Research On Schopenhauer's View Of Happiness

Since ancient Greece,happiness has been regarded by philosophers as the being-in-itself value,and the existence of man embodies the uniqueness of its value in the dimension of happiness.The fact that people regard the ultimate goal of happiness as being-in-itself value does not mean that they agree on its specific content.On the contrary,the dispute over the concrete connotation of this value is as long as its history of cogn-ition and struggle.Schopenhauer,as a genius philosopher with pioneering ideas in the modern history of western philosophy,denied the view of materialistic happiness that had emerged since modem times in the West with the triumph of scientific and technological rationality in the form of the accumulation of material wealth.Schopenhauer's view,"Life is pain," lamented the people who were already engrossed in instrumental rationality,but that did not mean Schopenhauer was a pessimist with a pessimistic view on life.Like most philosophers,Schopenhauer also regarded happiness as the being-in-itself value,but he turned the path of happiness to the inner mind.In Schopenhauer's view,people's desires can not be fundamentally satisfied,and the materialistic happiness view based on the degree of satisfaction of human needs since modern times can only make people fall into deep pain.The essence of happiness lies not in the satisfaction of man's needs,but in the fullness of man's inner mind.All external good,such as material wealth and the evaluation of others,is merely the non-essential element of happiness,and they have only external value for human happiness.Enriching one's inner mind is the fundamental way to achieve happiness.But this does not mean that happiness is an isolated existence which can be separated from the external good,and the realization of happiness is still inseparable from the presence of the external good.In order to achieve happiness,individuals should not only enrich their inner mind in time,but also actively face the real society and strive to pursue all the external good necessary for their happiness.It is just that one should not abandon one's own mind in the course of pursuing external goodness,but always maintain one's physical and mental integrity and the enrichment of one's inner mind.Since modern times,with the triumph of scientific and technological rationality in the form of the accumulation of material wealth,the view of materialistic happiness has occupied the stage of human history.By virtue of rich material wealth brought by science and technology and the high confidence in human reason,people are full of great expectations for happiness.Schopenhauer's turn in the field of happiness philosophy undoubtedly has a great impact on the material happiness view since moderm times in the West.The view of happiness played a critical role in theory.It has seen the abandonment of human beings and the destruction of physical and mental integrity of human beings in the process of development of modem Western civilization,which urges people living in modem civilization to make progress in human civilization and human beings themselves.It calls for people to return to themselves and to think and realize the ultimate value of life.