I have always meant to read Schopenhauer but I have a short attention span but this was rather more accessible than I thought it would be. It felt fresh and immediate and seems a description as apt for now as when it was written. I really enjoyed this and rather agreed with him. I am not sure that academics (and others) lose themselves in the arguments though, they seem to me a sort of cloak that they put on and continue to wear because it is much admired. Everywhere others wear similar cloaks and they are comforted by that. They continue to wear it whilst it is still admired and suits the fashion of the day even when it’s soiled. They may even notice and secretly feel dirty but the cloak will not be put off until a new fashion comes along.
Teachers and students are overwhelmed by social media influence and noise now, especially given AI options, and need to justify to themselves the value of their learning/thinking efforts.
Indeed, his advice is more needed than ever. Taking in information must be balanced with thinking things through on your own and developing your own ideas - even though, as Schopenhauer says, you might end up with thoughts others have had before.
'Every true thinking man is therefore like a monarch: he is immediate and doesn’t recognize anybody above him. His judgements, like the decrees of a monarch, spring from his own perfect authority and arise directly from himself. For just as the monarch doesn’t accept any orders, so the thinking man doesn’t accept authorities, but refuses everything he hasn’t confirmed for himself. Whereas the vulgus among the heads, slave to all kinds of dominant opinions, authorities and biases, is like the common populace, silently obeying laws and orders...'
I think I see his point, but for me, reading is a critical process, where I look for resonance, and determine the extent to which the thoughts can be integrated into my own framework.
So… basically what he’s describing is the mid-wit meme 😂.
But in all seriousness, he’s pointing to a malady that afflicts many of us. I’ve spent much of my intellectual journey with a head filled with the thoughts of others. In my younger years, I spent much time sitting, walking, or fly-fishing in the woods, contemplating existence (while smoking a joint or three), largely uninterested in real academic study. Then as I “matured,” I decided to get serious about learning the thoughts of the “great thinkers.” Perhaps now in middle age, it’s time to venture back into the wilderness with nothing but my own thoughts (and perhaps a joint or three 😂).
I think there needs to be balance. Reading is great, but it won't serve you if you also don't take time to contemplate on your own. I found that being outside definitely helps. Or just taking my time to do nothing, sit on a comfortable chair and think, if I feel the urge.
"Those people who are so quick and eager to settle controversial issues by appeal to authority in reality are glad when they can, instead of using their own reason and insight, of which there is surely not enough, put forward that of strangers. Their number is legion."
The struggle is real, and it appears to be eternal.
Thank you so much for sharing! What an incredible essay. I decided to read the original and it covers so many important things. Reminds me a lot of the following two scenes from Good Will Hunting: "My Boy's Wicked Smart" & Robin William's speech on the park bench.
The comparison of the true thinker with the Monarch is quite interesting, If a bit unckear.
I think the best Word to describe it would be "soveregnity". A true thinker is always sovereign. He has no need of any authority, as much as he does not bow before one. He only recognizes truth and Sims to act as it's envoy.
Yes, this is pretty much what he meant. "Imperial immediacy" is a technical legal term of his time, which might make it a bit unclear for modern readers.
Thought as a direct route to understanding and knowledge.
The individual as crucible where the dynamic of thought happens.
These three points of Schopenhauer should be cornerstones to addressing the suicidal hive mind of modernity, and the untenable condition that modernity advances.
I particularly enjoyed his discussion of true thought. Honestly, I was finding myself substituting the word 'dream' for 'thought' in this section, because for me the two follow identical paths.
Thank you for this translation. It is...superlative.
Thank you, Luc! I needed to see this today. So much time spent “catching up” with everyone else’s thoughts, that I forget to cultivate and integrate my own. Again, thank you for your efforts ❤️
He starts out making excellent points but then falls into somehow arguing that reading itself is bad (a crime against the Holy Spirit, no less) and unnecessary. He says:
"It is true that sometimes, you could have easily found a truth or an insight ready-made in a book, which you have instead laboured hard for, pondering and combining, slowly, by using your own mind. And yet, the same truth or insight is worth a hundred times more if you have acquired it by thinking for yourself."
without even considering the fact that that amounts to everyone constantly reinventing the wheel. The only way we can build on the collective store of knowledge and insight is to learn what others have already discovered, so you can use THAT as the starting place for one's own contemplation rather than a place much further back in time.
