Looking for books to read in 2021? Consider Schopenhauer's favorites. Spoilers ahead, these are the books mentioned in the video: 1) Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne (amzn.to/3toq2zW) 2) Julie, ou la Nouvelle Héloïse by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (amzn.to/36EeKxK) 3) Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (amzn.to/3pPkGvw) 4) Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (amzn.to/3aBNKQO) We hope you enjoy this one. Nietzsche and the Will to Power, part 3, coming soon!
Not read these 4. Learnt lots from 1) Leo Tolstoy's short stories, 2) magic fantasy novel by stephen Donaldson on Thomas Covenant chronicles, David Gemmels Legend from Derani series, 3) to kill a mockingbird harper lee 4) sci fi Foundation series 5) Silas Marner by George Elliot. Lots others but i did read bad novels too & learnt
I will finally read Don Quixote . I was going to back in the day when i heard jhonny depp was going to be in the movie and then it fell through mid shooting. Just as well now i dont have any spoilers for the book!
They say one should read Don Quijote three times in life: during youth to laugh, during maturity to think, and during old age to weep. I recently read it (it its original Spanish) and it is the best novel I have ever read.
Pablo, I totally agree! My brother and I were discussing the best books we had ever read and we agreed that Don Quixote had to be considered one of the best if not the best!
It’s nice to have a channel dedicated to the ideas of both Nietzsche and Schopenhauer. Their ideas play off each other a lot and it’s interesting seeing how Nietzsche accepts schopenhauer’s diagnosis of life but turns it upside its head in a really affirmative manner. You should do a video on Deleuze since he borrows a lot off Nietzsche
During a span of 8 years, 5 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days, of which I read 459 books, "Don Quixote" was the best novel I read. The essence of "Don Quixote" is something almost everyone will one day struggle with: the reality of getting old in an ever changing world. My second favorite novel I read in that period: "Crime and Punishment" by Dostoyevsky of course.
@Massimo Qualsiasi “Dostoyevsky average at best” What can be claimed without evidence can be dismissed without evidence! Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence! ❤️
@@georgedoyle7971 I fully agree. Dostoevsky was perhaps the greatest writer of all time and The Brothers Karamavov, Crime and Punishment and The Possessed all rank as one of the best novels ever written. This is what literary experts say. If anyone wishes to challenge this opinion they can simply research it. So to say that Doestoevsky or any of his novels are overrated, well you can have that opinion. But many educated experts will disagree with you.
@Massimo Qualsiasi “It’s unknown if God is existent try to dismiss that” Smoke screen!! This is beyond ironic and is a non sequitur because it doesn’t logically follow that just because you don’t share Dostoyevsky’s metaphysical beliefs that this means that his life work is “average”. Evidence and citations please that Dostoyevsky’s work is “average”. I’ll wait!! Equally, I’m happy to take the bait with regards to Dostoyevsky’s metaphysical beliefs. Because the belief in the fundamental nature of mind and consciousness/theism is just a default position a (non belief) in materialism/atheism until materialists/atheists can demonstrate that “matter” is all there is to reality and existence not mind and consciousness. There’s no extra burden of “proof”. Science can’t “prove” anything as it is provisional and can only infer! So by your own standard all you have to do is provide empirical evidence that (nobody took no time to turn nothing into everything). Im biased towards beliefs that are synonymous with the belief in magic!!. I tend to not believe them. What’s wrong with just saying that we “don’t know” and inferring to the hypothesis that currently has the greatest explanatory power and is the most parsimonious hypothesis when this is the pragmatic and scientific approach? The belief in the fundamental nature of mind and consciousness/theism clearly has the greatest explanatory power and is the most coherent and parsimonious hypothesis. Because whether you are a materialist, atheist or pragmatist. Wether you believe in Martin Luther King JR, John Henslow and Michael Besso’s great love for Jesus. Descartes, Aquinas, Augustine, Kant and Spinoza not to mention Dostoyevsky’s belief that Jesus was the embodiment of truth. Wether your an atheist, materialist or pragmatist who believes they can make absolute “truth” claims and that you can ground metaphysical presuppositions such as logic and empiricism or even ground values such as morals and ethics and science itself in materialism, naive empiricism, naive realism or pragmatism. Whether your a pragmatist, atheist or materialist who believes (nobody took no time to turn nothing into everything), crystals, tarot cards or magical emergence all are on equal footing. All have equal validity for the relativist. As I pointed out already extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence!. What can be claimed without evidence can be dismissed without evidence!. Please provide evidence and citations that you can ground or justify “truth” in the materialistic/atheistic paradigm when “truth” is a philosophical claim and “truth” including logic, empiricism and values such as morals and ethics are metaphysical presuppositions, that is transcendental categories that can not be grounded in the materialistic/atheistic world view as the materialistic/atheistic world view excludes metaphysical realities. I’ll wait!! At least be a consistent materialist/atheist. “Logic is an illusion” (Nietzsche) “Logical positivism is self refuting” (Vienna Circle) Under materialistic premises “evolutionary naturalism implies that we shouldn’t take any of our convictions seriously including the scientific world picture on which evolutionary naturalism itself depends.” (Thomas Nagel). I rest my case!! Dismissed!! ❤️
Oddly enough, Roger Ebert said something remarkably similar to describe how he evaluates a film. He basically said "It's not the story, it's how you tell it". In other words, you don't need a "spectacular", earth shaking or exciting event, it's how you present it and relate it to everybody else.
Thanks for these videos. All the school i polluted my brain with, and I’d never heard of Schopenhauer. I don’t feel so abnormal and alone or stupid anymore. He makes so much sense, and echoes so many thoughts I myself have had through the years. Anyway, I can’t sit and read. I read by listening. “The Iliad and Odyssey,” for me, the later more so. I love Ancient Greece. Of course, I listened to them on tape. I feel guilty for “reading” that way, but “know thyself” as they say…That’s what works for me. It’s better than nothing, and there is no way I’d have sat and tried to read those books. I’ve read ( listened to) other things, classics, and I can’t even remember them, but it was almost twenty years ago. I remember those though.
Speaking of depicting the inner or psychological movement of characters, I believe Schopenhauer would appreciate Crime and Punishment and the Notes from the Underground if he had a chance to read them!
Definitely. You could say Schopenhauer is indirectly (through Wagner) responsible for the “inner turn” in novels and literature from the 19th century onwards. Might make a good video
I just finished 'Notes'. When i watched this video, I instantly thought of Dostoevesky. I love how he expands, accordion-like, mundane interactions, and psychologizes them, having his characters ruminate over the subtleties of human interaction.
Schopenhauer agreed in my humble opinion is Dostoyevsky’s underground man. I wonder if as Nietzsche read Dostoyevsky and Schopenhauer, if Dostoyevsky read Schopenhauer? The underground man notes from the underground and the world as will and representative are of a similar ilk. Great works and have clearly greatly influenced the main man Nietzsche. Fantastic work above. Thank you.
I read Don Quixote while riding a motorcycle around Iberia in 1999. I finished out following the book like a map, riding around Toledo. Past the cathedral, on very narrow streets, I found the smithy that mended the don's weapon, still in business...now the business of presentation swords.
@@svalis1068 Though Joyce writes in "good round Dublin terms" he's always probing among and below the daily human minutae and working out propositions about (for ex.) desirable vs. less desirable kinds of life, relations between nature and art and a lot more. His biographer Richard Ellmann wrote a key little book "Ulysses on the Liffey" that brings these to the surface, showing that for all the humor, irony and linguistic pyrotechnics, Joyce worked to dust off crucial values from freedom to love, showing (in R.E.'s words) how "casual kindness overcomes unconscionable power." Can't think of two books more worth multiple readings together---razor-sharp and hilarious at the same time. Hope you enjoy!
