Abstract

In two lively and independent essays, Rosset builds a good case for an appreciation of Schopenhauer's importance in the history of philosophy by treating those aspects of his thought which signal a definitive rupture with classical philosophy and merit his being aligned with the spirit of modern times. These aspects, each the subject of one of the essays, are the genealogical treatment of ideas and the intuition of the absurd. The author establishes Schopenhauer's originality in both of these areas, outlining Schopenhauer's direct influence on Nietzsche, his parallels with Marx, and his possible links with Freud. At no point does he inflate the influence of Schopenhauer's but vaguely formulated ideas which invite comparison with their more developed expressions in other philosophers. Rosset does, however, contend that Schopenhauer was most original in his central intuition of the absurd, being the first to construct a philosophy upon this vision. In this regard, the author's consideration of the Schopenhauerian themes of finality, desire, necessity, and static time is excellent. He maintains convincingly that the usual interpretation of Schopenhauer, which emphasizes the Romantic themes of pessimism, esthetic idealism, and a morality of pity and renouncement, stresses only secondary aspects of his thought. A more balanced picture of Schopenhauer reveals an almost Beckettian tragi-comic [[sic]] view of life.—C. M. R.