The Wisdom of Life

A profound advocate for willpower and rational deliberation, Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) believed that complete happiness and satisfaction are unobtainable. This essay from his final work, Parerga und Paralipomena (1851), examines how to discover the highest possible degree of pleasure and success, and suggests guidelines for experiencing life to its fullest. Lucid and compelling, Schopenhauer's work offers a powerfully original point of view on a subject of perennial interest.