@@svalis1068 I haven't read it either, but would be surprised if it didn't have digressions of philosophical value (for example it's "precursor" Portrait of the Artist as a young man, which I did read, contains a kind of philosophy of aesthetics of Joyce, which the protagonist explains to a collegue and friend) But more important than that, I guess the value of ullyses lies not in strictly philosophical digressions but rather in the way it depicts life (as mentioned in the video), since Joyce strives to give a more "realistic" representation of the "inner" experience of life, with his over flowing style of associations and thoughts etc.
@@TheDummbob Agreed about "Portrait" although Joyce is always doing both, innovating with language to capture more of reality and working through each phase of what he called the "moral history of my community" in ways that are wholly submerged in his dramatics.
I was both surprised and not surprised to find that Schopenhauer includes Sterne in his top four. Tristram Shandy is (for me) uneven in quality (eg the enormous section over in France) but on the other hand it is one of my most beloved works. Uncle Toby is a truly moving account of human goodness- and so is Pastor Yorick (let us not forget the black page).
I read Don Q while motorcycling thru Spain. It was fascinating to follow the tale Especially when I rode into Toledo, where I used the book as a road map. H had to take both saddlebags off of the bike to squeeze by the Cathedral in the tiny alleys of Toledo Little action, but there are adventures for the mind everywhere.
IMO, Don Quixote de La Mancha exposes the most existencial question of all mankind; that is, to be authentic. And for that reason, I think it's the best novel written of the four. Don Quixote is surrounded by nobles - people he thinks that are, by definition, nobler than him. They're more rich, more beautiful, more young, romantic... all the things that he was not. He wants to be like them, but lacks everything they have. Instead, he is found locked at the mediocrity of his existence - not a plebeian, who can live an empty life and still be content, and not a noble, who could live the most honrable and fullest of lives. Though he tries to pursuit the later, he is often found at the former. Actually, we all are. We're all empty - that's what Schopenhauer thought. And I think it's because of that (and also the quality of the novel) that makes it on his list.
He would have appreciated 'Finnegans Wake' then. Especially as he gets a mention in it: 'He would of curse melissciously, by his fore feelhers, flexors, contractors, depressors and extensors, lamely, harry me, marry me, bury me, bind me, till she was puce for shame and allso fourmish her in Spinner's housery at the earthsbest schoppinhour so summery as his cottage, which was cald fourmillierly Tingsomingenting, groped up.'
All said and done, the limits to universality in understanding human behaviour is restricted by cultural diversity. We may view it as Western civilisation versus Eastern civilisation. Neither is superior to the other. Notwithstanding the fact that we need to create parameters from time to time, with which to measure thoughts and actions (as Schopenhauer did). Over millennia, different civilisations have survived in their unique styles of living. More importantly, like Schopenhauer, I believe that thinking is very necessary to beget a higher human form. Sharing them across cultures is an interesting and challenging way to live.
MMMmmmm yes can't wait to read all the great works by Africans hundreds of years ago! Oh wait a minute, weren't the Africans still banging stones with one another while Mozart was writing symphonies? Nah, that's racist, we're all equal after all!
I'd put in a word for "The Good Soldier Švejk" by Jaroslav Hašek en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Soldier_%C5%A0vejk Although it's ostensibly about WW1, the "hero" Švejk never actually reaches a battlefield, and probably never fires a shot at all, let alone in anger. It's about his adventures and misadventures on his way (supposedly) to where the war is actually being fought. I suppose things do happen, but mostly for comic effect, and plenty of philosophising about war and leaders along the way.
I have always preferred reading history to literature, but my favourite work of literature will always be Alexander Solzhenitsyn's 'One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich'. It certainly would fit in with Schopenhauer's definition of great literature. Plus, you can read it in a day, but it could change your life forever.
@@sunofpeter2 It depends on your interests. I believe it is necessary to have a broad overview of history, but books specific to different subjects give greater insight. What I do recommend, though, are older history books. Scholarship was far better, more thorough, and more objective. Of course, experienced academics write in more recent times as well, but they bring with them the earlier principles of good history writing. In recent times, there has been a tendency to re-interpret history to fit in with Leftist political agendas, to put it bluntly. Such books should be avoided. Recent books are necessary for recent events, but you must look out for obvious political bias. Anyway, you asked for a recommendation. For an overview of European history, "The Penguin History Of Europe" by J.M.Roberts would be an excellent start. I'm reading it now, on and off, but my main interest is Japanese history. I won't give recommendations on that subject unless you ask for them. I've had interests in many areas of history, and this includes overviews, plus personal accounts. So, as I said, look for things that interest you. Good luck.
@@russellparratt9859 thank you, i am in a Roman/Greek history phase. Plutarch's Lives got me goin then i read Edward Gibbon, which is absolutely one of my favorite authors now. i actually have read his work about 4x now. i have read Tacitus, Herodotus and Thucydides i would like to read more works by older historians.
@@sunofpeter2 I don't think you'll find anyone earlier than Herodotus! I've read the Histories and Thucydides, but that was a long time ago. I've read a lot about the Romans, from many different sources. But, it's not a subject area I can give more advice on, regarding specific books. I used to work in a University library, so I had access to everything. I wonder if most younger people these days understand just how important the Greek and Roman civilizations were in the shaping of history? I often think they are clueless, about anything.
I read Don Chisciotte, and really liked and enjoyed it, amazing book, amazing story, amazing characters; it's just beautifully surprising it was written more then 4 centuries ago by a genius of the european literature.
I recently read (over two years, with a friend as well) The Iliad and The Odyssey, as well as all the theater by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes. Also Xenophon’s Anabasis. It is quite a journey but nothing can replace these monuments of our civilization. And lot of fun and marvelous things. Tristram Shandy and Goethe are probably coming soon on my list. Not Rousseau whose worldview seems totally wrong to me.
@@lsobrien - No, I am French and have studied him at school, as well as his fights with Voltaire, and I know enough of him and his work to have an opinion ;)
I was taking some notes on these novels, and share here: * "Tristam Shandy," by Laurence Sterne * "La Nouvelle Heloise," by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, (or, The New Heloise (French: Julie, ou la nouvelle Héloïse), originally entitled Lettres de Deux Amans, Habitans d'une petite Ville au pied des Alpes ("Letters from two lovers, living in a small town at the foot of the Alps"), is an epistolary novel by Jean-Jacques Rousseau) * "Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship," by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe * "Don Quixote," by Miguel de Cervantes Full title, "The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha"
Hahahaa! He definitely would have had little fascination with the body of Jeffrey's works. Too much action and no internal reflection. That would be his enduring criterion.
Don Quixote. Me alegro de coincidir en uno de los libros. Es uno de esos libros que se pueden abandonar durante años y retomar la lectura en cualquier momento.
This is one of my favorite videos you've ever done - I hope you do more videos on what the great philosophers have said about works of literature and literary fiction. I'm curious, though--Where did you hear that Don Quijote is the second-most translated book in history? I've been doing research recently on Pinocchio and discovered that Pinocchio is the most-translated book in world history after the Bible and Qur'an.
Thank you.this is very important for someone who is interested in Schopenhauer.Nietzsche venerated him but strangely he is overlooked.I rediscovered this genious last week
Ive read New Heloise, it has themes typical of enlightenment era wrttings, chiefly: tradition vs. freedom. Displayed in the monk Abelard's love for the nun Heloise. Neither character first the stereotype of the positions they have commited to. Both are young, good looking, and want children. Unlike the reserved/tradition dedicated fraternities and sororities they are part of. Essentially the story uses the love of Abelard and Heloise to pose the question "what do the traditions actually support?" -- the end being bitterness, death, and how dare two lovers not wish to commit to the same sacrifies/losses of the fraternal/sororital orders. They (the elder priests and nuns) want everyone to be like them, childless ans unhappy. This is the loser mentality, which they have disguised as a moral positon. Abelard and Heloise love each other, want children, want freedom, happiness; and are victims of a system where victimhood is preferred in order to recieve support of the system. Which is very applicable in the modern time.
