Such sources help understand his
irrationalism, pessimism, and existential direction.
Philosophical literature on morality and ethics is also
employed to analyze his moral concepts, including the
philosophical basis for compassion and the denial of
the will. These texts are crucial for scientifically
presenting the ideas in the article, deeply
understanding the essence of Schopenhauer’s
philosophy, and identifying his place in the history of
philosophy. They serve not only as historical sources
but also play a vital role in modern philosophical
analysis.
RESULTS
Is morality possible within the framework of
Schopenhauer’s
philosophy?
According
to
Schopenhauer, "will is unconscious." It is the absolute
primary principle of the world and, in particular, of
human existence. It possesses a spontaneous source of
development. Indeed, according to Schopenhauer, the
will is inherently and initially unconscious and blind. In
his philosophy, it is this blind, uncontrollable, and
unrestrained force that drives the creation of life
realities
—
the unconscious will brings things into
existence. The entire course of world history
—
from the
emergence of natural, inanimate phenomena to the
creation of intelligent beings with awareness and self-
consciousness
—
occurs due to the unconscious will. It
progresses through various stages of development to
manifest in reality. The process of humans learning
about
the
surrounding
world,
according
to
Schopenhauer, is made known to human consciousness
through representation. In particular, the starting point
of knowledge lies neither in the object nor in human
consciousness, but in representation. Representation,
always and everywhere influenced by the will, ensures
the development of human cognitive ability.
According to Schopenhauer, the phenomenon that
expresses detachment even more firmly than aesthetic
contemplation is moral consciousness. The sole
foundational source of morality is compassion.
Compassion is a phenomenon in which a person accepts
another’s suffering as their own. Metaphysically,
compassion in the world of will signifies human
solidarity. Truly accepting another’s pain as one’s own
indicates that I am also a person like them.
Understanding such a state destroys selfishness.
According to Schopenhauer, compassion, through
justice and philanthropy, forms the two main
foundations of goodness. Philanthropy urges us to ease
the suffering of others, while justice demands that we
do no harm to them. All other forms of goodness stem
from these two.
At first glance, Schopenhauer’s high regard for goodness
seems incompatible with his notion of the Will to life.
After all, a moral person alleviates the suffering of
others and strives to make them happy, which in turn
strengthens the Will to life. However, according to the
philosopher, the moral person is fully aware that the
lives of rational beings are filled with suffering. The
selfish person, on the other hand, tries to improve their
own life, forgets the suffering of others, and emphasizes
a spirit of cheerfulness. For the moral person, this path
is entirely closed. Sooner or later, they adopt a position
of philosophical pessimism and begin to search for ways
to escape it.
This radical path leads the individual toward the practice
of piety
—
that is, to struggle against their own personal
will. According to Schopenhauer, partial manifestation
of the will occurs in “moments of union” [1; 152].
Therefore, the first step toward denying the will is
choosing solitude (not starting a family). The next stage
of piety, as he writes, consists of “deliberately
condemning oneself to poverty” [1; 325]. Ideally, the
pious person must condemn themselves to starvation.
Hunger becomes the only path to self-annihilation.
From such statements, one might conclude that
Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fundamentals
79
https://eipublication.com/index.php/jsshrf
Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fundamentals
Schopenhauer advocates suicide. However, the thinker
does not hold this position. He views “classical” suicide
as a trick of the cosmic Will. The issue is that the person
committing suicide does not reject the Will to life
—
they reject life itself. They love life, but something in
that life stands in their way, so they attempt to settle
accounts with it. This is a paradoxical situation. The
inevitability of death softens the reality of existence.
The theme of death as a necessity greatly interested
Schopenhauer. He completely disagrees with the idea
that the individual might retain “a unified self with its
memories” after bodily death. Schopenhauer ties
personal qualities to brain activity, and the death of the
brain leads to the disappearance of the individual. On
the other hand, “the intellectual activity of each
person” is not bodily in nature. Therefore, this activity
may continue after bodily decomposition. Outwardly,
the Will remains without intellect
—
there is a will to
know, but it is not realized. Over time, it takes on
another form.
From a practical point of view, the new person does
not fully repeat the former one
—
this occurs only
partially and over time. Time serves as a principle of
individuation. Nevertheless, there is inevitably a
connection
between
individuals.
Of
course,
Schopenhauer rejects the idea of metempsychosis (the
transmigration of the soul), meaning that he denies the
complete transfer of the soul into another div.
Instead, he refers to his theory as “palingenesis.”
Palingenesis is “the disintegration and reshaping of the
individual, wherein the will remains and enters a new
form of existence with a new intellect” [2; 214].
Thus, suicide becomes clearer: the ordinary suicide
rejects life, but not the will. Therefore, its
contemplative nature reemerges. The pious person,
however, gradually extinguishes the Will to life and
exits the cycle of rebirth.
But what awaits the person who has renounced the
Will? This is indeed a difficult question. One thing is
clear: the life of the pious person is initially filled with
suffering. They consciously move toward it, but this is
not limited to suffering alone: “For whoever has been
born with the capacity to extinguish the Will to life...
possesses inner joy and heavenly serenity” [2; 331]. It
can be imagined that the complete extinction of the
Will to life illuminates a new radiance within the
contemplative nature of the individual. This state can
be likened to “ecstasy, bliss, and
union with God” [2;
348]. However, this crosses into the realm of the non-
philosophical: “Remaining within the bounds of
philosophy, we must be content with negative
knowledge” [2; 348].
