Coward's Way Out by Arthur Schopenhauer

Arthur Schopenhauer proposed that life is full of suffering, and that this suffering is directly caused by the will of the individual. By wanting or expecting something, an individual is setting himself up to suffer until that goal is met. Then, upon fulfillment of the dream, a new goal is set forth, and the cycle of suffering begins again. Schopenhauer's solution is to cease attachment to the will, desiring nothing. However, a life without suffering is not necessarily a happy life. In fact, without suffering, there can be no happiness, for happiness is relative. Because of this, I believe humans should throw themselves fully into their lives, and experience every emotion and moment.

Schopenhauer says that an ascetic lifestyle, in which man "ceases to will anything,"(p239) is vital. In this way, "forcing himself to refrain from all he would like to do, and to do all that he would not like to do" (p240) humans can avoid suffering. In a hypothetical situation, a man who fears harming his wife would be compelled to do so, thus injuring or perhaps killing her. While this would supposedly further the husbands attachment to desires, it doesn't bode well for those around him.

This problem is easily solved in the next paragraph. If the man's wife were also practicing asceticism, she would receive this treatment "gladly as the opportunity to ascertain that (s)he no longer affirms the will." (p240) If this pattern is expanded, one sees the whole of mankind being outright terrible to one another, in the hope that by feeling nothing they will avoid feeling suffering. This is, in my eyes, needless and cowardly.

Schopenhauer also says that an individual with this in mind ignores sexual urges. However, in the next sentence, Schopenhauer describes the body as "healthy and strong"(p239) when it expresses sexual desire through the genitals. This statement seems contradictory, as health is a vital concern to human beings. How is it that something that is healthy can be wrong?

According to Schopenhauer, however, health is unimportant. He even suggests that a person practicing asceticism will "resort even to chastisement and self-inflicted torture"(p240) in order to subdue the will. This is, supposedly, the best way to remove the will, which is "the source of his suffering existence and the world's" (p240). This description is unarguably true, as suffering does come about as a result of the will and choices made.

Between periods of suffering, there is brief happiness as desires are fulfilled. Schopenhauer claims that this pleasure "can never be more than deliverance from pain," (p202) further suggesting that humans only experience happiness through the memory of suffering and pain. This view is opposite to the modern view of suffering and happiness. The female body, after pregnancy, releases hormones that cause the woman to forget the pain of childbirth. In this way, the happiness she feels will be the emotion that remains with her, and she will have children in the future.

Life is full of suffering, this fact is unavoidable. However, by realizing this, and by focusing on the positives, human beings can lead reasonably enjoyable lives. Without suffering, there can be, comparatively, no happiness. Therefore, an individual should do exactly the opposite of what Schopenhauer suggests, and experience each emotion, good or bad, as fully as possible. The stronger the suffering, the greater will be the happiness that follows. Mr.Schopenhauer's suggestions merely describe a way of not coping with life, a sort of apathetic suicide. Instead, through experiencing suffering, happiness, and the full spectrum of emotion, human beings should learn, and use this knowledge to help right the wrongs they see around them.