We can come to look upon the deaths of our enemies with as much regret as we feel for those of our friends, namely, when we miss their existence as witnesses to our success.
Arthur SchopenhauerRead
If life — the craving for which is the very essence of our being — were possessed of any positive intrinsic value, there would be no such thing as boredom at all: mere existence would satisfy us in itself, and we should want for nothing.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life is driven by desire; without craving, existence alone would not invoke boredom.
Schopenhauer's quote suggests that the essence of life is a continual craving for more, highlighting that this desire is a fundamental aspect of human existence. If life inherently held intrinsic value, people would find mere existence fulfilling, and boredom would cease to exist, indicating that fulfillment and desire are intertwined.
Themes
LifeDesireBoredomExistenceValue
In practice
Example use cases
In a philosophical discussion about the nature of fulfillment and desire.
More from Arthur Schopenhauer
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Our religions will never at any time take root; the ancient wisdom of the human race will not be supplanted by the events in Galilee. On the contrary, Indian wisdom flows back to Europe, and will produce a fundamental change in our knowledge and thought.
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We will gradually become indifferent to what goes on in the minds of other people when we acquire a knowledge of the superficial nature of their thoughts, the narrowness of their views and of the number of their errors. Whoever attaches a lot of value to the opinions of others pays them too much honor.
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