Overview

Weltschmerz is a study of the pessimism that dominated German philosophy in the second half of the nineteenth century. Pessimism was essentially the theory that life is not worth living. This theory was introduced into German philosophy by Schopenhauer, whose philosophy became very fashionable in the 1860s. Frederick C. Beiser examines the intense and long controversy that arose from Schopenhauer's pessimism, which changed the agenda of philosophy in Germany away from the logic of the sciences and toward an examination of the value of life. He examines the major defenders of pessimism (Philipp Mainländer, Eduard von Hartmann and Julius Bahnsen) and its chief critics, especially Eugen Dühring and the neo-Kantians. The pessimism dispute of the second half of the century has been largely ignored in secondary literature and this book is a first attempt since the 1880s to re-examine it and to analyze the important philosophical issues raised by it. The dispute concerned the most fundamental philosophical issue of them all: whether life is worth living.

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9780198768715

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Reviews

Overall, this is another excellent book by Beiser, unearthing another major, overlooked controversy in the history of philosophy, with a cast of insightful philosophers making arguments that deserve continued attention. Throughout, Beiser balances accessibility to non-specialists and substantive engagement with important secondary literature on Schopenhauer. He not only explains the views of the participants in this great philosophical drama, but inserts himselfand his readersinto that drama. He describes systems, arguments, and objections so richly that I often found myself interjecting my own thoughts about how one or another philosopher might respond to various objections. * Patrick R. Frierson, Journal of the History of Philosophy * Beiser has made an important contribution to our understanding of nineteenth-century German philosophy that should be required reading of anyone who seeks to understand the full story of the German philosophical tradition in this century. It paints a detailed, rich, fascinating picture of a hitherto forgotten controversy, and one that deals with issues of value and meaning in life that touch us all. * Sandra Shapshay, Notre Dame Philosophical Review *

Beisers book is delightful, clear and thorough. It is written in the best style of historians of philosophy. * Sergio Valverde, Phenomenological Reviews * Beiser has made an important contribution to our understanding of nineteenth-century German philosophy that should be required reading of anyone who seeks to understand the full story of the German philosophical tradition in this century. It paints a detailed, rich, fascinating picture of a hitherto forgotten controversy, and one that deals with issues of value and meaning in life that touch us all. * Sandra Shapshay, Notre Dame Philosophical Review * Overall, this is another excellent book by Beiser, unearthing another major, overlooked controversy in the history of philosophy, with a cast of insightful philosophers making arguments that deserve continued attention. Throughout, Beiser balances accessibility to non-specialists and substantive engagement with important secondary literature on Schopenhauer. He not only explains the views of the participants in this great philosophical drama, but inserts himselfand his readersinto that drama. He describes systems, arguments, and objections so richly that I often found myself interjecting my own thoughts about how one or another philosopher might respond to various objections. * Patrick R. Frierson, Journal of the History of Philosophy *

Author Information

Frederick C. Beiser was born and raised in the US, and studied in the UK at Oriel and Wolfson Colleges, Oxford. He also studied in Germany and lived in Berlin for many years, receiving stipends from the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung and the Humboldt Stiftung. He has taught in universities across the US, and is currently Professor of Philosophy at Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York. Beiser is the author of Schiller as Philosopher (OUP, 2005), Diotima's Children (OUP, 2009), The German Historicist Tradition (OUP, 2011), Late German Idealism (OUP, 2013), and The Genesis of Neo-Kantianism, 1796-1880 (OUP, 2014).

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