Arthur Schopenhauer | Biography, Philosophy and Facts

On September 21, 1860, Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher, died at the age of 72. I particularly like his Parerga and Paralipomena (Essays and Aphorisms). An excerpt from the article:

"Arthur Schopenhauer was a renowned German philosopher, remembered for his pessimistic views on human nature, which are discussed in his highly praised and widely discussed book, “The World as Will and Representation”. Schopenhauer’s theories were influenced by the philosophies of Plato and Immanuel Kant, his teachings brought him in constant academic rivalry with Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.

Arthur Schopenhauer was born on February 22, 1788, in Danzig, Poland. He was born into an affluent German family, his father, Heinrich Floris Schopenhauer was a successful merchant, while his mother, Johanna Troisner was a writer. His parents had moved to Hamburg in 1793, upon Prussia’s annexation of Danzig. In 1805, Arthur’s father ended his life by committing suicide. From then on, his mother took over his upbringing, and in 1807, Arthur was enrolled in a gymnasium in Gotha. Later, he was placed under the tutelage of the famous Greek philosopher, Franz Passow, who instructed him in classical studies. Two years later, he became fluent in Greek and Latin. At the age of 21, he inherited one-third of the paternal estate which allotted him a fixed income of his own. In 1809, Arthur was accepted at the University of Göttingen, where he pursued a degree in medicine. He also studied philosophy under the direction of G.E. Schulze, who regularly assigned him philosophical readings, his interests were especially peaked by the works of Plato and Immanuel Kant, and they had a significant influence in shaping his ideologies."