叔本华的哲学：艺术作为痛苦的解药
学术
2024-11-19 20:06
河北
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Arthur Schopenhauer’s Philosophy:
Art as an Antidote to Suffering
Arthur Schopenhauer is famous for his pessimism. However, he was not without solutions to the grim reality of life. He believed that art could liberate us from suffering.It is unsurprising that Arthur Schopenhauer had a gloomy view of existence. His mother disliked him, his father committed suicide, and he himself spent most of his life isolated in a small apartment in Frankfurt. For him, the very fabric of life was composed of suffering. However, he did have solutions to combat the horror of existence. Among some of his theories, one thing he believed to offer respite was that of art and aesthetic encounters. In this article, we dive into his philosophy of life as suffering and his solutions to it.Arthur Schopenhauer’s Cycle of Suffering
Schopenhauer’s philosophy of pessimism was based on two claims: that non-existence is preferable and that our world is the worst of all possible worlds. Let’s take a look at this first claim.He argues that we are forever – in one way or another – in need of something; we feel that we are lacking. This perception of insufficiency may be real or illusory. For example, we may be without food and the means by which to acquire it, causing us to starve. Equally, we may want the newest iPhone but lack the money to purchase it. Either way, we lack these things and therefore suffer from our perception of lacking.However, as humans, we try to put an end to this suffering by attaining what we lack: earning money to buy food or the new iPhone. This is what he calls ‘striving.’ In his opinion, striving has two ends.Either, our striving is successful and we attain what we previously lacked. Or, we fail in our striving, and our suffering is now twofold, as not only do we lack but we have to face the reality of our failure too. Yet, things don’t end here.In the case of having successfully strived and attained what we wanted, he argues, our escape from suffering and consequential satisfaction is only momentary. Soon after buying the iPhone or acquiring the food, we quickly become bored by these things, causing a new perception of lacking to return. This leads only to more striving and, therefore, more suffering. As put by Schopenhauer:“desires are unlimited, [their] claims inexhaustible, and every satisfied desire gives birth to a new one”(Janaway, 2013).
Thus, in accordance with his philosophy, life is a cycle of continual suffering, in which one’s state of momentary satisfaction is merely suffering yet to form; i.e. suffering soon to come.The Three Solutions
Intrinsic to this cycle of suffering is desire: the desire to attain and to alleviate. In other words, it is our very connection to the world (i.e. our stake in it) that causes us to suffer.Schopenhauer called this our ‘will-to-life’; our self-centered view of the world in which phenomenal reality (i.e. the world as perceived by the senses) is divided and categorised based on its usefulness in our game of attaining and alleviating. Therefore, he argued, by cutting the ‘thousand threads of willing’ that bind us to the world, we can escape this cycle of suffering (Janaway, 2013). He suggested a few ways of doing this (of how we can deny our ‘will-to-life’). More specifically, he posited three possible pathways to enable us to alleviate the suffering innate to life. Namely, via:- Art and aesthetic experience.
We will now analyse these possible pathways in a little more depth. ![]()
