Everyone can leave behind their art for when they die, but unfortunately the Earth is inside our melting pot as well. Eventually it will expire as we will and there will be no trace of a single idea we have ever conceived. So what is life truly about? Why do we bother existing at all?
I think Schopenhauer dodged this question purposefully. His answer may be subtly sprinkled over the pages, but maybe he realized himself while writing that he could never answer the great question of why we're here. Could anyone ever answer this question with absolute accuracy for every willing mind? I think Schopenhauer desired for us to develop our own answers and ask ourselves deeply:
What do we truly live for? Even when we fail to exist in the future, there will always be the events that we experienced and developed passion towards. At the very least, life is a unique and stimulating experience and we can feel this within us, even if only for a blink in the eyes of existence.
This is an interesting way to look at what Schopenhauer is saying.
ReplyDelete"But, we also will to fulfill our desires and achieve emotional statuses that only bring us temporary satisfaction followed by the start of the cycle"
This can be displayed very easily in short stories, which is why I find it a very interesting way to see what Schopenhauer is saying. Every desire is a cycle that circles around to a completion then begins a new cycle, you can see this in short and some novels such as a crime investigation style. You have a desire or problem and then there are usually three attempts to fix the problem or achieve the desire to fulfill the assignment or happiness to which after the three attempts you usually succeed, only to be fixated with another problem that you want to fix and have that expression of happiness once more.