Schopenhauer’s Extreme Self-Help for Pessimists
"The worst is yet to come." -- Schopenhauer
German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer was such an extreme pessimist that he thought we live in the worst of all possible worlds and happiness is an illusion. This is what makes it surprising that he wrote a best-selling book containing a self-help section. And yet he did. Although calling it self-help is somewhat misleading; the main aim of his advice was really reducing misery.
Yup, old Arthur was full of fun.
Schopenhauer's advice is interesting because it is so incredibly contrarian. Pessimists, though, recognise a kindred spirit when they hear his views of people and the world we live in. Perhaps his recommendations for living have the potential to be useful for those who would normally run a mile from advice on how to be happy.
Schalkx and Bergsma (in press), in an article to be published in the Journal of Happiness Studies, argue that it is possible to evaluate Schopenhauer's advice by comparing it with modern psychological findings on life satisfaction.
To do this they first examine Schopenhauer's advice, which can be split into three parts. First are his general rules for life, second, how we should manage our relationship with ourselves and, third, how to manage our relationships with others.
General rules for life
In short the key to making life bearable for Schopenhauer was simply this: extremely low expectations.
This piece of advice flows naturally from Schopenhauer's philosophical position. Like Greek philosopher Epicurus, Schopenhauer thought that happiness was the absence of pain, frustration and dissatisfaction. He was a kind of extreme hedonist (see my post on Epicurus for the meaning of hedonism here).
We live, thought Schopenhauer, in the worst of all possible worlds, constantly on the brink of destruction. Our will, or our desires, are continually demanding things from the world that cannot always be satisfied. And so we are continually frustrated.
Even when our desires are satisfied it will only be brief. This satisfaction will then lead to an increase in our desires and, ultimately, to boredom when our desires are finally exhausted.
Life, then, is suffering (an idea well-known to Buddhists). The answer for Schopenhauer was not to seek happiness, but to try and get through life with the minimum of suffering. His goal was for a bearable life.
Our relationship with ourselves
Here are some practical suggestions Schopenhauer put forward for managing ourselves:
- Live in the present, making it as painless as possible.
- Make good use of the only thing we can control, our own minds.
- Our personality is central to our level of happiness.
- Set limits everywhere: limits on anger, desires, wealth and power. Limitations lead to something like happiness.
- Accept misfortunes: only dwell on them if we're responsible.
- Seek out solitude, other people rob us of our identities.
- Keep busy.
Our relationship with others
For Schopenhauer relationships with others are mainly sources of stress and hurt. As far as he was concerned true friendship is a near impossibility. As a result his advice is mostly aimed at protecting us from the inevitable damage other people will cause us:
- People are selfish: they are easily flattered and easily offended. Their opinions can be bought and sold for the right price. Because of this friendship is usually motivated by self-interest.
- Behaving with kindness towards others causes them to be arrogant: therefore other people must be treated with some disregard.
- Displaying your intelligence makes you incredibly unpopular: people don't like to be reminded of their inferiority.
- Truly exceptional people prefer to be on their own because ordinary people are annoying.
- Accept that the world is filled with fools, they cannot change and neither can you.
It's no coincidence that Schopenhauer spent 27 years living alone except for a series of poodles called Atma and Butzas as his only form of company. (For a modern version of Schopenhauer, watch the character 'Greg House' in 'House M.D.', or, for sci-fi buffs, Marvin the Paranoid Android).
What Schopenhauer got right
Nowadays, of course, psychological research tells us a lot more about the conditions of happiness in the modern world. So how does Schopenhauer's advice stack up? Schalkx and Bergsma (in press) argue that a couple of Schopenhauer's self-help principles do indeed stand the test of time.
1. Don't seek wealth
Good, well done Schopenhauer, more money doesn't necessarily equal more happiness.
2. Personality is crucial
Again, tick, well done Schopenhauer. As much as 50% of our happiness levels are genetically preset.
What Schopenhauer got wrong
Unfortunately for Schopenhauer, that's all the good news. The rest, when compared to modern findings, was often wrong:
1. Don't seek status
Probably wrong. Studies often find correlations between higher status and higher levels of happiness.
2. Avoid people
Definitely wrong. Social bonds are highly correlated with happiness.
