The Wisdom of Life, Counsels and Maxims
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Narrated by:
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David Rintoul
About this listen
'The two foes of human happiness are pain and boredom.'
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) was one of the most influential philosophers of the 19th century because his humanistic, atheistic, if pessimistic views chimed with a new secularism that was emerging from a Western society dominated by religion. Despite his rather forbidding image (and a few outdated views), he is one of the most approachable German philosophers, and this is certainly evident in these two key works, The Wisdom of Life and Counsels and Maxims.
This is, says his translator, T. Bailey Saunders, because his theories were based on observation and experience - 'interpreting the world as it is'. In The Wisdom of Life, Schopenhauer considers eudemonology (the science of happiness) - 'the art of ordering our lives so as to obtain the greatest possible amount of pleasure and success'.
He begins by dividing 'differences in the human lot' into three: what a man is in the sense of personality; what a man has in terms of property and possessions; and how a man stands in terms of the estimation of others. In the course of the book, he expands on these divisions.
In Counsels and Maxims, he develops the theme of eudemonology by advising that it is best to replace the pursuit of pleasure and happiness with a more measured approach based on the avoidance of pain and suffering. However, his views are not as negative and pessimistic as this may seem, not least because he was the first major Western philosopher to be influenced by Eastern thought, notably Buddhism, which he acknowledges.
In his exposition, Schopenhauer draws on numerous sources as varied as Plato and Horace, Goethe, Shakespeare, Silesius and, of course, his own major work The World as Will and Representation (1818). Both The Wisdom of Life and Counsels and Maxims first appeared (under the collective heading of Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life) in his collection of writings Parerga and Paralipomena (1851).
Schopenhauer proved a major influence on numerous key figures, from Nietzsche, Schrödinger and Freud to Tolstoy, Wagner, Einstein, Thomas Mann and Samuel Beckett. Translation by T. Bailey Saunders (revised).
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Categorical Imperatives for Everyone
- By Anonymous User on 04-04-17
By: Immanuel Kant, and others
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The Memorable Thoughts of Socrates
- By: Xenophon, Edward Bysshe - translator
- Narrated by: Nicholas Tecosky
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Xenophon was a Greek who admired and studied with Socrates. He marched with the Spartans and later was exiled from Athens. He wrote about the history of his times, the sayings of Socrates and about life in Greece. Edward Bysshe translated Xenophone's work in 1702. This translation has continued to have an excellent reputation. In this work Xenophon discusses the views of life taught by Socrates.
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Philosopher, Soldier, Historian and Mercenary
- By Darwin8u on 12-04-12
By: Xenophon, and others
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Utopia
- By: Sir Thomas More
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 4 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Utopia is the name given by Sir Thomas More to an imaginary island in this political work written in 1516. Book I of Utopia, a dialogue, presents a perceptive analysis of contemporary social, economic, and moral ills in England. Book II is a narrative describing a country run according to the ideals of the English humanists, where poverty, crime, injustice, and other ills do not exist.
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More's unobtainable vision of the ideal society
- By Anonymous User on 06-12-13
By: Sir Thomas More
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Dialogues of Plato
- By: Plato
- Narrated by: Pat Bottino
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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The Dialogues of Plato rank with the writings of Aristotle as the most important and influential philosophical works in Western thought. In them Plato cast his teacher Socrates as the central disputant in colloquies that brilliantly probe a vast spectrum of philosophical ideas and issues.
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Not Complete Dialogues
- By Anonymous User on 08-30-07
By: Plato
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Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson
- By: Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Here in one volume are both the Essays: First Series and Essays: Second Series from one of the most influential philosophers in American history. Although Ralph Waldo Emerson, perhaps America’s most famous philosopher, did not wish to be referred to as a transcendentalist, he is nevertheless considered the founder of this major movement of nineteenth-century American thought. Emerson was influenced by a liberal religious training; theological study; personal contact with the Romanticists Coleridge, Carlyle, and Wordsworth; and a strong indigenous sense of individualism and self-reliance.
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Riggenbach's Essays, Not Emerson's
- By Anonymous User on 12-01-15
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Discourses: Complete Books 1-4
- Adapted for the Contemporary Reader (Harris Classics)
- By: Epictetus, James Harris
- Narrated by: Greg Douras
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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The Discourses of Epictetus are a series of extracts from the teachings of the Stoic philosopher Epictetus. This is the complete version containing books one - four. Each book has been carefully adapted in to modern English to allow for easy listening. Enjoy.
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Classic work that is too often overlooked . . .
- By Anonymous User on 05-29-18
By: Epictetus, and others
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The Varieties of Religious Experience
- By: William James
- Narrated by: Jim Killavey
- Length: 18 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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The Varieties of Religious Experience is considered to be the classic work in the field. To quote Wikipedia, "James was most interested in understanding personal religious experience. The importance of James to the psychology of religion - and to psychology more generally - is difficult to overstate. He discussed many essential issues that remain of vital concern today. What makes James writing so special is that he could take a very complex subject and, without watering it down, make it understandable to 'the rest of us.'"
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Profound stuff
- By Anonymous User on 09-05-09
By: William James
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Reflections on the Revolution in France
- By: Edmund Burke
- Narrated by: Bernard Mayes
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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This famous treatise began as a letter to a young French friend who asked Edmund Burke’s opinion on whether France’s new ruling class would succeed in creating a better order. Doubtless the friend expected a favorable reply, but Burke was suspicious of certain tendencies of the Revolution from the start and perceived that the revolutionaries were actually subverting the true "social order". Blending history with principle and graceful imagery with profound practical maxims, this book is one of the most influential political treatises in the history of the world.
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A good historical perspective
- By Anonymous User on 08-30-14
By: Edmund Burke
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Schopenhauer Collection
- World as Will and Idea Volumes 1-3, Wisdom of Life, Counsels and Maxims, and the Art of Being Right
- By: Arthur Schopenhauer
- Narrated by: Jonathan Waters
- Length: 63 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Unveiling the profound reflections and philosophical musings of legendary thinker Arthur Schopenhauer, this collection compiles some of his greatest works, providing modern listeners with a detailed and unparalleled glimpse into Schopenhauer’s worldview and philosophy. Perfect for newcomers to Schopenhauer’s philosophy and experienced intellectual adventurers alike, the Schopenhauer Collection serves as an ideal handbook or reference guide for students, as well as anybody who wants to gain a deeper understanding of the ideas that came to dominate 19th century philosophy.
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Narrator doesn’t understand material
- By Anonymous User on 05-27-23
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The World as Will And Idea, Volume 1
- By: Arthur Schopenhauer
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 20 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Schopenhauer was just 30 when his magnum opus, Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung, a work of considerable learning and innovation of thought, first appeared in 1818.
Much to his chagrin and puzzlement (so convinced was he of its merits), it didn't have an immediate effect on European philosophy, views and culture. It was only decades later that it was recognised as one of the major intellectual landmarks of the 19th century.