Schopenhauer’s Thought on the Cycle of Desire and Its Significance for the Human Condition
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24193/subbphil.2026.2.17Keywords:
Schopenhauer, voluntarism, cycle of desire, pessimism, compassionAbstract
This paper analyzes the ‘cycle of desire’ in Schopenhauer’s philosophy: the recurring movement of lack, desire, negative satisfaction, and boredom as a consequence of his voluntarist metaphysics (Voluntarismus). The Will (Wille) is singular, pre-rational, and insatiable; pessimism (Pessimismus) follows as a necessary conclusion. Three dimensions arise from this foundation: compassion (Mitleid) as the basis of ethics; aesthetic contemplation as a temporary suspension of the Will; and inner transformation (Umkehrung des Willens), a turning that cannot be willed or practiced as method. Recent scholarship on boredom and consumer society situates its diagnostic value today.
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