The Reception of Schopenhauerian Wille and Vorstellung in Thomas Mann's Essay "Schopenhauer"

Abstract

Thomas Mann's essay "Schopenhauer" was written in response to the proposal from the American Schopenhauer Society in 1938 when the author was in exile in the United States. The essay was first published in America in 1939, and later in England. In the following years, it was translated into many countries worldwide (Netherlands, France, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Bulgaria, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Greece, Japan, etc.).

In his essay, Thomas Mann perceives Schopenhauer's philosophy as the philosophy of art par excellence and cites the renowned artists and thinkers on German philosopher. He mentions that Tolstoy called him "the greatest genius among humans," Richard Wagner regarded Schopenhauer's doctrine as "a true gift from heaven," and Nietzsche saw him as a great mentor. In his work Unzeitgemäße Betrachtungen, Nietzsche dedicated one chapter titled "Schopenhauer als Erzieher" to him, while his work Die Geburt der Tragödie aus dem Geiste der Musik, according to Thomas Mann, reflects a Schopenhauerian way of thinking.

 Thomas Mann points out that Schopenhauer’s thinking goes back to the origins of Western thought — the philosophies of Plato and Kant. Schopenhauer regarded both of them as "the greatest philosophers of the West." He inherited Plato's "Ideas" and Kant's "thing-in-itself." Schopenhauer refers to "thing-in-itself" as "Will," which, according to him, is the primary cause of being and the source of all visible world phenomena. Therefore, it is the will to live.

In Mann’s view, it is a mistake to think that a person's will is subject to the guidance and commands of intellect. On the contrary, intellect, according to Schopenhauer, is subject to the will, i. e., it reflects human desires. Thomas Mann emphasizes that, although Schopenhauer adopted the "thing-in-itself" from Kant and the "Ideas" from Plato, this did not make him a Kantian or a follower of Plato.

In the final part of the essay, Thomas Mann articulates his stance on the connection between pessimism and humanism. He argues that humanism is in a severe crisis in his contemporary era, and Schopenhauer’s pessimism, in his view, actually contains humanism. Schopenhauer transcended the view of humans as mere biological beings, transforming the soul into a stage for the will's transformation and offering the potential for the salvation of the entire world.

According to Thomas Mann, Schopenhauer's pessimistic humanism is forward-looking. Schopenhauer's spiritual sensitivity, his doctrine, life, and philosophy, in Mann's view, were not just the result of reasoning but an act, a deed involving heart and mind, soul and body, which can help in restoring humanity.