There are very few biographies in which there is not at least one moment in which an unforeseen external event positively changes the biographee’s situation. We always find it, although it is true that sometimes the change does not last. However, luck is there, allowing the change to crystallize and transform—which does not always happen. But it is curious to note that sometimes this event happens at the end of life, and we would assume that it is accompanied by the feeling that it has come too late. We never find this feeling and, privileged to be able to look at the whole biography, we conclude that it would be one hundred percent unreasonable.
Tag: history
The Cultural Environment in Russia…
The cultural environment in Russia in the mid-19th century seems fantastic. Not only because of the vigor, the effervescence of the debates, the practical consequences of the ideas in circulation, the active censorship, the controversies, the political events… but it is astonishing, first of all, the calibre of the authors who were publishing in the press—a press that was still home to much, much literature, and boasted a plethora that Russia had never produced and will never produce;—then, the relevance of what was being discussed, the historical importance of the discussions. The enthusiasm with which all this took place proved to be entirely justified, and words fail to describe the contrast with what is happening in the press today. It is didactic, however, to note the explosive results that followed such vigor.
The Historian of Philosophy Can Very Well…
The historian of philosophy can very well trace the course of currents of thought over the decades, identifying trends here and there, and see them as shaping the results that he identifies. In doing so, one has a view perhaps not of the evolution of thought, but of the origin of ideas, of what kind of stimulus encourages them and what kind of stimulus they respond to. This is certainly beneficial; however, the historical panorama is insufficient for the intellectual to be able to claim to be the master of such developments. In order to do this, he needs to experience the process from the inside, take on the ideas put forward as his own and let them take the path they want within him. This may not be possible for all philosophical problems, but especially for the most current ones, this exercise usually leads to very different conclusions from those that spring up with an air of immediate consecration.
An Authentic Philosopher
The impression we get after going through these almost six hundred pages of Schopenhauer’s biography signed by David Cartwright is just one: Schopenhauer is an authentic philosopher. This can be seen because, for anyone familiar with Schopenhauer’s work, his biography holds no surprises, which is tantamount to saying that his life was consistent with his philosophy or, rather, that his philosophy was real. To measure the difficulty, and perhaps the greatness of this feat, it is enough to compare it to the abundant miseries described by Paul Johnson in the lives of his intellectuals. In Schopenhauer, we see a personality engraved in every act, in every reaction; we see a man who, despite what can be said about him, neither betrayed nor falsified himself. Such integrity, which is extremely rare, deserves the highest recognition.