Read Tristram Shandy 30 years ago in college and was amazed that asides could be a thoughtful , compelling novel . It will always be in my top ten .I must read Rousseau .and Ingebord Bachmann! Wilhelm Meistersinger ? Will any of us ever read either volume ? I hope I can one day! The French nouvelle writers of the 1950's and a host of other schools(The Japanese know a thing about stimulating the contemporary interst - since would disagree with some of this . Representation without human interest can compel us to question our own inner world and thinking . Duras and Robbe-Grillet. I'm amazed he knew Sterne's work !
Great channel. My fav writings by Schopenhauer are the Parerga volumes. I have been wondering about the Tristam Shandy book myself. Ironically, I generally only read non-fiction, but I'll have to read these. Another writer S really like, was Baltasar Gracian, I have read his The Critic, an interesting modern version by an author called La Roche.
Well, it depends on what may interest you when reading a novel. Inteligent description of places and actions are excelent to train our minds into the art of writing, though the introspection of the characters tend to create even more thoughts, feelings, doubts and enhance the capacity to understand human nature.
@@Pauloddalmeida but action can be a great source of insight and character depth when well done. Why a certain character acts like it does can give you his motivation, or what he is capable of sacrificing for something important to that person. Thinking a story is better the less action it has is not understanding storytelling at all, and is puting his own subjective taste as the objective truth, which it tends to be a mistake no matter who does it. Maybe I'm reading to much into him, since I don't even know him that much and I'm willing to stand corrected.
@@Ignasimp "Alles, was im Christentum Wahres ist, findet sich auch im Brahmanismus und Buddhismus. " Anything that can be found to be true in Christianity, can also be found in Brahamism and Buddhism. I understood this to mean he read some Eastern classics on philosophy and religion and not merely (western) novels. As for the structure of fiction itself, in the movie Shadowlands we see Anthony Hopkins' representation of C.S. Lewis discussing Aristotles views: Aristotle's solution was simple and radical. He said plot is character. Forget psychology. Forget the inside of men's heads. Judge them by their actions. For example mr whistler is asleep. From that action I take it that he has no interest in what I have to say. The puzzle is that being the case: why is he here at all?! So we construct a plot from mr whistler's actions. He comes, he sleeps. Now Aristotle would say that the next question is not why, but what is mr whistler going to do next? Perhaps Schopenhauer is reacting to Aristotle, imploring us to look at what the character thinks he's doing (as in Don Quichote) that is to say intends on doing, rather than what he is actually doing. [Speculating wildly for the next three paragraphs. This is unprovable and therefor an art instead of a science: I suspect he would have enjoyed Ulysses by James Joyce because it mirrors the Odyssey, however 'nothing happens'. -at least, if you're not constantly reading into things- Then again, the same could be said (at least, it was said by a Kevin Smith about the movies when discussing the "Trilogy") about Lord of the Rings, in that it's just walking and in part three they throw a ring away. Though the epic history is summarized in the simmarillion, the battles during the Trilogy or the adventures in The Hobbit, There and Back Again aren't of importance, it's what happens to the characters. Not the Men, Dwarves or even Elves of Action, but the character of the half-lings themselves (and their growth to maturity and wisdom). The setting merely gives them the opportunity to be heroic in their own way, but that's just because that sounds engaging to Tolkien's children ;) By all means, let's read too much into him and explore and speculate what the limits (would) imply! :D After all, "Alle Beschränkung beglückt. " All limits make [us] happy :) Is it the inner life of the characters (and the endless talking about which fabric is made in which part of the world and what cultural implications that has) in Game of Thrones that make them good books, in spite of the moments of actions? I suspect Schopenhauer would have seen it that way (if he would have considered it good storytelling at all). But most (who enjoy the books) would argue the inverse, I suspect. ] Inner conflict is key and that's all the action Schopenhauer seems to need, the rest is a distraction. Of course, whatever story one fancies is subjective and I'd have to agree that Schopenhauer tends to present his own tastes as objective truth. But to say he doesn't understand storytelling because he prefers "boring"* books and enjoys those, is to make the same mistake, it seems to me. *I'm not accusing you of using that word, I tend to use it when explaining my taste (of what I'm interested in and what I find fascinating) to others [with a hint of irony].
Great video💖 lots of interesting suggestios...Mhmmm I wonder what would be Schopenhauer's favourite novels if he had lived in the 21st century...😑😑😑 (Sorry for my bad english, not sure that sentence was grammatically vcorrect😂)
And what about the Bhagavad Gita !? Schopenhauer was one of the first translators of that book in the EU Arthur Schopenhauer acknowledged the values of this book calling it 'the most beneficial study in the whole wide world' And what about Upanishads? "In the whole world, there is no study so beneficial and so elevating as that of the Upanishads. It has been the solace of my life, it will be the solace of my death." Arthur Schopenhauer
If Schopenhauer should have recommended a book with outer action, I'm sure he would have picked Mahabharata. But maybe it wasn't even translated from Sanskrit in his days.
I'm surprised that you didn't mention another novel that Schopenhauer really liked, and that is or was Mazzoni's "The Betrothed." I found Tristam Shandy difficult to follow. I found Wilhelm Meister very boring; the same for Don Quixote. I've never read Rousseau's La nouvelle Heloise.
He would have loved The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker, which consists of the thoughts of a man riding up an escalator at lunch time in the office building where he works. Apart from the character going from one floor to another, literally nothing happens. So according to AS, the ratio of inner to outer events approaches infinity, and makes it the greatest of all novels.
Much of the Modernist movement (thought over action) was directly inspired by Schopenhauer, or inspired by Wagner (who in turn was inspired by Schopenhauer). Haven’t heard of the book though, I’ll have to check it out
Don Quixote, one thing I remember from it is the test of love a guy gave to his fiancé or whoever she was and she failed, or rather it was a cruel test, anyway the point was that no one actually truly loves you, rather it is just chemistry as far as conventional love goes, not the agape, unconditional love. That was a good, dark lesson.
Just asking what modern books will fit schopenhauer criteria. I love action and horror movies but i have a strong interest in these inner conflict books
I would also post. That you shouldnt read the thing but its sources first. Because IT poisions your mind to think of IT in ą certain way. And your original thougths are not gonna be the same, they are gonna be different. But how do you know of a work? Well, someone mentioned IT, spoke of it, its made by a grate person and a well aclaimed book? Than read it, on your own, without any help and be left to your own thougths. Dont seek help, get there yourself. Ps Or you can just do this and develop safety mehanisms of always having that in mind and being wary and aware.
I have read most of Schopenhauer but of those four can only claim Tristram Shandy as mostly completed and enjoyed. Cervantes has never amused me, but Borges was a fan, so there must be something there. Goethe has always been out of reach in German, and his Faust isn't as interesting as Marlowe's or Mann's. So no, I haven't even read his Sorrows. Of Rousseau I read his Confessions a long time ago, and remember he called his lover, a Countess, 'Maman'. Also his Emile, where he gives his theory of education, despite abandoning his illegitimate children to orphanages. Also mentioned in passing were the Gospels and Shakespeare, obviously too fundamental to need elaboration. Of course Schopenhauer's aesthetic theories are hopelessly 'Romantic' but still inspiring, and his comment on interiority in prose must surely be correct, otherwise it is just writing events as History.
@@WeltgeistYT He is one of the main figures behind all this political madness from today, together with Hegel. It's all the natural development of their Philosophies. The man himself was a monster and his ideas were in accordance with his nature.
Read don quixote and looking forward to re reading 📚 it soon As for the other three I have not...yet...this winter somewhat familiar with Tristram though
Three of the four I hardly liked; 'Don Quixote' is good. 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' is a personal favorite; Nietzsche's writing is on another level. Schopenhauer can claim there are objective, measurable standards, but so can Greek philosophers and so can Ayn Rand, and the standards are all somewhat different. There are aspects of the "outer world" that are exciting, and sometimes the inner world is boring. 'Werther' to me for instance is just a whiny weakling of above average intelligence and wisdom. Many of the main characters of famous novels are not admirable whatsoever; Zarathustra has it all, but maybe that's where subjectivity comes in.
