Schopenhauer's views on eros

This assignment explores Schopenhauer's views on eros. Eros, according to Schopenhauer, is one of the two fundamental drives in human nature: the will to live and the will to reproduce. The will to live gives rise to all our desires and strivings; it is the source of our ambition, our love of comfort and security, our greed and envy. The will to reproduce is what motivates us to have sex and to care for our offspring. It is the force that makes us attracted to the opposite sex and repulsed by members of our own sex.

Schopenhauer believed that these two drives are in conflict with each other. The will to live leads us to seek things that are harmful or useless, while the will to reproduce leads us to seek things that are beneficial or useful. The conflict between these two drives is what makes us unhappy.

Schopenhauer believed that our unhappiness comes from our inability to control our desires. We want things that we cannot have, and we do not want things that we already have. This is because our wants are always changing. We can never be satisfied for long because as soon as we get what we want, we no longer want it. This is the principle of "the eternal return of the same."

The only way to escape this cycle of desire and dissatisfaction is to transcend the will altogether. This can be done through art, music, philosophy, or any other activity that allows us to lose ourselves in contemplation. When we are engrossed in such activities, we are no longer controlled by our desires. We are free from the conflict between the will to live and the will to reproduce, and we can experience a moment of peace and happiness.

Schopenhauer's views on eros are interesting because they offer a different perspective on human nature. Instead of seeing the two drives as separate and in conflict with each other, he saw them as two sides of the same coin. The will to live is what gives rise to all our desires, while the will to reproduce is what leads us to seek things that are beneficial or useful. The conflict between these two drives is what makes us unhappy.

The only way to escape this cycle of desire and dissatisfaction is to transcend the will altogether. This can be done through art, music, philosophy, or any other activity that allows us to lose ourselves in contemplation. When we are engrossed in such activities, we are no longer controlled by our desires. We are free from the conflict between the will to live and the will to reproduce, and we can experience a moment of peace and happiness.