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
They tell us that suicide is the greatest piece of cowardice... that suicide is wrong; when it is quite obvious that there is nothing in the world to which every man has a more unassailable title than to his own life and person.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes individual ownership of one's life and challenges societal views on suicide as cowardice.
Arthur Schopenhauer's quote reflects on the nature of suicide and challenges the societal narrative that views it as an act of cowardice. He argues that every individual has an inherent right to their own life and to make choices about it, even if those choices are morally or socially contested. This perspective invites deeper introspection on the complexities of personal suffering and the autonomy one has over their existence.
Themes
SuicideLifeAutonomyCowardiceIndividualityPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a seminar discussing mental health, one might quote Schopenhauer to emphasize the importance of individual choice in life.
More from Arthur Schopenhauer
All quotes →To be shocked at how deeply rejection hurts is to ignore what acceptance involves. We must never allow our suffering to be compounded by suggestions that there is something odd in suffering so deeply. There would be something amiss if we didn't.
Arthur SchopenhauerRead
Almost all of our sorrows spring out of our relations with other people.
Arthur SchopenhauerRead
Life is full of troubles and vexations, that one must either rise above it by means of corrected thoughts, or leave it.
Arthur SchopenhauerRead
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.
Arthur SchopenhauerRead
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.
Arthur SchopenhauerRead
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