3. Don't get married
Probably wrong. Like Epicurus, Schopenhauer wasn't a fan of marriage, or living with a partner. But modern research shows that living with someone probably makes us happier - it certainly doesn't do us any harm, on average (Bergsma, Poot & Liefbroer, in press).
4. Avoid problems
Mostly wrong. Setting goals and following our dreams both involve dealing with the world and overcoming problems. Having very low expectations and avoiding trouble probably result in failing to achieve. Research finds that goal-setting and facing and overcoming problems are associated with happiness.
Does Schopenhauer's advice benefit the extreme pessimist?
As you'll have gathered, Schopenhauer was the kind of chap who always thought the glass was half-empty. Modern psychology shows that pessimism has some negative consequences, for example having lower well-being and being seen in a negative light by others. On the other hand optimists have all sorts of advantages, like faster recovery from negative events.
But as Schopenhauer pointed out, people are different and, to a certain extent, we're stuck with the way we are. So while Schopenhauer's approach might not suit the 'average' person, perhaps it might suit people who are like Schopenhauer?
This question is difficult to answer mainly because, in the light of modern research, Schopenhauer's advice about being distrustful and avoiding other people is completely counter-intuitive. Indeed, Schalkx and Bergsma argue that most of Schopenhauer's advice probably isn't much good, even for other people like him.
Do the opposite
Like Epicurus, though, we have to give Schopenhauer a certain amount of latitude because we are taking his advice out of its historical context. Nevertheless when we compare his advice with modern psychology, most of it is misguided. The few points that he does get right are mainly in the section on our relationships with ourselves. We're probably better off doing the exact opposite of what Schopenhauer recommends, pessimist or not.
» Discover more articles in this series on the new science of happiness.
References
Bergsma, A., Poot, G., & Liefbroer, A. C. (In press) Happiness in the Garden of Epicurus. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1-27.
Schalkx, R., & Bergsma, A. (In press). Arthur's advice: comparing Arthur Schopenhauer's advice on happiness with contemporary research. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1-17.
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Jeremy,
If Schopenhauer's goal was. simply enough, to make life bearable, how can you claim that he got anything wrong?
The opening quote in the chapter chapter on Schopenhauer in Alain de Botton's "The Consolations of Philosophy" serves as a good indicator for those new to Schopenhauer's outlook: "We can regard our life as a uselessly disturbing episode in the blissful repose of nothingness."
I'm not sure why, but I laughed when I read it. Perhaps it seems so extreme that it had the flavour of comedy about it.
Schopenhauer mentioned quite frequently of the word 'Will' and in this article, you had interpreted Will as 'Desire'. But what Schopenhauer really meant by the word Will was actually 'Instinct'. Look at a dog. What a dog does everyday is pretty routine - sleep, eat, bark at strangers, run-around, eat, and sleep (and occasional sex). It is all instinctive.
Due to our complex activities, human daily routine is not as straight-forward as a dog. But this do not change the fact that human's behaviour are instinctive too. Fundamentally, our basic instinct do not differ much from a dog(for instance: it is instinctive for human and dog to have babies to continue the next generation.)
Hence, the argument put fourth by Schopenhauer was - Instinct creates Desire and Desire brings Suffering.(Definition of Suffering - The absence of Absolute Happiness. That means, something as mild as boredom is an act of Suffering taking place within ourselves)
Therefore, Schopenhauer maintained that the rule Will(Instinct)->Desire->Suffering is the 'Truth' in our life. We can't change it. That's why, we are always never satisfied and keep chasing dreams and dwell in the past, hence the Maslow's hierarchy of needs. That's why according to Schopenhauer, human endlessly seek Satisfaction (yes, Schopenhauer meant Satisfaction, not Happiness. The difference is, Satisfaction is more of short-term while attaining Happiness means having it in our mindset)
One pyschological condition of human being is that we always want to look 'politically correct' - basically we only want to associate ourselves with the good stuffs and subconsciously reject the bad stuffs(hence one of the reason why we always fool ourselves). Schopenhauer and Buddhism were merely bold enough to remind us, human, that our world is actually a world where Good and Bad stuffs co-exist together. We will have a better life and suffer less (physically and mentally) if we dare to face the reality of the ugly side of this world instead of remaining ignorant. We will also suffer less if we decide to understand and defy our Desire caused by our Instinct and stop chasing Satisfaction.