I have read Don Quixote in Spanish. It moved me and made me laugh at the same time. By the end, I wasn’t sure if it was Don Quixote who was insane or the people around him.
I have to admit that I did NOT care for Tristram Shandy. Though it might have helped if I had had a different understanding going in. The other three do look intriguing, but ... how do I prioritize? Watching this video and typing these remarks are already distractions from my other priorities... Well, this video was short and to the point, so I learned something quickly. Thanks.
I read Tristram Shandy many years ago and absolutely loved it! One of the most entertaining books I've ever read. Believe me, there's nothing to "plough through," it's simply very enjoyable reading.
If he wants inner life, I don't think he'd like movies. Voice over narration and facial expressions are the only way to convey inner life, feelings. He certainly wouldn't like action/adventure movies revovling around chase and suspense. He'd hate classical Hollywood cinema. I'm sure there are more, but this morning James Joyce's "The Dead," short story made into a movie might come the closest as we get into Gabriel's head through voice over and it is not plot driven. Joyce used ephiphanies.
I think he would have liked movies by Fellini. La Dolce Vita, for instance. Nearly 3 hour long. Beautiful and depressing at the same time. Shallow celebrities and paparazzis. The pointlessness of life. Yep, I'm pretty sure he would have liked it.
to much better understand El Quijote one should read the story of the Moors in the occupation of the south region of Spain,particularly the region of Andalucia . Since the year 753 to the year 1492 this part of Spain was occupied by the Muslims - - -The Omayedes- . It is interesting all the process of integration, the developement of a great civilization and a great culture, the assimilation of three cultures and at the end a massive expulsion from Spain of all the people "alien" to the catholic religion. particularly from Cordoba, Sevilla and Granada.Cervantes wrote El Quijote ,the first part in the year 1605; The second part in 1615. Just in the process of the expulsion , the loss of all possesions ,separation of families and a total desintegration of what once was the intelectual capital of the world.
@@michaelkrause3429 I've read a lot of books.... including the Lusíadas... because I'Portuguese.... and since ... Shopenhaurer.. Ciro.. Celine.. Camus... Kafka... and many more.... one that has always stayed in memory is the Book of Restlessness, of Pessoa that I consider a hatchet in the brain.... greetings
@@mariamalhotra8228 What he talks about "elsewhere" is not germane to the topic of this video, which is novels. Please understand I'm not judging the value of the Upanishads, excerpts of which sit on my own bookshelf, just pointing out the topic at hand.
You’re smart enough to watch this video, and channel. I’d say that puts you firmly outside corral that encircles the cringeworthy, senseless human herd. Be proud of that. It’s something to be very proud of.
-" make small things interesting". A Jane Austen fan! Poor man predated P.G.Wodehouse, reading whose works I recommend to furnish the mind with a gentle irony and humour which never fails.
"Every mediocre writer tries to mask his own natural style, because in his heart he knows the truth of what I am saying. He is thus forced, at the outset, to give up any attempt at being frank or naive--a privilege which is thereby reserved for superior minds, conscious of their own worth, and therefore sure of themselves. What I mean is that these everyday writers are absolutely unable to resolve upon writing just as they think; because they have a notion that, were they to do so, their work might possibly look very childish and simple." ----Schopenhauer
I suppose Schopenhauer must have thought that Shakespeare evolved into "being frank or naive" after his early period in which he "tries to mask his own natural style." And then, even after his early period, Shakespeare's style continued to evolve, but this stage of his evolution was internally generated, an outgrowth of the evolution of his thought.
Looking for books to read in 2021? Consider Schopenhauer's favorites. Spoilers ahead, these are the books mentioned in the video:
1) Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne (amzn.to/3toq2zW)
2) Julie, ou la Nouvelle Héloïse by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (amzn.to/36EeKxK)
3) Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (amzn.to/3pPkGvw)
4) Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (amzn.to/3aBNKQO)
We hope you enjoy this one. Nietzsche and the Will to Power, part 3, coming soon!
Make the video of the kingdom of god is within you - leo tolstoy
Good picks
Not read these 4. Learnt lots from 1) Leo Tolstoy's short stories, 2) magic fantasy novel by stephen Donaldson on Thomas Covenant chronicles, David Gemmels Legend from Derani series, 3) to kill a mockingbird harper lee 4) sci fi Foundation series 5) Silas Marner by George Elliot. Lots others but i did read bad novels too & learnt
I endorse this list.
I will finally read Don Quixote . I was going to back in the day when i heard jhonny depp was going to be in the movie and then it fell through mid shooting. Just as well now i dont have any spoilers for the book!
For anyone wondering, Schopenhauer's two favorite manga novels are Berserk and Claymore.
Rip
😂😂
No claymore but vagabond instead
I was actually wondering so thank you lol. I love intelligent weebs
What would be Nietzsche's favorite? Or other philosophers'?
They say one should read Don Quijote three times in life: during youth to laugh, during maturity to think, and during old age to weep. I recently read it (it its original Spanish) and it is the best novel I have ever read.
Better than Gone Girl??
So did you laugh, think or weep?
I don't, for me it's wasn't a pleasant experience reading Don Quixote. I had some laughs i guess but maybe i should give it another try.
@@flutebasket4294 At first I laughed, but now i want to kick you out of the Internet
Pablo, I totally agree! My brother and I were discussing the best books we had ever read and we agreed that Don Quixote had to be considered one of the best if not the best!
The first point about intirest in inner conflict is so true. Crime and punishment is a brilliant book in that way!
It’s nice to have a channel dedicated to the ideas of both Nietzsche and Schopenhauer. Their ideas play off each other a lot and it’s interesting seeing how Nietzsche accepts schopenhauer’s diagnosis of life but turns it upside its head in a really affirmative manner. You should do a video on Deleuze since he borrows a lot off Nietzsche
Thank you
For some reasons, this channel made me love Schopenhauer. And I checked for him myself in Wikipedia and I saw how influential and a genius he was
Glad to hear it!
During a span of 8 years, 5 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days, of which I read 459 books, "Don Quixote" was the best novel I read. The essence of "Don Quixote" is something almost everyone will one day struggle with: the reality of getting old in an ever changing world.
My second favorite novel I read in that period: "Crime and Punishment" by Dostoyevsky of course.
Out of all the Dostoyevsky novels I've read, my favorite was The Brothers Karamazov
@Massimo Qualsiasi
“Dostoyevsky average at best”
What can be claimed without evidence can be dismissed without evidence! Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence!
❤️
@@georgedoyle7971 good points
@@georgedoyle7971 I fully agree. Dostoevsky was perhaps the greatest writer of all time and The Brothers Karamavov, Crime and Punishment and The Possessed all rank as one of the best novels ever written. This is what literary experts say. If anyone wishes to challenge this opinion they can simply research it. So to say that Doestoevsky or any of his novels are overrated, well you can have that opinion. But many educated experts will disagree with you.
@Massimo Qualsiasi
“It’s unknown if God is existent try to dismiss that”
Smoke screen!! This is beyond ironic and is a non sequitur because it doesn’t logically follow that just because you don’t share Dostoyevsky’s metaphysical beliefs that this means that his life work is “average”. Evidence and citations please that Dostoyevsky’s work is “average”. I’ll wait!!
Equally, I’m happy to take the bait with regards to Dostoyevsky’s metaphysical beliefs.
Because the belief in the fundamental nature of mind and consciousness/theism is just a default position a (non belief) in materialism/atheism until materialists/atheists can demonstrate that “matter” is all there is to reality and existence not mind and consciousness. There’s no extra burden of “proof”. Science can’t “prove” anything as it is provisional and can only infer!
