Life Is Suffering. Here's How to Bear It | The Philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer

Modern society is built on a singular, seductive promise: happiness is just around the corner. From childhood, we are conditioned to believe that if we achieve the right goals, buy the right products, and find the perfect partner, a state of permanent satisfaction awaits. Entire industries—from self-help to luxury advertising—profit from this endless pursuit, whispering that if you are suffering, you are simply doing something wrong.

But Arthur Schopenhauer, one of the 19th century’s most provocative thinkers, offered a thunderous counter-argument. He suggested that the premise of the modern world is fundamentally flawed. In his view, suffering is not a detour from the path of life; it is the path. This perspective, while initially bleak, offers a brutal honesty that can be strangely liberating. By understanding Schopenhauer’s philosophy, we can stop viewing our dissatisfaction as a personal failure and instead see it as a universal condition—one that can be borne with dignity, clarity, and intelligence.

Key Takeaways

• The Will as the driving force: Schopenhauer argued that the universe is driven by a blind, irrational, and insatiable force called "the Will," which manifests in humans as endless desire.
• The Pendulum of Suffering: Life swings endlessly between two states: pain (when we desire something) and boredom (after we achieve it).
• Happiness is negative: True happiness is merely the temporary absence of pain, not a permanent state of being.
• Aesthetic contemplation: Engaging with art and beauty allows us to temporarily silence the Will, offering a fleeting moment of true peace.
• Compassion through shared suffering: Recognizing that all living beings are trapped in the same cycle of desire creates the foundation for genuine empathy.

The Metaphysics of Desire: What is "The Will"?

To understand why satisfaction feels so elusive, we must look at what drives us. Schopenhauer posited that reality is not governed by reason, logic, or divine harmony. Instead, the fundamental essence of all things is a metaphysical force he called the Will.

This is not "willpower" in the modern sense of self-discipline. It is a primal, blind, and purposeless striving that animates every living thing. It is the force that makes a tree stretch toward the light, a predator hunt its prey, and a human being yearn for more. According to Schopenhauer, we do not merely have desires; we are desire. Our intellect is merely a tool evolved to serve this irrational master.

"The will is the strong blind man who carries on his shoulders the lame man who can see."

We often believe we make decisions based on logic, but Schopenhauer argues that we justify our desires only after we feel them. We are vessels through which the Will flows, endlessly aching and striving. This explains the restlessness of the human condition: the Will does not want satisfaction; it only wants to want.

The Pendulum: Between Pain and Boredom

Because we are driven by an insatiable Will, Schopenhauer argued that life is an endless oscillation between two negative states: pain and boredom.

The State of Pain

Pain arises from deficiency. When we want something—a promotion, a relationship, a possession—we experience the suffering of lack. The Will screams through us, narrowing our focus and creating the illusion that obtaining this specific object will solve our problems. This state is defined by anxiety, frustration, and longing.

The State of Boredom

Eventually, we may achieve our goal. We get the job, the partner, or the accolade. For a brief moment, the pain subsides, and we feel relief. However, this satisfaction is fleeting. Once the desire is fulfilled, the Will loses its target. Without a struggle to engage us, we fall into an existential void.

Schopenhauer describes this as boredom, but it is not merely having nothing to do. It is a terrifying emptiness where the meaningless of existence becomes apparent. To escape this void, the Will inevitably conjures a new desire, restarting the cycle of pain. As Schopenhauer famously noted, life swings like a pendulum between these two poles, and in neither state do we find lasting peace.

Strategies for Endurance

If happiness is a myth and suffering is the default setting of existence, are we doomed to despair? Schopenhauer argues the opposite. Recognizing the rigged nature of the game is the first step toward living with dignity. He offers several strategies to bear the unbearable.

1. Intellectual Clarity and Pessimism

The greatest source of our misery is often the expectation of happiness. When we believe we should be happy, every moment of suffering feels like an injustice or a personal flaw. Schopenhauer invites us to invert this view. When you accept that suffering is built into the architecture of life, you stop blaming yourself for being dissatisfied.

"A quick test of the assertion that enjoyment outweighs pain in life would be to compare the respective feelings of two animals, one of which is eating the other."

By lowering our expectations and embracing a philosophical pessimism, we protect ourselves from the crushing disappointment of shattered illusions. We learn to navigate the world with eyes wide open.

2. The Minimization of Desire

Schopenhauer suggests there are two ways to improve your well-being: get more of what you want, or want less. The former is a trap, as the Will is a bottomless pit. The latter is the path of wisdom. This aligns closely with Stoic philosophy and the practice of voluntary simplicity.

By deliberately reducing our dependencies—caring less about status, luxury, and external validation—we shrink the surface area that the Will can attack. We can practice negative visualization, contemplating the loss of what we currently have, to foster appreciation rather than craving. Every desire you extinguish is one less source of future pain.

3. The Cultivation of Compassion

Perhaps the most profound ethical implication of Schopenhauer’s metaphysics is compassion. If we are all manifestations of the same singular Will, then the boundaries between individuals are an illusion. When you look at a stranger, an enemy, or even an animal, you are seeing your own suffering in a different form.

This realization dissolves hatred and judgment. We stop viewing others as competitors in the pursuit of happiness and start viewing them as fellow sufferers in the tragedy of existence. Compassion, then, is not just a moral duty but a recognition of truth: their pain is your pain.

The Aesthetic Escape: Art as Salvation

While we cannot permanently escape the Will while we are alive, Schopenhauer believed we can find temporary sanctuaries. This occurs through aesthetic contemplation.

When we are deeply absorbed in a work of art, a piece of music, or the sublimity of nature, a shift in consciousness occurs. We cease to be individuals driven by personal desire ("I want that," "How does this help me?") and become pure, objective observers.

• Visual Art and Nature: Gazing at a landscape or a painting allows us to perceive beauty without the urge to possess it.
• Music: Schopenhauer elevated music above all other arts. He believed music does not merely copy the world but speaks directly to the Will itself, bypassing the intellect. It allows us to feel the emotions of life without the accompanying pain.

In these moments of awe, the wheel of desire stops turning. The Will is silenced, and we experience a rare, weightless peace. While this state is temporary, it provides the fuel necessary to endure the return to daily life.

Conclusion: Living with Dignity

Schopenhauer’s philosophy is not a call to give up; it is a call to grow up. It demands that we strip away the comforting lies of society and face the human condition as it truly is. By recognizing that life is suffering, we gain a paradoxical freedom.

We can stop running on the hedonic treadmill, chasing a horizon that always retreats. We can find solace in art, strength in simplicity, and connection in shared suffering. We can learn to distance ourselves from our own cravings, observing the "Will" within us rather than blindly obeying it.

Ultimately, Schopenhauer teaches us not how to escape reality, but how to bear it. To look the absurdity of existence in the eye and continue forward—not with false optimism, but with the quiet, unshakable dignity of one who knows the truth.