Schopenhauer, Buddhism and the Origins of Existentialism

Rev. Dr. James Kenneth Powell II, opensourcebuddhism.org This piece investigates the self-identified Buddhism of Artur Schopenhauer. Some will say he is Kantian, this piece credits him with such a break from Idealism as to constitute the beginning of Existentialism. Some will see this with Kierkegaard or Dostoyevsky. We see his emphasis on the individual via his understanding (and misunderstanding!) of Buddhism as the true origin of Existentialist thought.

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• religion
• philosophy
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• existentialism
• artur
• schopenhauer
• nishitani
• keiji
• europe
• consciousness
• buddhism
• Germany
• Professor
• Rev.
• Dr.
• James
• Kenneth
• Powell
• II
• opensourcebuddhism.org

[JesseGuitarShred]

a ha ha ha what a douchebag, I love Schopenhaur but this is so funny and cheesy

[opensourcebuddhism]

...but isn't it kind of profound? No? Really? I am a philosopher not a professional movie-maker - sorry! I am a big fan of Schopenhauer. I wanted to do him proud, single him out as the most insightful of the 19th century thinkers rather than as the prophet of gloom and doom as he is presented often. I think he was a 20th century thinker stuck in the wrong time. Definitely, the first Western Buddhist philosopher.

Sincerely,

The douchebag,

Rev. Dr. James Kenneth Powell II

[donsilbers]

as it stands, it fairly unviewable and certainly unlistenable

[emblemOFbeing]

the whole thing should be like 6:33-6:45 -- or something like that. Get rid of the cheesy echo!

[boredcrab2]

this looks like a political attack ad from the 1980's. "existentialism.takes us to place where...the isolation of the ego struggles against an mechanistic oppressive rule" existentialism. wrong on on metaphysics. wrong for america. vote essentialism 2012. "i'm Plato and i approved this message"

[flausa19]

@JesseGuitarShred you are loved <3

[robbymvb]

@SSViktoria14 Schopenhauer was not an existentialist because he (unlike Sartre) rejects the notion that humans are free; and (unlike Nietzsche, Sartre, Kierkegaard, etc.) sees no value in self-actualization. A case could be made that Scophenhauer is at least a phenomenologist. But in most respects Schopy is a died-in-the-wool Kantian, not an existentialist; his importance to existentialism is mainly as a powerful (and inspiring) adversary, as is particularly clear in Nietzsche's writings.

[SSViktoria14]

@opensourcebuddhism Could Schopenhauer be called an existentialist? He has clear resemblances with both Nietzsche and Kierkegaard so i wonder why he isn't placed in the same genre too.

[adzug]

whats with the spooky voice ala vincent price from house of wax?

[ThePointlessAtheist]

man is an animal. Buddhists think man can transcend death. a chicken is an animal. therefore a chicken can transcend death. does a chicken have the same chakras as a man. Imagine a chicken which had rejected the body for a "noble 8 fold way of self enlightenment".