So by your own standard all you have to do is provide empirical evidence that (nobody took no time to turn nothing into everything). Im biased towards beliefs that are synonymous with the belief in magic!!. I tend to not believe them. What’s wrong with just saying that we “don’t know” and inferring to the hypothesis that currently has the greatest explanatory power and is the most parsimonious hypothesis when this is the pragmatic and scientific approach? The belief in the fundamental nature of mind and consciousness/theism clearly has the greatest explanatory power and is the most coherent and parsimonious hypothesis.
Because whether you are a materialist, atheist or pragmatist. Wether you believe in Martin Luther King JR, John Henslow and Michael Besso’s great love for Jesus. Descartes, Aquinas, Augustine, Kant and Spinoza not to mention Dostoyevsky’s belief that Jesus was the embodiment of truth. Wether your an atheist, materialist or pragmatist who believes they can make absolute “truth” claims and that you can ground metaphysical presuppositions such as logic and empiricism or even ground values such as morals and ethics and science itself in materialism, naive empiricism, naive realism or pragmatism. Whether your a pragmatist, atheist or materialist who believes (nobody took no time to turn nothing into everything), crystals, tarot cards or magical emergence all are on equal footing. All have equal validity for the relativist.
As I pointed out already extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence!. What can be claimed without evidence can be dismissed without evidence!.
Please provide evidence and citations that you can ground or justify “truth” in the materialistic/atheistic paradigm when “truth” is a philosophical claim and “truth” including logic, empiricism and values such as morals and ethics are metaphysical presuppositions, that is transcendental categories that can not be grounded in the materialistic/atheistic world view as the materialistic/atheistic world view excludes metaphysical realities. I’ll wait!! At least be a consistent materialist/atheist.
“Logic is an illusion” (Nietzsche)
“Logical positivism is self refuting” (Vienna Circle)
Under materialistic premises “evolutionary naturalism implies that we shouldn’t take any of our convictions seriously including the scientific world picture on which evolutionary naturalism itself depends.” (Thomas Nagel).
I rest my case!!
Dismissed!!
❤️
Don Quixote was a read that I remember wanting never to end, and was sorry when it did. It was pure pleasure.
Yes!
I don't know, I read it when I was like 11-12 years old, and didn't like it. Maybe I was too young to appreciate it.
@@MacakPodSIjemom you were probably much too intelligent
Oddly enough, Roger Ebert said something remarkably similar to describe how he evaluates a film. He basically said "It's not the story, it's how you tell it". In other words, you don't need a "spectacular", earth shaking or exciting event, it's how you present it and relate it to everybody else.
There is a novel written by Sam Benjamin, titled "Of Wolves and Slaves." It is so artistic that it dwarfs many great novels.
Reading is like thinking with another person’s head.
Therefore, bad books are poisonous.
Totally agree.
The Painted Bird
Heavy...
"Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality."
Usually they’re just a waste of time or simply a non-maximized use of your precious time.
Thanks for these videos. All the school i polluted my brain with, and I’d never heard of Schopenhauer. I don’t feel so abnormal and alone or stupid anymore. He makes so much sense, and echoes so many thoughts I myself have had through the years. Anyway, I can’t sit and read. I read by listening.
“The Iliad and Odyssey,” for me, the later more so. I love Ancient Greece. Of course, I listened to them on tape. I feel guilty for “reading” that way, but “know thyself” as they say…That’s what works for me. It’s better than nothing, and there is no way I’d have sat and tried to read those books. I’ve read ( listened to) other things, classics, and I can’t even remember them, but it was almost twenty years ago. I remember those though.
Still listening to tapes...you're even keeping your audiobook format classic.
I hope to see some videos of Cioran in the near future, great work.
Definitely
I have only read "Dom Quixote", but I will certainly have a look at the others later!
Great video as always, thanks for the book recommendations!
I read don Quixote de la Mancha twice and I must admit that is my favorite book.
Speaking of depicting the inner or psychological movement of characters, I believe Schopenhauer would appreciate Crime and Punishment and the Notes from the Underground if he had a chance to read them!
Definitely. You could say Schopenhauer is indirectly (through Wagner) responsible for the “inner turn” in novels and literature from the 19th century onwards. Might make a good video
I just finished 'Notes'. When i watched this video, I instantly thought of Dostoevesky. I love how he expands, accordion-like, mundane interactions, and psychologizes them, having his characters ruminate over the subtleties of human interaction.
Schopenhauer agreed in my humble opinion is Dostoyevsky’s underground man. I wonder if as Nietzsche read Dostoyevsky and Schopenhauer, if Dostoyevsky read Schopenhauer? The underground man notes from the underground and the world as will and representative are of a similar ilk. Great works and have clearly greatly influenced the main man Nietzsche. Fantastic work above. Thank you.
@@gazrater1820 Very unlikely Schopenhauer and Dostoevsky read each other. I guess great minds do think alike!
Yes, and I believe he would love Checkov as well.
I read Don Quixote while riding a motorcycle around Iberia in 1999. I finished out following the book like a map, riding around Toledo. Past the cathedral, on very narrow streets, I found the smithy that mended the don's weapon, still in business...now the business of presentation swords.
Iberia? That was the name the classic Greek used. But it is not used at all nowadays.
You mean spain
@@MagnumOpusYT both Spain and Portugal
@@Ignasimp he obviously knows that. He's just being playful with his words.
@@dibdap2373 I don't know that.
James Joyce's "Ulysses" fits Mr. S's criteria extremely well---and makes you laugh out loud.
Never read it myself but from what I've gathered it isn't very philosophical in nature, or am I mistaken?
@@svalis1068 Though Joyce writes in "good round Dublin terms" he's always probing among and below the daily human minutae and working out propositions about (for ex.) desirable vs. less desirable kinds of life, relations between nature and art and a lot more. His biographer Richard Ellmann wrote a key little book "Ulysses on the Liffey" that brings these to the surface, showing that for all the humor, irony and linguistic pyrotechnics, Joyce worked to dust off crucial values from freedom to love, showing (in R.E.'s words) how "casual kindness overcomes unconscionable power." Can't think of two books more worth multiple readings together---razor-sharp and hilarious at the same time. Hope you enjoy!
@@svalis1068 I haven't read it either, but would be surprised if it didn't have digressions of philosophical value (for example it's "precursor" Portrait of the Artist as a young man, which I did read, contains a kind of philosophy of aesthetics of Joyce, which the protagonist explains to a collegue and friend)
But more important than that, I guess the value of ullyses lies not in strictly philosophical digressions but rather in the way it depicts life (as mentioned in the video), since Joyce strives to give a more "realistic" representation of the "inner" experience of life, with his over flowing style of associations and thoughts etc.
Did you know "Tristram Shandy" is an ancestor of "Ulysses"; and its method of 'stream of consciousness'..?? Both authors were fellow Celts..!!
@@TheDummbob Agreed about "Portrait" although Joyce is always doing both, innovating with language to capture more of reality and working through each phase of what he called the "moral history of my community" in ways that are wholly submerged in his dramatics.
I didn’t know I needed this but thank you
You’re welcome
I can't help but wonder what Schopenhauer would have thought of "Remembrance of Things Past."
He was very much influenced by Schopenhauer ‘s aesthetics. So there’d be mo Proust without Schopenhauer probably!
I was both surprised and not surprised to find that Schopenhauer includes Sterne in his top four. Tristram Shandy is (for me) uneven in quality (eg the enormous section over in France) but on the other hand it is one of my most beloved works. Uncle Toby is a truly moving account of human goodness- and so is Pastor Yorick (let us not forget the black page).
This channels content is amazing and so underrated. Hope it gets more appreciation.
I read Don Q while motorcycling thru Spain. It was fascinating to follow the tale Especially when I rode into Toledo, where I used the book as a road map. H had to take both saddlebags off of the bike to squeeze by the Cathedral in the tiny alleys of Toledo Little action, but there are adventures for the mind everywhere.
That sounds so cool
IMO, Don Quixote de La Mancha exposes the most existencial question of all mankind; that is, to be authentic. And for that reason, I think it's the best novel written of the four.