Asceticism as a Solution to Suffering
The most extreme pathway to the alleviation of suffering is asceticism. Asceticism is simply the denial of all pleasure. The term describes the severely disciplined life associated with that of celibate monks and priests, in which the denial of sex, food, alcohol and many other pleasures is required.Following in line with the Buddhist and Hindu traditions, Schopenhauer argued that by cutting all pleasures from one’s life, desire and the related ‘will-to-life’ could be permanently eliminated. As the ‘will-to-life’ is the very thing responsible for all human suffering, one could free themselves from this suffering by denying the thing that perpetuates it (i.e. desire). In the same way the successful Buddhist eventually reaches a state of nirvana, free from all temporal desire, the successful ascetic will reach a state of ‘will-lessness,’ resulting in a similar sort of serenity.However, he understood human nature, himself by no means an ascetic. He admitted that the overwhelming majority of people lack the interest and/or discipline to be true ascetics, and will thus never overcome the suffering of life by following this pathway. Thus, he posited a second option.Philosophy of Compassion
According to Schopenhauer, if one cannot follow asceticism, one can at least be compassionate. But why compassionate? you may ask.Without becoming lost in the rather confusing depths of his metaphysics, it is necessary to outline his metaphysical stance in order to understand the relevance of compassion as a means by which to escape suffering. As previously stated, he saw the ‘will-to-life’ as the root of all suffering. And this concept of ‘will’ can be thought of primarily as our wish to continue existing and to procreate. This ‘will’ is the fabric underlying all of reality. For him, will is the only ‘objective’ reality separate from that of our minds, i.e. distinct from phenomenal experience. This was a key idea of his philosophy, evident in the title of his work The World as Will and Representation.Key to the concept of will is that it is present (immanent) in every aspect of reality. In other words, it is the whole of reality, inclusive of ourselves, the organic and the inorganic world. Thus, it follows that there is no distinction between things; no individuals, no self, no divisions – it is all will. Therefore, reality is one.From this, he puts forward, it is only logical to treat fellow humans, animals and everything in the world with compassion, as everything is us. Thus, to be compassionate is to treat oneself well. And to be compassionate is also to recognise that the whole of reality is indeed composed of will, and thus to be able to detach (or at least distance) oneself from this will and consequent will-to-life (thereby removing oneself from the associated suffering).Art and Aesthetic Encounters
While being compassionate is a more reasonable request than becoming an ascetic, it still requires the person to develop a specific approach to life. However, there is a third, temporary solution one can employ to alleviate the suffering of life. This is through art.Upon aesthetic contemplation, Schopenhauer described the following as the result:“the attention is now no longer directed to the motives of willing, but comprehends things free from their relation to the will. Thus it considers things without interest, without subjectivity, purely objectively … Then all at once the peace… comes to us of its own accord, and all is well with us”(quoted in Janaway, 2013).
