Mar 2019
Schopenhauer left Berlin in a rush
in 1813 fearing that the city could
be attacked and that he could be
pressed into military service as Prussia
just joined the war against France.
He returned to Weimar but left
after less than a month disgusted
by the fact that his mother was now
living with her supposed lover,
Georg Friedrich Conrad Ludwig Müller von Gerstenbergk,
a civil servant fourteen years
younger than her; he considered
the relationship an act of infidelity
to his father's memory. He settled
for a while in Rudolstadt hoping
that no army would pass through
the small town. He spent his time
in solitude, hiking in the mountains
and the Thuringian forest and writing
his dissertation, On the Fourfold
Root of the Principle of Sufficient
Reason. He completed his dissertation
at about the same time
as the French army was defeated
at the Battle of Leipzig. He became
irritated by the arrival of soldiers
to the town and accepted his mother's
invitation to visit her in Weimar.
She tried to convince him that her
relationship with Gerstenbergk
was platonic and that she had no
intentions of remarrying. But
Schopenhauer remained suspicious
and often came in conflict
with Gerstenbergk because he considered
him untalented, pretentious, and nationalistic.
His mother published her second book,
Reminiscences of a Journey in the Years 1803, 1804, and 1805, a description
of their family tour of Europe,
which quickly became a hit.
She found his dissertation incomprehensible
and said it was unlikely that anyone would ever buy a copy.
In a fit of temper Arthur told her that people
would read his work long after the "*******"
she wrote was totally forgotten. In fact, although
they considered her novels of dubious quality,
the Brockhaus publishing firm held her in high
esteem because they consistently sold well.
Hans Brockhaus 1888-1965 later claimed
that his predecessors " ...saw nothing in this manuscript,
but wanted to please one of our best-selling authors
by publishing her son's work. We published
more and more of her son Arthur's work and
today nobody remembers Johanna, but her son's
works are in steady demand and contribute
to Brockhaus's reputation." He kept large
portraits of the pair in his office in Leipzig
for the edification of his new editors. Also
contrary to his mother's prediction, Schopenhauer's
dissertation made an impression on Goethe
to whom he sent it as a gift. Although it is
doubtful that Goethe agreed with Schopenhauer's
philosophical positions he was impressed
by his intellect and extensive scientific education.
Their subsequent meetings and correspondence
were a great honor to a young philosopher
who was finally acknowledged by his intellectual hero.
They mostly discussed Goethe's newly published
and somewhat lukewarmly received work on color theory.
Schopenhauer soon started writing his own treatise
on the subject, On Vision and Colors, which in many
points differed from his teacher's. Although they
remained polite towards each other, their growing
theoretical disagreements – and especially
Schopenhauer's tactless criticisms and extreme
self-confidence – soon made Goethe become
distant again and after 1816 their correspondence
became less frequent. Schopenhauer later admitted
that he was greatly hurt by this rejection, but he
continued to praise Goethe, and considered
his color theory a great introduction to his own.
Another important experience during
his stay in Weimar was his acquaintance
with Friedrich Majer – a historian of religion,
orientalist and disciple of Herder –
who introduced him to Eastern philosophy.
Schopenhauer was immediately impressed
by the Upanishads and the Buddha
and put them on par with Plato and Kant.
He continued his studies by reading
the Bhagavad Gita, an amateurish German
journal Asiatisches Magazin and Asiatick
Researches by The Asiatic Society. Although
he loved Hindu texts he was more interested
in Buddhism, which he came to regard
as the best religion. However, his early
studies were constrained by the lack of
adequate literature, and were mostly
restricted to Early Buddhism. He also claimed
that he formulated most of his ideas
independently, and only later realized
the similarities with Buddhism. Schopenhauer
in 1815. Portrait by Ludwig Sigismund Ruhl.
As the relationship with his mother
fell to a new low he left Weimar and moved
to Dresden in May 1814. He continued
his philosophical studies, enjoyed the cultural
life, socialized with intellectuals and engaged
in ****** affairs. His friends in Dresden
were Johann Gottlob von Quandt,
Friedrich Laun, Karl Christian Friedrich Krause
and Ludwig Sigismund Ruhl, a young painter
who made a romanticized portrait of him
in which he improved some of Schopenhauer's
unattractive physical features.