Example: Human has strong desire to gain wealth and power. But if we are never satisfied with what we have gained, we will forever go on and on chasing endless dream.
Last but not least, in your points of 'What Schopenhauer got wrong', i have never read before where he said to 'Avoid Problems' and 'Avoid People'. He definitely said something along the lines but i'm very sure it is not as how as you had interpreted.
For me, i would want to passionately read a philosopher's work first before writing a blog post. As Ludwig Wittgenstein mentioned before, confusion in philosophy is often due to wrong interpretation and definition of words.
Wjz, in a way you're right. It's a little unfair to judge Schopenhauer's advice against a higher standard of happiness.
Hi Yeo Zhiyuan, thanks for your comment. Philosophers can (and do) argue about the meaning of words forever. What Schalkx & Bergsma are trying to get at, though, is the spirit of Schopenhauer's advice. And the spirit of his advice is often mistaken when compared to modern psychological research on the conditions of happiness.
The research in used to judge Schopenhauer's advice is not relevant to it. The people tested were not applying a Schopenhaurian worldview therefore there results are irrelevant.
Bob dylan and I would agree with that last comment. (see the Scorsese film) For us it is not a question of the pursuit of happiness. That is just not where it is at. The statistics in the modern research are irrelevant to us. Do you take the word 'blessed' in the Sermon on the Mount to mean 'happy'?
Except general presentation, all article appear to my like a joke.
1. Don't seek whealth is synonym whit don't seek statut. Don't desire anything from life.
2.Avoid people. Which are the factors who affect the most human spirit ? Human relations. How can you avoid ?
4.Avoid problems. Yes is a posibility to be happy. All you life you will have destitution, needs,truble, what meen this, to be a unhappy men. If you try to disconect from reality, you will discovery a kind of happy, a inside reconciliation. What can to achieve a man from life, when he can't take anything whit him ?
3. Mariage. This is a more compicated query, than can I depscribe in some words.
P.S. Modern psychology is a joke, beisde Sopenhauer psychology.Look at him, at his actions, reactions,expectations...
Sorry, for my bad english!
Interesting that people commenting on a philosophy blog have 'trouble' with spelling and syntax to the point of actually throwing up layers of meaning hidden by a literally correct version. Being literal and in agreement with present life and the norms of communication are, I think, the most pleasant way of getting through that old conception of I and other. However, I love the creative possibilities of a new language. Thanks for the blog, fell on it as I read Einstein liked Schopenhauer.
Although I know nothing of it, I do notice a passing resemblance to taoism and Buddist thought from your description, and a certain desire to judge and lead through the bad good continuum, which is one way to the right
Thank you very much, mr Scientist, for pointing out what is right and what is wrong in the Philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer!
Schopenhauer is best imbibed by those of us who understand the necessity of misanthropy, ie: we who are inclined by our nature to be 'like' Schopenhauer.
I am in many ways very similar in construct. His writing, like that of Pessoas, holds the attention by its lucid account of what we share as 'eccentrics', 'misanthropes', or just plain pitying the world that we have to endure.
As such, if you go seeking so called 'happiness' you will not in any Schopenhauerian sense 'find' it. Savouring a personality through the filter of his works seems to me, as an oddball, happiness personified. Until i move onto the next world-weary font of sensibility.
go thou unto Schopenhauer & Cioran will surely follow..
I believe Mr S was right in about 80% and the researchers only tested a certain group of people and their opinions hold bias.
First: the points in our relationship with others are 100% corect.
Second: The solution is not to avoid contact to society... that can only be accepted as extreme solution when anything else fails. Instead try not to expect anything from anyone : if you have high expectations from someone they always let you down. Instead expect the worst from them and accept them how they are. By doing this You accomplish two things: first, they will always try to show they're better side(s) , second, no matter what they do it would seem a good thing to you because you expected the worst and that is better.
Though the world is full of fools, it doesn't mean they cannot change, it only means they don't want to change, because they like this way.
Trying to change them, although sometimes is succesfull it takes to much energy consumption.
I think putting the advice of someone who lived in another age into "right" and "wrong" based on studies done in the present is a bit short sighted.