Germany. Arthur Schopenhauer devotes himself to writing his major work: “The World as Will and Representation.” According to Schopenhauer, the world exists only as representation, that is, only in relation to consciousness: “the world is my representation.” This concept, not dissimilar from Kant’s and, curiously, from what would become quantum mechanics for a century, is expressed in the first and third volumes of the work. The second book describes the world as will. All will arises from desire, therefore from a lack, and therefore derives from suffering. In the third and fourth volumes, he also proposes various ways to free oneself from the servitude of will: through art and through renunciation. He proposes models of self-denial such as Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist saints.