Don Quixote is surrounded by nobles - people he thinks that are, by definition, nobler than him. They're more rich, more beautiful, more young, romantic... all the things that he was not. He wants to be like them, but lacks everything they have.
Instead, he is found locked at the mediocrity of his existence - not a plebeian, who can live an empty life and still be content, and not a noble, who could live the most honrable and fullest of lives. Though he tries to pursuit the later, he is often found at the former. Actually, we all are.
We're all empty - that's what Schopenhauer thought. And I think it's because of that (and also the quality of the novel) that makes it on his list.
wisdom from the daddy of all of the thinkers, this is gold for reading lovers or aspiring
He would have appreciated 'Finnegans Wake' then. Especially as he gets a mention in it:
'He would of curse melissciously, by his fore feelhers, flexors, contractors, depressors and extensors, lamely, harry me, marry me, bury me, bind me, till she was puce for shame and allso fourmish her in Spinner's housery at the earthsbest schoppinhour so summery as his cottage, which was cald fourmillierly Tingsomingenting, groped up.'
All said and done, the limits to universality in understanding human behaviour is restricted by cultural diversity. We may view it as Western civilisation versus Eastern civilisation. Neither is superior to the other. Notwithstanding the fact that we need to create parameters from time to time, with which to measure thoughts and actions (as Schopenhauer did). Over millennia, different civilisations have survived in their unique styles of living. More importantly, like Schopenhauer, I believe that thinking is very necessary to beget a higher human form. Sharing them across cultures is an interesting and challenging way to live.
MMMmmmm yes can't wait to read all the great works by Africans hundreds of years ago!
Oh wait a minute, weren't the Africans still banging stones with one another while Mozart was writing symphonies?
Nah, that's racist, we're all equal after all!
I have just come out with your Schopenhauer's videos and I must say that I am enjoying them a lot.
I'd put in a word for "The Good Soldier Švejk" by Jaroslav Hašek
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Soldier_%C5%A0vejk
Although it's ostensibly about WW1, the "hero" Švejk never actually reaches a battlefield, and probably never fires a shot at all, let alone in anger. It's about his adventures and misadventures on his way (supposedly) to where the war is actually being fought. I suppose things do happen, but mostly for comic effect, and plenty of philosophising about war and leaders along the way.
I have always preferred reading history to literature, but my favourite work of literature will always be Alexander Solzhenitsyn's
'One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich'.
It certainly would fit in with Schopenhauer's definition of great literature.
Plus, you can read it in a day, but it could change your life forever.
The last lines of the book break your heart.
i lije history as well, what are aome of your top recommendations?
@@sunofpeter2 It depends on your interests.
I believe it is necessary to have a broad overview of history, but books specific to different subjects give greater insight.
What I do recommend, though, are older history books. Scholarship was far better, more thorough, and more objective. Of course, experienced academics write in more recent times as well, but they bring with them the earlier principles of good history writing.
In recent times, there has been a tendency to re-interpret history to fit in with Leftist political agendas, to put it bluntly. Such books should be avoided.
Recent books are necessary for recent events, but you must look out for obvious political bias.
Anyway, you asked for a recommendation. For an overview of European history,
"The Penguin History Of Europe" by J.M.Roberts would be an excellent start.
I'm reading it now, on and off, but my main interest is Japanese history.
I won't give recommendations on that subject unless you ask for them.
I've had interests in many areas of history, and this includes overviews,
plus personal accounts.
So, as I said, look for things that interest you.
Good luck.
@@russellparratt9859 thank you, i am in a Roman/Greek history phase. Plutarch's Lives got me goin then i read Edward Gibbon, which is absolutely one of my favorite authors now. i actually have read his work about 4x now. i have read Tacitus, Herodotus and Thucydides i would like to read more works by older historians.
@@sunofpeter2 I don't think you'll find anyone earlier than Herodotus!
I've read the Histories and Thucydides, but that was a long time ago.
I've read a lot about the Romans, from many different sources.
But, it's not a subject area I can give more advice on, regarding specific books.
I used to work in a University library, so I had access to everything.
I wonder if most younger people these days understand just how important
the Greek and Roman civilizations were in the shaping of history?
I often think they are clueless, about anything.
I read Don Chisciotte, and really liked and enjoyed it, amazing book, amazing story, amazing characters; it's just beautifully surprising it was written more then 4 centuries ago by a genius of the european literature.
I recently read (over two years, with a friend as well) The Iliad and The Odyssey, as well as all the theater by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes. Also Xenophon’s Anabasis. It is quite a journey but nothing can replace these monuments of our civilization. And lot of fun and marvelous things.
Tristram Shandy and Goethe are probably coming soon on my list. Not Rousseau whose worldview seems totally wrong to me.
Afraid Rousseau might make you think differently?
@@lsobrien - No, I am French and have studied him at school, as well as his fights with Voltaire, and I know enough of him and his work to have an opinion ;)
@@lsobrien dolt
Pourquoi tu n'aimes pas Rousseau?
Looking forward to more scopenhaur..I'm intrigued.. watch and rewatch your channel daily.. I'mma big fan..🗡️
Thanks for the support
I'm so glad I'm an English reader and have Charles Dickens!
Dickens Is one of the translated authors so..
I was taking some notes on these novels, and share here:
* "Tristam Shandy," by Laurence Sterne
* "La Nouvelle Heloise," by Jean-Jacques Rousseau,
(or, The New Heloise (French: Julie, ou la nouvelle Héloïse), originally entitled Lettres de Deux Amans, Habitans d'une petite Ville au pied des Alpes ("Letters from two lovers, living in a small town at the foot of the Alps"), is an epistolary novel by Jean-Jacques Rousseau)
* "Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship," by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
* "Don Quixote," by Miguel de Cervantes
Full title, "The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha"
Don Quixote is the only novel I unequivocally recommend everyone reads.
You have to wonder if Proust would have made this list had he written In Search of Lost Time during Schopenhauer's lifetime.
The list would've been of five :-)
Schopenhauer never had the opportunity to read Jeffrey Archers Novels
Hahahaa!
He definitely would have had little fascination with the body of Jeffrey's works.
Too much action and no internal reflection. That would be his enduring criterion.
Yes, he was spared that horror.
- tosses Nier games his way.-... I have to disagree though, JR Tolkien wrote incredible stories with action.
I've already read Don Quijote,now it is time for Wilhelm Meister,soon I gonna read the others.
Don Quixote. Me alegro de coincidir en uno de los libros.
Es uno de esos libros que se pueden abandonar durante años y retomar la lectura en cualquier momento.
This is one of my favorite videos you've ever done - I hope you do more videos on what the great philosophers have said about works of literature and literary fiction. I'm curious, though--Where did you hear that Don Quijote is the second-most translated book in history? I've been doing research recently on Pinocchio and discovered that Pinocchio is the most-translated book in world history after the Bible and Qur'an.
Thank you.this is very important for someone who is interested in Schopenhauer.Nietzsche venerated him but strangely he is overlooked.I rediscovered this genious last week
Genious???? It's Genius! Please watch your spelllllling 😁
5.30 "All of which would have striked Schopenhauer's fancy." The word here should be Struck.
The man is German. Be thankful he translated it into English.
@@suecollins3246 pretty sure he's dutch
Yea..Don Quixote one of my favorites..who's the bigger fool..the fool or the one who follows the fool??😁🗡️
Ive read New Heloise, it has themes typical of enlightenment era wrttings, chiefly: tradition vs. freedom. Displayed in the monk Abelard's love for the nun Heloise. Neither character first the stereotype of the positions they have commited to. Both are young, good looking, and want children. Unlike the reserved/tradition dedicated fraternities and sororities they are part of. Essentially the story uses the love of Abelard and Heloise to pose the question "what do the traditions actually support?" -- the end being bitterness, death, and how dare two lovers not wish to commit to the same sacrifies/losses of the fraternal/sororital orders.
They (the elder priests and nuns) want everyone to be like them, childless ans unhappy. This is the loser mentality, which they have disguised as a moral positon.
