SCHOPENHAUER, Arthur (1788-1860):
the first German and modern Western philosopher to
draw upon Indian PHILOSOPHY for inspiration. Deeply pessimistic, he embraced the concept
of MY and rejected all appeals to HISTORY as a basis for philosophy. A scathing critic of
HEGEL who he saw as a pedestrian lackey of the Prussian State, he developed a CONCEPT of
the will which influenced such thinkers as NIETZSCHE, FREUD and MERLEAU-PONTY and saw
women as the servants of men. His major work is The World as Will and Idea (1819
and 1844).