Schopenhauer’s reference to this is no accident: “At
the end of my p
hilosophy,” he writes, “I have crossed
into the realm of illuminism; this is a clear fact. However,
I have restrained myself from taking a full step into it... I
have remained, as far as possible, within the bounds of
objective rationalism” [3; 10]. The ph
ilosophical answer
to the state of the Will lies in conceiving of it as a kind of
Nothingness. Philosophy does not interpret this
Nothingness as absolute, but rather in a relative sense
—
this requires the application of illuminative experience.
The world as a thing-in-itself does not correspond
directly to the Will to life. If it did, its denial would result
in pure Nothingness. The concept of the Will to life is
based on how it manifests; it may have other
characteristics as well. The extinction of the Will to life
may reveal new qualities. Philosophy shows that these
qualities cannot be conceptualized through the
categories of subject and object. If illuminative
experience is employed, then the distinctions between
subject and object disappear.
And finally, philosophy explains that the manifestation
of the thing-in-itself as the denial of the individual will
does not mean the extinction of the Universal Will. The
individual will, as the thing-in-itself, is merely a partial
fragment of the Will. In other words, only the sage
attains nirvana
—
not the entire world. Yet it is not only
sages who reach nirvana; heroes, too, are honored with
it. They struggle for the common good and serve the
cause of goodness. Schopenhauer considered himself a
hero. A philosopher need not be a sage. His duty is to
reveal the truth, even if he no longer has the strength to
follow it.
CONCLUSION
Within the framework of Arthur Schopenhauer’s
philosophy, the concept of morality is closely
intertwined with human consciousness, will, and
suffering. According to his teaching, the fundamental
source of the world and human existence is the
unconscious and blind Will. A person’s capacity for
knowledge is formed through representation, which
serves as the starting point of consciousness. For
Schopenhauer, moral consciousness is even stronger
than aesthetic contemplation because it urges a person
to empathize with the suffering of others. Compassion
is the primary source of morality; it gives rise to justice
and humaneness.
However, this moral state leads a person toward
philosophical pessimism, as the rational individual
comes to understand the suffering inherent in life.
Schopenhauer views the extinguishing of the Will as the
moral solution. He sees piety
—
that is, the struggle
against one’s own w
ill
—
as the highest point of human
perfection. Such a person renounces their desires and
even seeks to free themselves from the will through
Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fundamentals
80
https://eipublication.com/index.php/jsshrf
Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fundamentals
hunger. According to him, ordinary suicide is merely a
rejection of life, not of the Will. Therefore, a truly
moral person chooses the path of extinguishing the
Will and escapes the wheel of rebirth (palingenesis).
As a result, in Schopenhauer’s philosophy, morality is
expressed through the extinguishing of the Will,
striving for goodness through compassion, and the
ide
a that only in this way can a person attain “inner
peace and divine ecstasy.”
REFERENCES
Copleston F. A History of Philosophy // Vol. 7.
Modern Philosophy From the Post-Kantian Idealists to
Marx, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche. - New York-London-
Toronto-Sydney Auckland, 2004.
Шопенгауэр А. Сочинения: В 6 т. –Т. 1. –
Μ.: Инфра,
1999-2001.
Шопенгауэр А. Сочинения: В 6 т. –Т. 5. –
Μ.: Инфра,
1999-2001.
Шопенгауэр А. Мир как воля и представление. –
М.:
Эксмо, 2006.
Кант И. Критика чистого
разума. –
Тошкент: Фан,
2004.
–
512 б.
Руссо Ж.
-
Ж. Инсон табиати ва тенглик ҳақида. –
Тошкент: Университет, 2003.
Ницше Ф. Воля к власти. –
М.: АСТ, 2010.
Соловьёв В.С. Основы философии морали. –
Санкт
-
Петербург: Лань, 2002.
Буддизм асослари ва фалсафаси / Таҳрир: Рахимов
Х. –
Тошкент: Ўзбекистон, 2015.
Фалсафа тарихи / Таҳрир: Комилов Н. –
Тошкент:
Фан, 2010. –
624 б.
Этика ва ахлоқ назарияси асослари / Таҳрир:
Сафаров Б. –
Тошкент: Иқтисод
-
Молия, 2012.
Ruzmatova, G. (2019). Eastern melodies in the text of
Plato // International Journal of Recent Technology
and Engineering. Vol. 8, Issue-2S6, July,
–
P. 444-448.
IJRTE. ISSN: 2277-3878.
Ruzmatova, G. (2020). Comparativist analysis of
Representations about Will in View of Friedrich
Nitzsche and Jalaliddin Rumi // International Journal of
Psychosocial Rehabilitation, Vol. 24, Issue 04, 2020.
ISSN: 1475-7192.
–
P. 3215-3227.
Рузматова, Г. (2014). Руҳият таҳлили фалсафаси. –
Tошкент: Нишон
-
ношир, 2014.
Ruzmatova, G.M. (2023). Konfutsiychilik axloqiy
negizlarida olamiy tartibot // Yashil iqtisodiyot va
taraqqiyot. Ijtimoiy, iqtisodiy, siyosiy, ilmiy, ommabop
jurnal.
–
2023. 11-12-sonlar.
–
B. 916-923. / Jurnal
sayti: https://yashil-iqtisodiyot-taraqqiyot.uz.
Ruzmatova, G.M. (2024). Comparative studies of the
Oriental and Western antropology // ISJ Theoretical &
Applied Science, 12 (128), 191-195. Philadelphia, USA /
Soi: http://s-o-i.org/1.1/TAS-12-128-13
