Schopenhauer and Nietzsche are two significant thinkers in the history of Western philosophy. They touched on similar themes, considered the will to be the driving force behind personal development, and were influenced by Indian philosophical thought. Nevertheless, there are still significant differences in their teachings.
A glimpse into life
Schopenhauer views life as a painful burden, a heavy burden that is extremely difficult and unpleasant to bear. At the same time, Nietzsche argues that life is a kind of challenge that provides each person with an opportunity to develop his or her potential, to become successful and truly free.
Nietzsche's optimism vs. Schopenhauer's pessimism
Schopenhauer is a pessimistic thinker who believes that the world is full of grief, suffering and injustice. Nietzsche, on the other hand, is full of optimism and insists that life can be lived with a positive attitude and in a very meaningful way.
Schopenhauer's will to life vs. Nietzsche's will to power
Schopenhauer views the will to life as the primary force that sets the direction for both the entire
universe and the individual; in his view, the will to life is the dominant force that cuts off all rational arguments.
At the same time, Nietzsche formulates the concept of the will to power, which, in his opinion, is a force that gives people the opportunity to develop and realize their potential. Overcoming difficulties, self-realization, rejection of old ideas and primitive solutions - all this, according to Nietzsche, should eventually lead to the emergence of a new type of man - the superman.
Moral values
Schopenhauer sees morality as a necessity to reduce suffering in the world. At the same time, Nietzsche argues that morality was invented by human beings themselves, and therefore human beings need to overcome it in order to achieve greater meaningfulness and freedom in their lives.
Schopenhauer's idealism versus Nietzsche's materialism
Despite the fact that
Schopenhauer believed that a single individual dissolves into the common ocean of souls after death, merging into the macrocosm, he still believed in the existence of an afterlife.
At the same time, Nietzsche was skeptical of the idea of an afterlife and insisted that people should not be focused on thoughts of the beyond. Instead, in his view, people should live in the real world, here and now, without thinking about what might happen to them after death.
To summarize, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche are significant thinkers who influenced many other philosophers, but they had different views on
life,
volume, morality, and the existence of the otherworld.