The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer; Counsels and Maxims

Schopenhauer offers no comfort, and that's precisely why his work endures. In these bracing essays, one of history's most uncompromising philosophers dissects the human condition with surgical precision. Life, he argues, is not designed for happiness. It is, rather, an endless struggle in which suffering is the fundamental reality and pleasure merely a temporary cessation of pain. We are slaves to our desires, endlessly striving, endlessly wanting, finding no lasting satisfaction. The only wisdom lies in recognizing this fundamental truth and learning to want less. Written with aphoristic force and dark elegance, these counsels on managing expectations, relating to others, and confronting one's own nature remain startlingly relevant. They are for anyone who has ever suspected that the pursuit of happiness is itself the source of unhappiness.