It's also patently silly to ignore the benefits of education (which can only happen through consuming the works of others). Today we're seeing a widespread phenomenon of people decrying the value of education and assuming that all they need is to "think for themselves". And in the process we're creating the world of Idiocracy, where previously eradicated diseases return and environmentalism is seen as "woke" even as ecosystems collapse all around the world. Our own ignorance may very well cause our own extinction.
What he meant was that when you contemplate things and in so doing produce original thought, then you should cherish these moments and not drown them out with reading. (Also keep in mind that people at the time also used reading as a distraction, similar to how we use modern forms of entertainment).
As for reinventing the wheel, of course, but what he was getting at (and which I believe is true) is that if you read someone else's conclusion and just appropriate it to your own worldview, there's something missing compared to conclusions you arrived at through your own thinking and research.
Research IS learning about and considering other people's points of view though, and then incorporating them into your own conclusions. The only way to not do that is to completely 100% reinvent the wheel, and in truth I don't think that ever actually happens. We're always building on the works of other people, even when we're also coming up with original takes (because they're still informed by other people).
Which is sad because he also describes very well what I've automatically done all my life, and yet never quite understood that that wasn't the case for everyone: to think (and think and think) about everything I encounter.
Thank you for this translation and, more than that, to help this content reach more possibly interested minds.
The inclination-ability to think is something mostly inborn (like IQ), as for its potential; of course, thinking needs to be exercised to grow and match the potential.
I have always meant to read Schopenhauer but I have a short attention span but this was rather more accessible than I thought it would be. It felt fresh and immediate and seems a description as apt for now as when it was written. I really enjoyed this and rather agreed with him. I am not sure that academics (and others) lose themselves in the arguments though, they seem to me a sort of cloak that they put on and continue to wear because it is much admired. Everywhere others wear similar cloaks and they are comforted by that. They continue to wear it whilst it is still admired and suits the fashion of the day even when it’s soiled. They may even notice and secretly feel dirty but the cloak will not be put off until a new fashion comes along.
Thank you LP!
This is a very timely translation.
Teachers and students are overwhelmed by social media influence and noise now, especially given AI options, and need to justify to themselves the value of their learning/thinking efforts.
Indeed, his advice is more needed than ever. Taking in information must be balanced with thinking things through on your own and developing your own ideas - even though, as Schopenhauer says, you might end up with thoughts others have had before.
'Every true thinking man is therefore like a monarch: he is immediate and doesn’t recognize anybody above him. His judgements, like the decrees of a monarch, spring from his own perfect authority and arise directly from himself. For just as the monarch doesn’t accept any orders, so the thinking man doesn’t accept authorities, but refuses everything he hasn’t confirmed for himself. Whereas the vulgus among the heads, slave to all kinds of dominant opinions, authorities and biases, is like the common populace, silently obeying laws and orders...'
I think I see his point, but for me, reading is a critical process, where I look for resonance, and determine the extent to which the thoughts can be integrated into my own framework.
From Cyrano:
'...I stand, not high it may be—but alone!...'
So… basically what he’s describing is the mid-wit meme 😂.
But in all seriousness, he’s pointing to a malady that afflicts many of us. I’ve spent much of my intellectual journey with a head filled with the thoughts of others. In my younger years, I spent much time sitting, walking, or fly-fishing in the woods, contemplating existence (while smoking a joint or three), largely uninterested in real academic study. Then as I “matured,” I decided to get serious about learning the thoughts of the “great thinkers.” Perhaps now in middle age, it’s time to venture back into the wilderness with nothing but my own thoughts (and perhaps a joint or three 😂).
I think there needs to be balance. Reading is great, but it won't serve you if you also don't take time to contemplate on your own. I found that being outside definitely helps. Or just taking my time to do nothing, sit on a comfortable chair and think, if I feel the urge.
Ur-potent. First use ever in english. schön!
Why translate something that's perfectly understandable? (The original says "urkräftig")
there is certainly no english word I know of that captures the meaning.
i thoroughly enjoyed and profited from this essay. harkens back to platos worry about the written word and books in general. thank you.
