Ascetic ideals are values that advocate withdrawing, abstaining, or rejecting bodily, emotional, and material aspects of everyday life. Nietzsche says the Christian motto of “poverty, chastity, humility” is an ascetic ideal because it suggests that…
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Pessimism is a philosophical term that applies to thinkers who believe the human experience is fundamentally painful, miserable, or characterized by suffering. Schopenhauer is a pessimist because he believes that human existence is driven by…
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Nihilism
Nihilism is the philosophical view that human existence is meaningless and futile. Nihilists believe that there’s no life after death, and they consequently struggle to experience life with joy, knowing that it’s just going to…
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Metaphysics
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the nature of reality. Metaphysical aspects of life are the abstract, invisible, immaterial components of reality that structure, underpin, or drive the human perception.
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The philosopher Schopenhauer thinks that the “will” is a universal, relentless, striving sensation that underpins all reality and experience. To Schopenhauer, the will is metaphysical—meaning he thinks that it’s the basis of reality, and…
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