The philosopher Schopenhauer thinks that the “will” is a universal, relentless, striving sensation that underpins all reality and experience. To Schopenhauer, the will is metaphysical—meaning he thinks that it’s the basis of reality, and it gives shape to the world as we experience it.
Will Quotes in On the Genealogy of Morals
The On the Genealogy of Morals quotes below are all either spoken by Will or refer to Will. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
What Do Ascetic Ideals Mean?
Quotes
He suddenly realized that more could be effected by the novelty of the Schopenhauerian […] notion of the sovereignty of music, as Schopenhauer understood it; music set apart from and distinguished from all the other arts, music as the independent art-in-itself, not like the other arts, affording images of the phenomenal world, but rather speaking the language of the will itself, straight out of the ‘abyss,’ as its most personal, original and direct manifestation.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Schopenhauer has described one effect of the beautiful—the calming of the will—but is this effect the usual one?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire On the Genealogy of Morals LitChart as a printable PDF.
Will Term Timeline in On the Genealogy of Morals
The timeline below shows where the term Will appears in On the Genealogy of Morals. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Third Essay: What Do Ascetic Ideals Mean?
...thinks that music captures what he considers the essence of life: a relentless, exhausting, striving will that is the basis of all existence. Wagner thus starts to believe that music communicates...
(full context)
...art silences sexual interest and gives a person a break from desiring, striving, wanting, and willing. Nietzsche says that Schopenhauer was only 26 when he wrote this, so perhaps he was...
(full context)
