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Psychology Of Genius In Arthur Schopenhauer
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After the failure of the Revolution of 1818, a revolution for which
Schopenhauer had no sympathy at all, people were ready to pay attention
to a philosophy that emphasized the evil in the world and the vanity of
life and preached a turning away from life to aesthetic contemplation
and asceticism. And in the last decade of his life, Schopenhauer became a
famous man. Visitors came to see him from all sides. And although the
German professors had not forgotten his sarcasm and abuse, lectures were
delivered on his system in several universities, a sure sign that he
has at last arrived. He died in September 1860. May his soul rest in
peace. So be it.
1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Among so many
problems unravelled in the mystery of the mind, stands most prominently,
the question and the concept of genius. And to make matters worse is
the modern usage of the word “geniusâ€. Genius is conceived hitherto as a
“gift of heaven†or a remarkable character imposed on some individuals.
Often, geniuses are seen as extra-ordinary being or super-humans. This
ideology would to some extent arouse the mind of a philosopher and a
critical thinker to inquire why such gift
(if it is) to one, and dullness of intellect, or even idiocy to the other.
The
problem is really philosophical as it questions the one and universal
essence of humanity, of which every human being is made of.
Baffled
with the above problem, I, therefore as a matter of fact, invite the
philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer into the intellectual stage to know
what he has to say. We must acknowledge the fact that Schopenhauer’s
view of life is grim and pessimistic. For him, life is an endless strife
for the unattainable. The world is a world of endless strife, conflict,
suffering and evil. It is impossible to stop any of these because they
are manifestation of the Will. This notion makes Schopenhauer the most
celebrated philosopher of pessimism. He, however, recommends only two
ways by which the pain and suffering of life can be minimized. And these
are: “Aesthetic contemplation and asceticism, especially as it is
practiced in Buddhismâ€5 Schopenhauer went further to assert
that the ideas that are the immediate and adequate objectivity of the
thing-in-itself, of the Will, are Arts - the work of genius.
Consequently, only through pure contemplation through which these
eternal ideas are comprehended that constitutes the nature of genius. An
immediate question then would be: Is a genius consists only in pure
contemplation and apprehension of the immutable truths as we see in
Schopenhauer? And if so, is everybody given that ability of
contemplation and apprehension? However, this is just the statement of
the problem.
1.4 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
Among so many puzzles
and mysteries in the universe, hitherto, unravelled in the Mystery of
Mind stands prominently the question of genius. More often than not, you
hear some people say: “Beethoven was a geniusâ€. Albert Einstein was a
geniusâ€. “Geothe was a geniusâ€. An obvious observation is the fact that
the honour of genius, if so, is only appreciated and accorded to great
minds - the Mahatmas, of past generations. Well acclaimed are those
people, that, it seems there is no existing genius in every present
generation. Would it not be a superficial judgment or observation to
measure genius until only after his or her departure from existence?
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