Abelard and Heloise love each other, want children, want freedom, happiness; and are victims of a system where victimhood is preferred in order to recieve support of the system.
Which is very applicable in the modern time.
Read Tristram Shandy 30 years ago in college and was amazed that asides could be a thoughtful , compelling novel . It will always be in my top ten .I must read Rousseau .and Ingebord Bachmann! Wilhelm Meistersinger ? Will any of us ever read either volume ? I hope I can one day! The French nouvelle writers of the 1950's and a host of other schools(The Japanese know a thing about stimulating the contemporary interst - since would disagree with some of this . Representation without human interest can compel us to question our own inner world and thinking . Duras and Robbe-Grillet. I'm amazed he knew Sterne's work !
I just now ordered Don Quixote, from Amazon, for 99 cents.
Great channel. My fav writings by Schopenhauer are the Parerga volumes. I have been wondering about the Tristam Shandy book myself. Ironically, I generally only read non-fiction, but I'll have to read these. Another writer S really like, was Baltasar Gracian, I have read his The Critic, an interesting modern version by an author called La Roche.
Excellent video, thank you for these recommendations. Subbed
Welcome!
I find his idea of a good book quite limited.
Well, it depends on what may interest you when reading a novel. Inteligent description of places and actions are excelent to train our minds into the art of writing, though the introspection of the characters tend to create even more thoughts, feelings, doubts and enhance the capacity to understand human nature.
@@Pauloddalmeida but action can be a great source of insight and character depth when well done. Why a certain character acts like it does can give you his motivation, or what he is capable of sacrificing for something important to that person.
Thinking a story is better the less action it has is not understanding storytelling at all, and is puting his own subjective taste as the objective truth, which it tends to be a mistake no matter who does it.
Maybe I'm reading to much into him, since I don't even know him that much and I'm willing to stand corrected.
@@Ignasimp You're also right. That's why biographys are so important, but I can relate to Schopenhauer's way of thinking.
@@Ignasimp "Alles, was im Christentum Wahres ist, findet sich auch im Brahmanismus und Buddhismus.
"
Anything that can be found to be true in Christianity, can also be found in Brahamism and Buddhism.
I understood this to mean he read some Eastern classics on philosophy and religion and not merely (western) novels.
As for the structure of fiction itself, in the movie Shadowlands we see Anthony Hopkins' representation of C.S. Lewis discussing Aristotles views:
Aristotle's solution was simple and radical. He said plot is character. Forget psychology. Forget the inside of men's heads. Judge them by their actions.
For example mr whistler is asleep. From that action I take it that he has no interest in what I have to say. The puzzle is that being the case: why is he here at all?!
So we construct a plot from mr whistler's actions. He comes, he sleeps. Now Aristotle would say that the next question is not why, but what is mr whistler going to do next?
Perhaps Schopenhauer is reacting to Aristotle, imploring us to look at what the character thinks he's doing (as in Don Quichote) that is to say intends on doing, rather than what he is actually doing.
[Speculating wildly for the next three paragraphs. This is unprovable and therefor an art instead of a science:
I suspect he would have enjoyed Ulysses by James Joyce because it mirrors the Odyssey, however 'nothing happens'. -at least, if you're not constantly reading into things-
Then again, the same could be said (at least, it was said by a Kevin Smith about the movies when discussing the "Trilogy") about Lord of the Rings, in that it's just walking and in part three they throw a ring away. Though the epic history is summarized in the simmarillion, the battles during the Trilogy or the adventures in The Hobbit, There and Back Again aren't of importance, it's what happens to the characters. Not the Men, Dwarves or even Elves of Action, but the character of the half-lings themselves (and their growth to maturity and wisdom). The setting merely gives them the opportunity to be heroic in their own way, but that's just because that sounds engaging to Tolkien's children ;)
By all means, let's read too much into him and explore and speculate what the limits (would) imply! :D
After all, "Alle Beschränkung beglückt.
" All limits make [us] happy :)
Is it the inner life of the characters (and the endless talking about which fabric is made in which part of the world and what cultural implications that has) in Game of Thrones that make them good books, in spite of the moments of actions? I suspect Schopenhauer would have seen it that way (if he would have considered it good storytelling at all). But most (who enjoy the books) would argue the inverse, I suspect. ]
Inner conflict is key and that's all the action Schopenhauer seems to need, the rest is a distraction. Of course, whatever story one fancies is subjective and I'd have to agree that Schopenhauer tends to present his own tastes as objective truth. But to say he doesn't understand storytelling because he prefers "boring"* books and enjoys those, is to make the same mistake, it seems to me.
*I'm not accusing you of using that word, I tend to use it when explaining my taste (of what I'm interested in and what I find fascinating) to others [with a hint of irony].
In this aspect we concur: Shakespeare is The BOMb.
Great video💖 lots of interesting suggestios...Mhmmm I wonder what would be Schopenhauer's favourite novels if he had lived in the 21st century...😑😑😑
(Sorry for my bad english, not sure that sentence was grammatically vcorrect😂)
Freedom by Jonathan Frantzen maybe also Murakami
I am listening to Don Quijote on you tube in Spanish, enjoyable novel. So glad it's recommended by Schopenhauer.
And what about the Bhagavad Gita !?
Schopenhauer was one of the first translators of that book in the EU
Arthur Schopenhauer acknowledged the values of this book calling it 'the most beneficial study in the whole wide world'
And what about Upanishads?
"In the whole world, there is no study so beneficial and so elevating as that of the Upanishads.
It has been the solace of my life, it will be the solace of my death."
Arthur Schopenhauer
I've read, "The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha," and "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman."
If Schopenhauer should have recommended a book with outer action, I'm sure he would have picked Mahabharata.
But maybe it wasn't even translated from Sanskrit in his days.
Yeah ❤
Arthur was huge on Buddhism and Hinduism and was well aware of the Mahabharata.
Cool. I’ve already read 2 of them, Quixote and Shandy. And I want to read them again.
I'm surprised that you didn't mention another novel that Schopenhauer really liked, and that is or was Mazzoni's "The Betrothed." I found Tristam Shandy difficult to follow. I found Wilhelm Meister very boring; the same for Don Quixote. I've never read Rousseau's La nouvelle Heloise.
He would have loved The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker, which consists of the thoughts of a man riding up an escalator at lunch time in the office building where he works. Apart from the character going from one floor to another, literally nothing happens. So according to AS, the ratio of inner to outer events approaches infinity, and makes it the greatest of all novels.
Much of the Modernist movement (thought over action) was directly inspired by Schopenhauer, or inspired by Wagner (who in turn was inspired by Schopenhauer). Haven’t heard of the book though, I’ll have to check it out
Four books you must read before you die - Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Seriously. it is a must imo.
One chapter each morning, reading aloud.
If you know spanish, the best read ever is don quijote in old spanish
Just sublime.
I thought he say that it was "El Criticon" by Baltasar Gracian in The World as Will and Representation.
Don Quixote, one thing I remember from it is the test of love a guy gave to his fiancé or whoever she was and she failed, or rather it was a cruel test, anyway the point was that no one actually truly loves you, rather it is just chemistry as far as conventional love goes, not the agape, unconditional love. That was a good, dark lesson.
Proust would top his list
Just asking what modern books will fit schopenhauer criteria. I love action and horror movies but i have a strong interest in these inner conflict books
I would also post.
That you shouldnt read the thing but its sources first.
Because IT poisions your mind to think of IT in ą certain way. And your original thougths are not gonna be the same, they are gonna be different.
But how do you know of a work?
Well, someone mentioned IT, spoke of it, its made by a grate person and a well aclaimed book?
Than read it, on your own, without any help and be left to your own thougths.
Dont seek help, get there yourself.
Ps
Or you can just do this and develop safety mehanisms of always having that in mind and being wary and aware.
Thx, and it would be interesting to hear what Schopenhauer might think of the best literature and philosophers since his own time in the early 1800's.
