A Schopenhauer Notebook: Page 2
In praise of misfits (+ the philosophy of funny)
Though he wasn’t actually thrown out of town (or burned at the stake), Schopenhauer never fit into the intellectual/academic establishment of Germany — so perhaps it’s not too surprising that he sympathized with two of history’s most mistreated philosophers: Giordano Bruno and Baruch Spinoza.
It may be more of a surprise to learn that the father of modern pessimism also gave us an influential theory of humor.
But let’s start with . . .
Schopenhauer on his fellow misfits
Buried in the overwhelming expanse of The World as Will and Representation is this wonderful reflection . . .
[Giordano Bruno and Baruch Spinoza] do not belong either to their age or to their part of the globe, which rewarded the one with death, and the other with persecution and ignominy. Their miserable existence and death in this Western world are like that of a tropical plant in Europe. The banks of the Ganges were their spiritual home; there they would have led a peaceful and honoured life among men of like mind (World 1 422, n. 2).
Schopenhauer was critical of Spinoza’s work, and wrote little about Bruno, but it’s obvious that he saw both men as kindred spirits…
