This volume collects 12 essays by various contributors on the subject of the importance and influence of Schopenhauer’s doctoral dissertation (On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason) for both Schopenhauer’s more well-known philosophy and the ongoing discussion of the subject of the principle of sufficient reason. The contributions deal with the historical context of Schopenhauer’s reflections, their relationship to (transcendental) idealism, the insights they hold for Schopenhauer’s views of consciousness and sensation, and how they illuminate Schopenhauer’s theory of action. This is the first full-length, English volume on Schopenhauer’s Fourfold Root and its relevance for Schopenhauer’s philosophy. The thought-provoking essays collected in this volume will undoubtedly enrich the burgeoning field of Schopenhauer-studies.

This book is a philosophical commentary on Schopenhauer's "Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason," dealing with each of Schopenhauer's principal topics in turn. It also provides the reader with a general survey of Schopenhauer's later philosophical views and puts them into an historical context

Schopenhauer’s Early Fourfold Root constitutes a landmark in Schopenhaurian scholarship. It is a translation with concise commentary of Schopenhauer’s doctoral thesis as submitted to the University of Jena and published at Rudolstadt in 1813. In spite of the great and increasing interest in the writings of Schopenhauer in the English-speaking world, this work has never been translated before, and its long awaited appearance fills the only remaining gap in the philosophical works of Schopenhauer available to English-speaking readers. Schopenhauer’s thesis of 1813 is very different from the 1847 edition well known to English readers, and its appearance in translation will enable students and scholars alike to make sense of the development of Schopenhauer’s thought in a way that has been possible so far only to those at ease with Schopenhauer’s German. The translation, which keeps a fine balance between readability and philosophical accuracy, is accompanied by a commentary enabling students as well as established scholars to follow Schopenhauer’s thought with comparative ease.

"Schopenhauer's analyses of causation and related concepts . . . rival and probably surpass in their depth and brilliance the more celebrated discussions of David Hume. Where Hume grossly oversimplified these problems and left them riddled with paradoxes, Schopenhauer disentangled them and shed light on what had seemed hopelessly dark." --Richard Taylor, University of Rochester

This is the first comprehensive biography of Schopenhauer written in English. Placing him in his historical and philosophical contexts, David E. Cartwright tells the story of Schopenhauer's life to convey the full range of his philosophy. He offers a fully documented portrait in which he explores Schopenhauer's fractured family life, his early formative influences, his critical loyalty to Kant, his personal interactions with Fichte and Goethe, his ambivalent relationship to Schelling, his contempt for Hegel, his struggle to make his philosophy known, and his reaction to his late-arriving fame.

This book is an introduction to the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer, written in a lively, personal style. Hannan emphasizes the peculiar inconsistencies and tensions in Schopenhauer's thought--he was torn between idealism and realism, and between denial and affirmation of the individual will. In addition to providing a useful summary of Schopenhauer's main ideas, Hannan connects Schopenhauer's thought with ongoing debates in philosophy. According to Hannan, Schopenhauer was struggling half-consciously to break altogether with Kant and transcendental idealism; the anti-Kantian features of Schopenhauer's thought possess the most lasting value. Hannan defends panpsychist metaphysics of will, comparing it with contemporary views according to which causal power is metaphysically basic. Hannan also defends Schopenhauer's ethics of compassion against Kant's ethics of pure reason, and offers friendly amendments to Schopenhauer's theories of art, music, and "salvation." She also illuminates the deep connection between Schopenhauer and the early Wittgenstein, as well as Schopenhauer's influence on existentialism and psychoanalytic thought.