Schopenhauer

American  

[shoh-puhn-hou-er, shoh-puhn-hou-uhr] / ˈʃoʊ pənˌhaʊ ər, ˈʃoʊ pənˌhaʊ ər /

noun

1. Arthur 1788–1860, German philosopher.

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Schopenhauer British  

/ ˈʃoːpənhauər, ˌʃəʊpənˈhaʊərɪən /

noun

1. Arthur (ˈartʊr). 1788–1860, German pessimist philosopher. In his chief work, The World as Will and Idea (1819), he expounded the view that will is the creative primary factor and idea the secondary receptive factor

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Schopenhauerism
  noun
• Schopenhauerian
  adjective

Example Sentences

In his program note, Sharon quotes the doom-laden philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer as an inspiration for Wagner’s nothing-is-real masterpiece.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

Life, as the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer once said, is a pendulum that swings between pain and boredom.

From New York Times • Jan. 19, 2024

A favorite passage from “King Lear” appears in “Birthday Candles,” and the name of an onstage goldfish — Atman — comes from the name of a poodle adored by the great German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 15, 2022

Still, asks Schopenhauer, why should we be afraid of nonexistence since no one is troubled about having been nothing before his or her birth?

From Washington Post • Jan. 13, 2021

At its heart lies a theory Wagner drew from Schopenhauer, from Buddhism and from Christianity, that self-enlightenment, or personal redemption, is achieved by denying oneself gratification, resisting temptation and seeking an understanding of fellow-suffering.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall