What can we say we know with certainty? What does it mean to say that we know something? How does knowledge differ from belief? Can an exploration of basic philosophical questions, such as How do we know what we know? and What are the limits of our understanding? inform our thinking not just on intellectual issues, but on broader cultural challenges as well?

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Author Schopenhauer - The World as Will and Representation

Six Thursday Afternoons, August 6 - October 22

12:00-1:30PM Pacific

 

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) in The World as Will and Representation argues that reality has two distinct sides. The "world as representation" is the phenomenal world of our experience, a mental construct shaped by space, time, and causality. Objects appear separate and distinct, but, according to the author, this multiplicity is ultimately an illusion. Beneath this illusion lies the "world as will," the true, unified essence of everything. Schopenhauer defines this Will as a blind, irrational, and ceaseless striving that drives all of nature. Because this fundamental drive can never be fully satisfied, he concludes that the universe is locked in perpetual suffering, which we can only temporarily escape through art or asceticism. His work paves the way for later existential and psychological philosophies. 

 

Join us as we meet generally every other Thursday, 12:00-1:30PM Pacific time. This series continues a broader series on epistemology. All are welcome. Please join us even if this will be your first seminar in the series. Visit the Epistemology page for full information. 

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Series Dates (all taking place 12:00-1:30PM Pacific): 

The World as Will and Representation, Volume 1, First Book
Thursday, August 6:   Prefaces, pp. xii-xxviii
Thursday, August 20:   Sections 1-5, pp. 3-18 (note three-week break)
Thursday, September 10:   Sections 6-7, pp. 19-35
Thursday, September 24:   Sections 8-9, pp. 35-50
Thursday, October 8:   Sections 10-14, pp. 50-69
Thursday, October 22:   Sections 15-16, pp. 69-91