German philosopher (1788-1860), best known for The World as Will and Representation. Argued that the ultimate reality underlying all appearances is a blind, striving Will; that consciousness entails suffering; and that art — especially music — and ascetic renunciation offer partial liberation from the Will's tyranny.
Developed the first major Western philosophical system explicitly integrating Buddhist and Hindu metaphysical insights; his concept of the Will as ultimate reality and pessimism as philosophical stance shaped modern Western thought on desire, suffering, and art.
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