logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2025
1h 30m

Episode 315: Ceaseless Striving (Schopen...

Tamler Sommers & David Pizarro
About this episode

David and Tamler tackle the topic chosen by our beloved Patreon supporters in the first VBW madness tournament – Schopenhauer. We discuss his essays "On the Sufferings of the World" and "The Vanity of Existence," their strikingly modern perspectives on human life and behavior and the influences Schopenhauer took from Eastern thought. Plus, David has Tamler do a blind ranking of movie directors. 

Arthur Schopenhauer [plato.stanford.edu]

Arther Schopenhauer [iep.utm.edu]

The Essays of Schopenhauer: Studies in Pessimism [full-text from gutenberg.org]

Up next
Jul 28
Episode 337: First Contact? (Tarkovsky's "Solaris")
First it was a book, then it was a groundbreaking movie… that's right it's Solaris. After having discussed the Stanislaw Lem novel in the previous episode, David and Tamler try to make contact with Andrei Tarkovsky's 1972 classic film. We talk about all the ways Tarkovsky's adapt ... Show More
1h 45m
Jul 14
Episode 336: That Oceanic Feeling (Stanisław Lem's "Solaris")
David and Tamler tackle the first half of the VBW Madness topic tournament winner, Stanislaw Lem's science fiction masterpiece, Solaris, about a mysterious ocean planet that resists all attempts to understand and communicate with it. We talk about the epistemological obstacles th ... Show More
1h 35m
Jun 30
Episode 335: The Wright Stuff
The great Robert Wright returns to the podcast to talk about his new book The God Test: Artificial Intelligence and Our Coming Cosmic Reckoning. We debate the magnitude of AI's potential impact, the natural selection analogy Bob presses in the book, and a whole lot more. Plus, a ... Show More
1h 30m
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2021
David Bather Woods on Schopenhauer on Compassion
Arthur Schopenhauer is best known for the deep pessimism of his book The World as Will and Representation. Here we focus on a slightly less pessimistic aspect of his philosophy: his views on compassion. Very unusually for an early nineteenth century thinker, he was influenced her ... Show More
24m 6s
Oct 2009
Schopenhauer
Melvyn Bragg and guests AC Grayling, Beatrice Han-Pile and Christopher Janaway discuss the dark, pessimistic philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer.As a radical young thinker in Germany in the early 19th century, Schopenhauer railed against the dominant ideas of the day. He dismissed ... Show More
42m 18s
Nov 2007
Schopenhauer - The World as Will and Idea
What is the nature of reality? Why can music be so profound? Are we doomed to suffer or is extended happiness possible? Should we choose a life of asceticism? These are some of the questions that Arthur Schopenhauer addressed in The World as Will and Idea. In this episode of Phil ... Show More
12m 35s
Mar 2017
Episode #098 ... Schopenhauer pt. 1 - Metaphysics and Love
Today we begin our discussion on Arthur Schopenhauer. Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. Website: https://www.philosophizethis.org/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/philosophizethis Social: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philosophizethis ... Show More
22m 34s
Nov 2021
18: Arthur Schopenhauer, part I: Will & Representation
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) is known today as the ultimate pessimist among philosophers. Among Nietzsche's influences, perhaps none can be said to be more significant than Schopenhauer. Given that Nietzsche promoted a life philosophy that was ultimately "yes-saying" and full ... Show More
1h 39m
Feb 2022
German Philosophy: Schopenhauer and Nietzsche
In this episode, Alyson and Breht introduce, teach, and discuss the philosphy of two giants in western philosophy: Arthur Schopenhaur and Friedrich Nietzsche.  They discuss their respective philosophies, how they relate, how they differ, the subsequent thinkers and movements they ... Show More
2h 9m
Jun 2023
[BEST OF] German Philosophy: Schopenhauer and Nietzsche
tail spinning
2h 13m
Nov 2016
Episode #094 ... A Look at Suffering
Today we look at the concept of suffering from multiple different angles including the philosopher Fyodor Dostoyevsky and the movement in Transhumanism known as The Hedonistic Imperative. Thank you so much for listening! Could never do this without your help. Website: https://www ... Show More
29m 8s