Philosophies for Life 96: How to Be a Pessimist: Arthur Schopenhauer
Aug 9, 2025
21:50
In this podcast we will be talking about how to be a pessimist from the wisdom of Arthur Schopenhauer. He is mostly known for his famous book “The World as Will and Representation”. He is known as the ultimate pessimist and his idea reflects philosophical pessimism.
So here are 7 ways you can follow in order to become a pessimist from the wisdom of Arthur Schopenhauer -
01. Accept your limits
02. Accept that everything changes and decays
03. Learn to see suffering as the best teacher in life
04. Don’t be blinded by love
05. Sacrifice pleasure to avoid pain
06. Limit your expectations
07. Find Happiness within yourself
I hope you enjoyed watching the video and hope these 7 ways you can follow in order to become a pessimist from the wisdom of Arthur Schopenhauer will add value to your life.
Arthur Schopenhauer was one of the greatest philosophers of all time. He lived from the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 19th century in Germany. His most important work was “The World As Will and Representation”. He was one of the most prominent figures of the philosophy of pessimism and the first great Western philosopher who was interested in Buddhism. The best way to understand his teachings is to analyze them through the eyes of the enlightened pessimism prevalent in Buddhist philosophy. Arthur Schopenhauer is known as the ultimate pessimist because he articulates a pessimistic worldview that questions life’s meaning. He believed that the universe was fundamentally irrational and human beings are driven by a force called the Will, a basic force in the Universe, never satisfied, and we, the human beings, don’t have much self-control to fight it. Schopenhauer argues that the best way to be happy is by ceasing to look for happiness and instead try to remove the unhappiness from our life. This idea reflects philosophical pessimism, which is not a psychological disposition, but rather a worldview. Philosophical pessimism suggests that it is always better to expect the worst in order to receive the best. By using the principles of philosophical pessimism, we can eliminate the irrational hopes and expectations we have in life and thus we can live more peacefully and happily.
So here are 7 ways you can follow in order to become a pessimist from the wisdom of Arthur Schopenhauer -
01. Accept your limits
02. Accept that everything changes and decays
03. Learn to see suffering as the best teacher in life
04. Don’t be blinded by love
05. Sacrifice pleasure to avoid pain
06. Limit your expectations
07. Find Happiness within yourself
I hope you enjoyed watching the video and hope these 7 ways you can follow in order to become a pessimist from the wisdom of Arthur Schopenhauer will add value to your life.
Arthur Schopenhauer was one of the greatest philosophers of all time. He lived from the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 19th century in Germany. His most important work was “The World As Will and Representation”. He was one of the most prominent figures of the philosophy of pessimism and the first great Western philosopher who was interested in Buddhism. The best way to understand his teachings is to analyze them through the eyes of the enlightened pessimism prevalent in Buddhist philosophy. Arthur Schopenhauer is known as the ultimate pessimist because he articulates a pessimistic worldview that questions life’s meaning. He believed that the universe was fundamentally irrational and human beings are driven by a force called the Will, a basic force in the Universe, never satisfied, and we, the human beings, don’t have much self-control to fight it. Schopenhauer argues that the best way to be happy is by ceasing to look for happiness and instead try to remove the unhappiness from our life. This idea reflects philosophical pessimism, which is not a psychological disposition, but rather a worldview. Philosophical pessimism suggests that it is always better to expect the worst in order to receive the best. By using the principles of philosophical pessimism, we can eliminate the irrational hopes and expectations we have in life and thus we can live more peacefully and happily.