SCHOPENHAUER, MUSIC AND THE WILL TO LIVE

Arthur Schopenhauer

Arthur Schopenhauer, a 19th-century German philosopher, viewed human existence as a perpetual and exhausting cycle. He called this fundamental driving force the Will to Live, a blind and incessant energy that propels all living beings. For Schopenhauer, suffering is a direct result of this Will.

The Will manifests as a constant yearning. When we attain the object of our desire—be it wealth, success, or even the satisfaction of a meal—a brief moment of fulfillment arises. However, this happiness is fleeting. The yearning fades, and we are quickly plunged into the boredom of possession. The mind, freed from the urgency of the pursuit, becomes a vacuum, and life temporarily loses its meaning. Soon after, a new desire emerges, and the cycle of yearning and boredom begins anew.

Music as an Escape from the Will

Schopenhauer believed there was a way to escape, if only temporarily, this endless cycle. He saw art as the highest form of liberation because it allows us to contemplate the world in a disinterested way, free from the constraints of the Will.

Among all the arts, music was the most sublime for Schopenhauer. He considered it a direct representation of the Will itself, in its purest and most universal form. Music doesn't imitate the phenomenal world, like painting or poetry; instead, it expresses the essence and rhythm of the Will itself. Listening to music allows us to experience the essence of existence without the pain of desire, without the suffering of yearning.

Music is a vast and inexhaustible ocean. Every melody, every harmony, every rhythm offers a new experience. The natural finitude of our lives ensures that we will never exhaust the available musical repertoire. It is a pleasant and infinite quest for knowledge, beauty, and emotion. In this sense, music liberates us from the boredom of possession. We can never "possess" music, but we can lose ourselves in it, enjoying an experience that is always new, always in motion, and always free from the stagnation of absolute possession.

Given the above, I conclude by saying that viewing music in a light, truthful, and enjoyable way was the path I chose, and it makes me happy. This doesn't stop me from doing it with care. From this, "Every little bit is a gain!"