Upon the contemplation of an artwork, the viewer is able to detach themselves from willing. They are momentarily suspended from the will-to-life, i.e. from desire and striving. In effect, they ‘lose’ themselves in the artwork, to the degree that they forget they are an individual governed by will, instead becoming one with the work of art.But how is this possible?He conceptualizes art as a ‘Platonic idea.’ By this, he means that art and the good artist aspire to replicate objects in their most undistorted form. In other words, the artist who paints a landscape tries to paint it ‘as it really is’ rather than how they perceive it to be. Thus, art aims to capture objectivity.For example, when an artist paints a flower, their aim is to capture the true essence of the flower and its ‘ur’ (intrinsic qualities). In so doing, the artist creates an image of the flower which is universal, and thus closest to objectivity.For him, art sits between will and representation. In other words, it is a form undistorted by phenomena (our own perception of things) and is thus not representation, but is equally separate from the will (the striving innate to life). Therefore, art in its highest form is the closest to objectivity we can come. Thus, to view a work of art is to come closer to the ‘real’ nature of things, which itself implies that the viewer understands what reality is really composed of (i.e. will). It follows that through this recognition the viewer is able to momentarily detach themselves from this will and is able to look upon the true nature of things, liberated from pressures of the will.![]()
Schopenhauer’s Favorite Art Form
According to Schopenhauer’s philosophy, there were five art forms through which one could be liberated from the suffering of life. These were architecture, poetry, painting, sculpture and music. However, he did not hold these in equal accord. Specifically, he deemed music to be the highest form of art. This is because he argued, music embodies the will that underlies life itself. What did he mean by this?Unlike sculpture or painting, whose artists attempt to replicate a Platonic idea, music is ‘the copy of the will itself.’ In other words, music embodies the very will that underlies the whole of reality. This explains why music is considered to be a universal language. This is why movie soundtracks and music set to a specific scene, for example, serve as the perfect commentary upon them and enhance the experience of viewing. Furthermore, music embodies the will – the very thing of life and reality – but leaves aside the practical concerns that are bound up in it. By this, it is meant that we can experience the will without actually suffering from its usual concerns.For example, a piece of music that evokes a melancholy feeling allows us to experience and consider the emotion of sadness common to life, without actually making us sad. It is at once both a detached and involved experience. Thus, music allows us to understand the very thing that underlies reality (will) without tying us to it. Hence, music – even more so than with other art forms – takes us closer to objective reality.Similarly, as music is only limited by time and not space (the two factors limiting our perception of things), it is one step further removed from phenomenal reality, and is thus one step closer to accessing an objective reality.Overall, Schopenhauer offers multiple solutions to his philosophy of life as suffering. These solutions not only alleviate the suffering, but also allow the enlightened person to gain a greater knowledge of reality: of the oneness of things and their true form. While asceticism may be too great a task, and compassion of similar difficulty, aesthetic appreciation is something common to the daily lives of us all. So, the next time you find yourself lost in portraiture or subsumed in a sonata, consider that you are one step closer to the true nature of things.![]()