His criticisms of local artists
occasionally caused public
quarrels when he ran into them in public.
in 1813 fearing that the city could
be attacked and that he could be
pressed into military service as Prussia
just joined the war against France.
He returned to Weimar but left
after less than a month disgusted
by the fact that his mother was now
living with her supposed lover,
Georg Friedrich Conrad Ludwig Müller von Gerstenbergk,
a civil servant fourteen years
younger than her; he considered
the relationship an act of infidelity
to his father's memory. He settled
for a while in Rudolstadt hoping
that no army would pass through
the small town. He spent his time
in solitude, hiking in the mountains
and the Thuringian forest and writing
his dissertation, On the Fourfold
Root of the Principle of Sufficient
Reason. He completed his dissertation
at about the same time
as the French army was defeated
at the Battle of Leipzig. He became
irritated by the arrival of soldiers
to the town and accepted his mother's
invitation to visit her in Weimar.
She tried to convince him that her
relationship with Gerstenbergk
was platonic and that she had no
intentions of remarrying. But
Schopenhauer remained suspicious
and often came in conflict
with Gerstenbergk because he considered
him untalented, pretentious, and nationalistic.
His mother published her second book,
Reminiscences of a Journey in the Years 1803, 1804, and 1805, a description
of their family tour of Europe,
which quickly became a hit.
She found his dissertation incomprehensible
and said it was unlikely that anyone would ever buy a copy.
In a fit of temper Arthur told her that people
would read his work long after the "*******"
she wrote was totally forgotten. In fact, although
they considered her novels of dubious quality,
the Brockhaus publishing firm held her in high
esteem because they consistently sold well.
Hans Brockhaus 1888-1965 later claimed
that his predecessors " ...saw nothing in this manuscript,
but wanted to please one of our best-selling authors
by publishing her son's work. We published
more and more of her son Arthur's work and
today nobody remembers Johanna, but her son's
works are in steady demand and contribute
to Brockhaus's reputation." He kept large
portraits of the pair in his office in Leipzig
for the edification of his new editors. Also
contrary to his mother's prediction, Schopenhauer's
dissertation made an impression on Goethe
to whom he sent it as a gift. Although it is
doubtful that Goethe agreed with Schopenhauer's
philosophical positions he was impressed
by his intellect and extensive scientific education.
Their subsequent meetings and correspondence
were a great honor to a young philosopher
who was finally acknowledged by his intellectual hero.
They mostly discussed Goethe's newly published
and somewhat lukewarmly received work on color theory.
Schopenhauer soon started writing his own treatise
on the subject, On Vision and Colors, which in many
points differed from his teacher's. Although they
remained polite towards each other, their growing
theoretical disagreements – and especially
Schopenhauer's tactless criticisms and extreme
self-confidence – soon made Goethe become
distant again and after 1816 their correspondence
became less frequent. Schopenhauer later admitted
that he was greatly hurt by this rejection, but he
continued to praise Goethe, and considered
his color theory a great introduction to his own.
Another important experience during
his stay in Weimar was his acquaintance
with Friedrich Majer – a historian of religion,
orientalist and disciple of Herder –
who introduced him to Eastern philosophy.
Schopenhauer was immediately impressed
by the Upanishads and the Buddha
and put them on par with Plato and Kant.
He continued his studies by reading
the Bhagavad Gita, an amateurish German
journal Asiatisches Magazin and Asiatick
Researches by The Asiatic Society. Although
he loved Hindu texts he was more interested
in Buddhism, which he came to regard
as the best religion. However, his early
studies were constrained by the lack of
adequate literature, and were mostly
restricted to Early Buddhism. He also claimed
that he formulated most of his ideas
independently, and only later realized
the similarities with Buddhism. Schopenhauer
in 1815. Portrait by Ludwig Sigismund Ruhl.
As the relationship with his mother
fell to a new low he left Weimar and moved
to Dresden in May 1814. He continued
his philosophical studies, enjoyed the cultural
life, socialized with intellectuals and engaged
in ****** affairs. His friends in Dresden
were Johann Gottlob von Quandt,
Friedrich Laun, Karl Christian Friedrich Krause
and Ludwig Sigismund Ruhl, a young painter
who made a romanticized portrait of him
in which he improved some of Schopenhauer's
unattractive physical features.
His criticisms of local artists
occasionally caused public
quarrels when he ran into them in public.
