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Philosophy Talk

Schopenhauer: Living Your Worst Life

Are we all just pinging about between suffering and boredom?

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) is considered one of the great European philosophers of the nineteenth century. His most famous work, The World as Will and Representation, presents a pessimistic view of a world filled with endless strife and suffering, where happiness can only be but fleeting. So, how did Schopenhauer think we ought to live with one another in such a world? Did he believe there was ultimately a way to overcome the pain of the human condition? Or are we all doomed to live frustration-filled lives? Josh and Ray keep a sunny disposition with David Bather Woods from the University of Warwick, author of Arthur Schopenhauer: The Life and Thought of Philosophy’s Greatest Pessimist (forthcoming). Sunday, July 13 at 11 am.

Devon Strolovitch studied medieval Judeo-Portuguese manuscripts and earned a PhD in Linguistics from Cornell University before coming to KALW. He is the Senior Producer of Philosophy Talk, and since 2007 has hosted Fog City Blues, the weekly digest of Blues in the Bay Area and beyond.