亚瑟·叔本华因其悲观主义而闻名，但他并非对人生的严酷现实束手无策。他相信艺术能够将我们从痛苦中解放出来。亚瑟·叔本华对存在的悲观态度并不令人惊讶。他的母亲不喜欢他，他的父亲自杀身亡，而他自己大部分时间都孤独地生活在法兰克福的小公寓里。在他看来，生命的本质充满了痛苦。然而，他确实提出了一些应对生存恐怖的解决方案。在他的众多理论中，他认为艺术和审美体验能够给人带来一种喘息的机会。在本文中，我们将探讨他关于生命是痛苦的哲学及其应对之道。叔本华的悲观主义哲学基于两个主张：非存在优于存在，且我们的世界是所有可能世界中最糟糕的。让我们首先来看他的第一个主张。他认为我们永远以某种方式感到缺乏，总觉得自己有所欠缺。这种对不足的感知可能是真实的，也可能是虚幻的。例如，我们可能没有食物，也没有获取食物的手段，这使得我们挨饿。同样地，我们可能想要最新款的iPhone，但却缺乏购买它的资金。不管哪种情况，我们都感受到缺乏，因此因这种缺失而痛苦。然而，作为人类，我们试图通过获得缺乏的东西来终止这种痛苦：挣到足够的钱去买食物或购买新的iPhone。这就是他所谓的“追求”。在他看来，追求有两种结局。要么，我们的追求成功了，我们获得了之前所缺的东西；要么，我们的追求失败了，我们的痛苦就加倍了，因为我们不仅缺乏，还必须面对自己失败的现实。但事情并没有就此结束。在成功追求并获得我们想要的东西的情况下，他认为，我们从痛苦中逃离并随之而来的满足感只是暂时的。很快，在买到iPhone或获得食物后，我们对这些东西的兴趣就会减退，从而再次产生新的缺乏感。这只会导致更多的追求，也因此带来更多的痛苦。正如叔本华所言：“欲望是无限的，其要求永无止境，而每个被满足的欲望都会生出新的欲望”（Janaway，2013）。因此，根据他的哲学，生命是持续痛苦的循环，暂时的满足状态只是尚未成形的痛苦，即即将到来的痛苦。痛苦循环的内在因素是欲望：渴望获得和缓解。换句话说，正是我们与世界的联系（即我们对世界的依附）导致了我们的痛苦。叔本华称之为我们的“生存意志”；即我们以自我为中心的世界观，在这种观念中，现象现实（即通过感官感知到的世界）被根据其在我们获取和缓解游戏中的作用划分和分类。因此，他主张通过切断将我们与世界联系起来的“意愿的千丝万缕”，我们可以逃离这种痛苦的循环（Janaway，2013）。他提出了几种方法来做到这一点（即如何否定我们的“生存意志”）。具体来说，他提出了三种可能的途径，使我们能够缓解生命中固有的痛苦。即通过：减轻痛苦的最极端途径是禁欲主义。禁欲主义只是对一切快乐的否定。这个术语描述了一种严格自律的生活方式，通常与独身的僧侣和神职人员相关，其中包括对性、食物、酒精和许多其他快乐的拒绝。沿袭佛教和印度教传统，叔本华认为，通过从生活中排除一切快乐，欲望和相关的“生存意志”可以被永久消除。由于“生存意志”是导致所有人类痛苦的根源，通过否定延续这种痛苦的事物（即欲望），人们可以从这种痛苦中解脱出来。就像成功的佛教徒最终达到了超脱一切世俗欲望的涅槃状态，成功的禁欲者将达到“无意志”的状态，带来类似的平静。然而，他了解人性，并不是一个禁欲主义者。他承认绝大多数人缺乏成为真正禁欲者的兴趣和/或纪律，因此无法通过这条途径克服生活的痛苦。因此，他提出了第二种选择。根据叔本华，如果一个人不能走禁欲主义的道路，那么至少可以选择富有同情心。但为什么是同情心呢？你可能会问。为了理解同情作为逃离痛苦手段的相关性，我们有必要简要概述他的形而上学立场，而不至于迷失在其相当复杂的形而上学深处。如前所述，他将“生存意志”视为一切痛苦的根源。这个“意志”的概念主要可以被视为我们希望继续存在和繁衍的愿望。这种“意志”是现实的基本构成。对他而言，意志是唯一一种与我们思想分离的“客观”现实，即与现象经验不同。这是他哲学中的一个关键概念，在他的作品《作为意志和表象的世界》的标题中得到了体现。意志概念的关键在于它存在于现实的每一个方面（即内在于现实）。换句话说，它是现实的整体，包括我们自身、有机世界和无机世界。因此，事物之间没有区别；没有个体、没有自我、没有划分——一切都是意志。因此，现实是统一的。基于此，他认为，唯一合理的方式是以同情的态度对待他人、动物和世界上的一切，因为一切都是我们自身。因此，同情他人就是善待自己。同样，富有同情心也是认识到整个现实确实由意志构成，因此能够从这种意志和相应的生存意志中脱离（或至少与之保持距离），从而摆脱与之相关的痛苦。虽然富有同情心比成为禁欲者更为合理，但它仍然需要个人培养特定的人生态度。然而，还有第三种临时的解决方案可以用来减轻生活的痛苦，这就是通过艺术。“注意力现在不再集中在意志的动机上，而是自由地理解事物，不受意志的约束。因此，它以无关利益、无关主观的方式考虑事物……这时，平静……自然而然地来到我们身边，一切都变得安好”（引自Janaway，2013）。通过对艺术作品的沉思，观者能够从意志中抽离。他们暂时脱离了生存意志，即脱离了欲望和追求。实际上，他们“迷失”在艺术作品中，以至于忘记了自己是受意志支配的个体，而是与艺术作品融为一体。他将艺术概念化为“柏拉图式理念”。他的意思是，艺术和优秀的艺术家力图以最不扭曲的形式再现对象。换句话说，画家在描绘风景时，试图“如其所是”地描绘，而不是按照他们的感知。因此，艺术旨在捕捉客观性。例如，当一位艺术家画一朵花时，他们的目的是捕捉花的真实本质及其“本质”（内在特质）。这样，艺术家就创造了这朵花的形象，这种形象是普遍的，因此最接近客观性。对他来说，艺术介于意志和表象之间。换句话说，它是一种不受现象（我们对事物的感知）扭曲的形式，因此它不是表象，但同样与意志（生命中固有的追求）分离。因此，艺术在其最高形式上是我们最接近客观性的一种方式。因此，观赏艺术作品就是更接近事物“真实”本质，这意味着观者理解了现实的真正构成（即意志）。通过这种认识，观者可以暂时脱离这种意志，并能够看到事物的真实本质，从而摆脱意志的压力。根据叔本华的哲学，通过五种艺术形式，人们可以从生命的痛苦中解放出来。这些艺术形式是建筑、诗歌、绘画、雕塑和音乐。然而，他并没有将它们等同看待。具体来说，他认为音乐是最高形式的艺术。这是因为他认为，音乐体现了生命本身的意志。这是什么意思？与雕塑或绘画不同，后者的艺术家试图复制柏拉图式的理念，音乐则是“意志本身的复制品”。换句话说，音乐体现了整个现实背后的意志。这解释了为什么音乐被认为是通用语言。这也是为什么电影原声带和特定场景中的音乐，能够完美地诠释并增强观赏体验的原因。此外，音乐体现了意志——生命和现实的核心——但不涉及其中的实际关切。也就是说，我们可以体验意志而不必经历通常与之相关的痛苦。例如，一首唤起忧郁情感的音乐作品让我们体验并思考生活中常见的悲伤情绪，却不会真的使我们感到悲伤。这既是一种超然的又是一种参与的体验。因此，音乐使我们理解了现实背后的事物（意志），而不将我们束缚于其上。因此，音乐——甚至比其他艺术形式更甚——让我们更接近客观现实。同样，音乐仅受时间的限制而不受空间（限制我们对事物感知的两个因素）的束缚，因此，它比现象现实更远一步，也因此更接近客观现实。总体而言，叔本华为其关于生命即痛苦的哲学提供了多种解决方案。这些解决方案不仅减轻了痛苦，还使开悟之人能够获得对现实的更深认知：理解万物的统一及其真实形态。虽然禁欲主义可能过于艰巨，同情心也具有类似的难度，但审美欣赏是我们日常生活中常见的事情。所以，下一次当你沉浸于一幅肖像画或被一首奏鸣曲所吸引时，请考虑一下，你其实离事物的真实本质更近了一步。![]()
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