Death, contemplation and Schopenhauer

141 Pages·2007·2.054 MB·English

by  Schopenhauer, Arthur, Singh, R. Raj

DEATH, CONTEMPLATION AND SCHOPENHAUER
The connections between death, contemplation and the contemplative life have been
a recurrent theme in the canons of both western and eastern philosophical thought.
This book examines the classical sources of this philosophical literature, in particular
Plato’s Phaedo and the Katha Upanishad and then proceeds to a sustained analysis
and critical assessment of the sources and standpoints of a single thinker, Arthur
Schopenhauer, whose work comprehensively pursues this problem.
Going beyond the well-examined western influences on Schopenhauer, Singh
offers an in-depth account of Schopenhauer’s references to eastern thought and
a comprehensive examination of his eastern sources, particularly Vedanta and
Buddhism. The book traces the pivotal issue of death through the whole range of
Schopenhauer’s writings uncovering the deeper connotations of his crucial notion
of the will-to-live.
An excellent book, clear and concise without academic slang. A book for all those
who expect from philosophy more than intellectual acrobatics.
Günter Wohlfart
University of Wuppertaal, Germany
According to Raj Singh, Schopenhauer is a thinker “whose philosophical thought
revolves around the pivotal issue of death.” In this work, a thoughtful examination
of Socrates and the Vedantic tradition provides the background for an extensive
treatment of the role of death in Schopenhauer’s work and its relation to contemplation
and the contemplative life. Professor Singh’s work is searching, enlightening and
revealing.
David Carr
Emory University, USA
Raj Singh considers all of Schopenhauer’s published works, focussing on the
connection between death, philosophy and the ideal philosophical life. As the first
complex study to qualify Schopenhauer’s pessimism with reference to Indian thought,
this book is timely in light of the recently awakened debate on Schopenhauer’s
relation to eastern traditions.
Matthias Kossler
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany
ASHGATE NEW CRITICAL THINKING
IN PHILOSOPHY
The Ashgate New Critical Thinking in Philosophy series brings high quality research
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and student, academic and research readers. Headed by an international editorial
advisory board of acclaimed scholars from across the philosophical spectrum, this
monograph series presents cutting-edge research from established as well as exciting
new authors in the field. Spanning the breadth of philosophy and related disciplinary
and interdisciplinary perspectives Ashgate New Critical Thinking in Philosophy
takes contemporary philosophical research into new directions and debate.
Series Editorial Board:
David Cooper, Durham University, UK
Sean Sayers, University of Kent, UK
Simon Critchley, New School, USA; University of Essex, UK
Simon Glendinning, London School of Economics, UK
Paul Helm, Regent College, Canada
David Lamb, University of Birmingham, UK
John Post, Vanderbilt University, UK
Alan Goldman, College of William and Mary, USA
Joseph Friggieri, University of Malta, Malta
Graham Priest, University of Melbourne; University of St Andrews, UK
Moira Gatens, University of Sydney, Australia
Alan Musgrave, University of Otago, New Zealand
Death, Contemplation and
Schopenhauer
R. RAJ SINGH
Brock University, Canada
© R. Raj Singh 2007
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording
or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
R. Raj Singh has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988,
to be identified as the author of this work.
Published by
Ashgate Publishing Limited Ashgate Publishing Company
Gower House Suite 420
Croft Road 101 Cherry Street
Aldershot Burlington, VT 05401-4405
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England
Ashgate website: http://www.ashgate.com
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Singh, Ravindra Raj
Death, contemplation and Schopenhauer. - (Ashgate new
critical thinking in philosophy)
1. Schopenhauer, Arthur, 1788-1860 2. Death
I. Title
128.5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Singh, Ravindra Raj.
Death, contemplation and Schopenhauer / Ravindra Raj Singh.
p. cm. -- (Ashgate new critical thinking in philosophy)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7546-6050-7 (hardcover) 1. Death. 2. Contemplation. 3. Schopenhauer,
Arthur, 1788-1860. I. Title.
BD444.S52 2007
193--dc22
2006026855
ISBN-13: 978 0 7546 6050 7
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire.
Contents
List of Abbreviations vi
Prologue ix
1 The Word and the Deed of Socrates 1
2 The Katha Upanishad: An Eastern Classic on Death 13

3 Schopenhauer: Book IV of The World as Will and Representation 27
4 Schopenhauer and Indian Thought 55
5 Schopenhauer: The Supplementary Essays 73
6 Schopenhauer: The Later Essays 99
Epilogue 115
Bibliography 119
Index 121
List of Abbreviations
WWR The World as Will and Representation
W, I The World as Will and Representation, Vol. 1
W, II The World as Will and Representaiton, Vol. II
PP, I Parerga and Paralipomena, Vol. I.
PP, II Parega and Paralipomena, Vol. II
H N Der Handschriftliche Nachlass
FRPSR On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason
In memoriam
Harbans Raj Singh
(1918–1979)
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Prologue
Death and Contemplation
If philosophy begins, as Aristotle says, from wonder,1 then things that strike wonder
in us must be instigators of philosophical thought. Nothing causes more wonder
and awe than death, the disconcerting reality of which assails every reflective
mind. It is true that the evasion and dismissal of death are as commonplace as the
acknowledgement in thought of death as the “only thing about which there is no
uncertainty.”2 Death is never taken as a merely physical event. The why, what,
wherefore and aftermath of death causes tremendous perturbation and amazement.
Furthermore, it is the root of all existential anxiety (angst) that prompts humans to
absorb themselves in worldliness as Heidegger explains and it is what makes the
will-to-live a natural drive, as Schopenhauer upholds. Death is an issue that is ever
unresolved. It is what everyone knows but no one has experienced. The amazing
truth of death, its meaning and its implications have been explored not only within
philosophy but also religion, literature and social sciences. The issues of death and
immortality are the backbone of all major religious traditions. Various speculations
concerning the meaning of death and the typical human responses to its indubitable
reality are widely outlined in the poetry, fiction and non-fiction of all languages.
Death and dying has emerged as a major field of inquiry within the social sciences
due to its practical and therapeutic importance.
Death and Philosophy
It has been claimed that no other human field of inquiry and creativity is as closely
allied to death as philosophy. Indeed, philosophy was conceived as wedded to death.
Thus a pertinent issue at hand for us is the following: what is the connection between
a thoughtful recognition of death and the activity of philosophizing? Ever since the
word and deed of Socrates proclaimed the bond between death and philosophy, the
theme of death has stayed with western philosophy as an essential part of its mandate.
Since the nature and scope of philosophy has to be one of the foremost issues for
philosophy, with an evolutionary process of its own, it is but natural that the theme
of death has been embraced and treated somewhat differently in different epochs
and different systems of philosophy. But no period of history has found this theme
non-essential and unworthy of thought on the whole. In the eastern philosophies
1 Aristotle, Metaphysics, 982b.
2 St. Augustine, commentary on Psalm 38:19. Quoted by J. Pieper, Death and
Immortality (New York: Herder & Herder, 1974), p. 17.