"Those people who are so quick and eager to settle controversial issues by appeal to authority in reality are glad when they can, instead of using their own reason and insight, of which there is surely not enough, put forward that of strangers. Their number is legion."
The struggle is real, and it appears to be eternal.
Thank you for your translation…it sounds like you had fun while making this thinker much more accessible to native English speakers….thanks again,
Thank you so much for sharing! What an incredible essay. I decided to read the original and it covers so many important things. Reminds me a lot of the following two scenes from Good Will Hunting: "My Boy's Wicked Smart" & Robin William's speech on the park bench.
The comparison of the true thinker with the Monarch is quite interesting, If a bit unckear.
I think the best Word to describe it would be "soveregnity". A true thinker is always sovereign. He has no need of any authority, as much as he does not bow before one. He only recognizes truth and Sims to act as it's envoy.
Yes, this is pretty much what he meant. "Imperial immediacy" is a technical legal term of his time, which might make it a bit unclear for modern readers.
The problem of being.
Thought as a direct route to understanding and knowledge.
The individual as crucible where the dynamic of thought happens.
These three points of Schopenhauer should be cornerstones to addressing the suicidal hive mind of modernity, and the untenable condition that modernity advances.
I particularly enjoyed his discussion of true thought. Honestly, I was finding myself substituting the word 'dream' for 'thought' in this section, because for me the two follow identical paths.
Thank you for this translation. It is...superlative.
This was amazing. Laughed out loud at some of it. Must read more Schopenhauer.
Translate MOAR
Thank you, Luc! I needed to see this today. So much time spent “catching up” with everyone else’s thoughts, that I forget to cultivate and integrate my own. Again, thank you for your efforts ❤️
Schopenhauer is truly a brilliant mind! One of a kind, for sure. Thanks for sharing this translation.
Thank you for this! Some thoughts...(Lol)
He starts out making excellent points but then falls into somehow arguing that reading itself is bad (a crime against the Holy Spirit, no less) and unnecessary. He says:
"It is true that sometimes, you could have easily found a truth or an insight ready-made in a book, which you have instead laboured hard for, pondering and combining, slowly, by using your own mind. And yet, the same truth or insight is worth a hundred times more if you have acquired it by thinking for yourself."
without even considering the fact that that amounts to everyone constantly reinventing the wheel. The only way we can build on the collective store of knowledge and insight is to learn what others have already discovered, so you can use THAT as the starting place for one's own contemplation rather than a place much further back in time.
It's also patently silly to ignore the benefits of education (which can only happen through consuming the works of others). Today we're seeing a widespread phenomenon of people decrying the value of education and assuming that all they need is to "think for themselves". And in the process we're creating the world of Idiocracy, where previously eradicated diseases return and environmentalism is seen as "woke" even as ecosystems collapse all around the world. Our own ignorance may very well cause our own extinction.
What he meant was that when you contemplate things and in so doing produce original thought, then you should cherish these moments and not drown them out with reading. (Also keep in mind that people at the time also used reading as a distraction, similar to how we use modern forms of entertainment).
As for reinventing the wheel, of course, but what he was getting at (and which I believe is true) is that if you read someone else's conclusion and just appropriate it to your own worldview, there's something missing compared to conclusions you arrived at through your own thinking and research.
Research IS learning about and considering other people's points of view though, and then incorporating them into your own conclusions. The only way to not do that is to completely 100% reinvent the wheel, and in truth I don't think that ever actually happens. We're always building on the works of other people, even when we're also coming up with original takes (because they're still informed by other people).
Which is sad because he also describes very well what I've automatically done all my life, and yet never quite understood that that wasn't the case for everyone: to think (and think and think) about everything I encounter.
I am going to read this. But perhaps off topic, this:
But I am too excited to meet a crazy person, if that's the case.
I am looking for a person to translate (with) the one Greek book from the library of the hms beagle.
My only ask is that my partner in crime, also have no business translating Greek.
-now back to reading...
Thank you for this translation and, more than that, to help this content reach more possibly interested minds.
The inclination-ability to think is something mostly inborn (like IQ), as for its potential; of course, thinking needs to be exercised to grow and match the potential.