The World as Will and Idea, Vol. 1

The World as Will and Idea by Arthur Schopenhauer delves into the nature of reality through the lens of human perception and desire. It combines philosophical analysis with a critique of human motivation and existence. The World as Will and Idea holds that all nature, including man, is the expression of an insatiable will to life; that the truest understanding of the world comes through art and the only lasting good through ascetic renunciation. This book is one of the most influential philosophical works of the nineteenth century, it is Schopenhauer's greatest endeavour, and constitutes the summation of a lifetime of contemplation.