We’re working on that video! Stay tuned
Something was lost in translation , it should read four books to avoid .
I have read most of Schopenhauer but of those four can only claim Tristram Shandy as mostly completed and enjoyed. Cervantes has never amused me, but Borges was a fan, so there must be something there.
Goethe has always been out of reach in German, and his Faust isn't as interesting as Marlowe's or Mann's. So no, I haven't even read his Sorrows. Of Rousseau I read his Confessions a long time ago, and remember he called his lover, a Countess, 'Maman'. Also his Emile, where he gives his theory of education, despite abandoning his illegitimate children to orphanages. Also mentioned in passing were the Gospels and Shakespeare, obviously too fundamental to need elaboration. Of course Schopenhauer's aesthetic theories are hopelessly 'Romantic' but still inspiring, and his comment on interiority in prose must surely be correct, otherwise it is just writing events as History.
For the first time Schopenhauer disappoints me. By recommending Rousseau.
Why?
@@WeltgeistYT He is one of the main figures behind all this political madness from today, together with Hegel. It's all the natural development of their Philosophies. The man himself was a monster and his ideas were in accordance with his nature.
Read don quixote and looking forward to re reading 📚 it soon
As for the other three I have not...yet...this winter somewhat familiar with Tristram though
Unfortunately, Schopenhauer died before Marcel Proust was born, let alone published.
Samuel Beckett argued that Proust basically incorporated all of Schopenhauer in his work, principally In Search of Lost Time
Three of the four I hardly liked; 'Don Quixote' is good. 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' is a personal favorite; Nietzsche's writing is on another level. Schopenhauer can claim there are objective, measurable standards, but so can Greek philosophers and so can Ayn Rand, and the standards are all somewhat different. There are aspects of the "outer world" that are exciting, and sometimes the inner world is boring. 'Werther' to me for instance is just a whiny weakling of above average intelligence and wisdom. Many of the main characters of famous novels are not admirable whatsoever; Zarathustra has it all, but maybe that's where subjectivity comes in.
If Arthur would have read 'a la recherche du temps perdu' by Proust, he would have chosen it too💙
Definitely. Proust was inspired by Schopenhauer
I have read Don Quixote in Spanish. It moved me and made me laugh at the same time. By the end, I wasn’t sure if it was Don Quixote who was insane or the people around him.
I have to admit that I did NOT care for Tristram Shandy. Though it might have helped if I had had a different understanding going in. The other three do look intriguing, but ... how do I prioritize? Watching this video and typing these remarks are already distractions from my other priorities... Well, this video was short and to the point, so I learned something quickly. Thanks.
Thanks for watching. You need to plough through Tristram a bit imo
I read Tristram Shandy many years ago and absolutely loved it! One of the most entertaining books I've ever read. Believe me, there's nothing to "plough through," it's simply very enjoyable reading.
You are doing God's Work to show people the truth in this muddy 21st century.
Thank you, great compliment
You know at (1:17) that's The Girl at the Mirror by Norman Rockwell. Just answering for friend below.
Hello! Nice videos! From what Schopenhauer's book are you quoting?
1harry potter
2bible
3garfield
5sxhopenhauer
What about favourite video games of his? He would probably like Xenogears and FFIX.
I would like to know which ones should be the four movies Schopenhauer would recommend to watch.
If he wants inner life, I don't think he'd like movies. Voice over narration and facial expressions are the only way to convey inner life, feelings. He certainly wouldn't like action/adventure movies revovling around chase and suspense. He'd hate classical Hollywood cinema. I'm sure there are more, but this morning James Joyce's "The Dead," short story made into a movie might come the closest as we get into Gabriel's head through voice over and it is not plot driven. Joyce used ephiphanies.
I think he would have liked movies by Fellini. La Dolce Vita, for instance. Nearly 3 hour long. Beautiful and depressing at the same time. Shallow celebrities and paparazzis. The pointlessness of life. Yep, I'm pretty sure he would have liked it.
Wilhelm Meister is awesome.
Goethe invented slice of life mangas
I wonder what the reading list would be, for the 150 years since AS? And how short would it be?
to much better understand El Quijote one should read the story of the Moors in the occupation of the south region of Spain,particularly the region of Andalucia . Since the year 753 to the year 1492 this part of Spain was occupied by the Muslims - - -The Omayedes- . It is interesting all the process of integration, the developement of a great civilization and a great culture, the assimilation of three cultures and at the end a massive expulsion from Spain of all the people "alien" to the catholic religion. particularly from Cordoba, Sevilla and Granada.Cervantes wrote El Quijote ,the first part in the year 1605; The second part in 1615. Just in the process of the expulsion , the loss of all possesions ,separation of families and a total desintegration of what once was the intelectual capital of the world.
is a misinterpretation of schopenhauer...because he also referred to other books....one of them was the Luziadas de Camoes....
Thanks for reminding me about de Camoes. I must read the Os Lusiadas. I am a great admirer of Pessoa which is a bit of a non-sequitur but never mind.
@@michaelkrause3429 I've read a lot of books.... including the Lusíadas... because I'Portuguese.... and since ... Shopenhaurer.. Ciro.. Celine.. Camus... Kafka... and many more.... one that has always stayed in memory is the Book of Restlessness, of Pessoa that I consider a hatchet in the brain.... greetings
Alexandre Dumas: The Count of Monte Cristo (Robin Buss translation)
What about Upanishads??? He said “it is solace of my life”.
These people don't talk about indian books just the ones that are foreign
Typical Western hegemony. Remember what Macaulay said about Oriental literature?
The Upanishads aren't a "novel", which is the category under discussion.
@@c.a.t.732 Elsewhere, Schopenhauer talks about reading in general.
@@mariamalhotra8228 What he talks about "elsewhere" is not germane to the topic of this video, which is novels. Please understand I'm not judging the value of the Upanishads, excerpts of which sit on my own bookshelf, just pointing out the topic at hand.
sadly, Arthur never got to read Tolkien's The Silmarillion, which is one of the best books ever written.
Where do you find these beautiful pictures you use in your videos?
I thought Tom Jones was the first modern novel, not Don Quixote! Scholarly and zeitgeist-bound preference shift?
I think the dream of the red chamber is older than either
My I suggest STEPHEN KING....The Bachman Books.
Tragically, from this list I have only read Tristram Shandy! Oh what an ignoramus am I.
nah, you are normal, the vast majority of people don't read these books. like pulling teeth.
You’re smart enough to watch this video, and channel. I’d say that puts you firmly outside corral that encircles the cringeworthy, senseless human herd. Be proud of that. It’s something to be very proud of.
I have read Don Quixote 🙏
-" make small things interesting". A Jane Austen fan! Poor man predated P.G.Wodehouse, reading whose works I recommend to furnish the mind with a gentle irony and humour which never fails.
I'm glad he didn't rate the awful "Sorrows of Young Werther". Even Massenet couldn't make that interesting. Young Werther needed a kick in the pants.
"Every mediocre writer tries to mask his own natural style, because in his heart he knows the truth of what I am saying. He is thus forced, at the outset, to give up any attempt at being frank or naive--a privilege which is thereby reserved for superior minds, conscious of their own worth, and therefore sure of themselves. What I mean is that these everyday writers are absolutely unable to resolve upon writing just as they think; because they have a notion that, were they to do so, their work might possibly look very childish and simple." ----Schopenhauer
I suppose Schopenhauer must have thought that Shakespeare evolved into "being frank or naive" after his early period in which he "tries to mask his own natural style." And then, even after his early period, Shakespeare's style continued to evolve, but this stage of his evolution was internally generated, an outgrowth of the evolution of his thought.
there is not a link to that video in the description.
Good list. Best of al...l up to the time of Schopenhauer.
Das zu thun, wäre eine gute That (in der alten Sprache Schopenhauers). Ebenso die Alterwerke (Parerga und Paralipomena) mit bissigem Humor.
But which movies did he thumbs up?