The reflections of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) are to be found in his work “The world as will and representation.” I consider equally interesting the observations contained in his “Aphorisms on the art of living,” published in 1851. In contrast to Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831), Schopenhauer is not a philosopher of history. He didn’t develop an all-inclusive vision of history nor theorized about the end of times. He did not regard the course of history as one unequivocal path pointing into a single direction. There is no single destiny where humanity is headed. History is made by people’s choices every single day. The will (which I translate as “life force”) influences how a man or woman makes decisions; however, the will is not pushing people right or left. It is not exercising overwhelming power to the extent that each person can say “I could not help it.” Schopenhauer declines presenting history as an imposition of destiny. Conversely, he underlines the importance of how a human being behaves over time. Life is essentially temporary. Every success and possession is naturally limited. In his work “The world as will and representation”(1818), Schopenhauer wrote that “each experience of happiness should be regarded as contingent on the passage of time.” There is no guarantee that today’s happiness will be prolonged in the near future. As a result, a wise man will take measures to reduce the risk of total loss, and increase the chances of stable, repeated pleasure. Good health helps prevent pain. Schopenhauer formulated this principle in a beautiful manner: “It is the greatest of follies to sacrifice one’s health for any other type of pleasure.” I must point out that few individuals realize the long-term impact of today’s health dissipation. It requires knowledge and imagination to link today’s smoking and fast-food consumption to illness ensuing ten years down the road. Yet, the capacity to think in these terms will save you lots of unnecessary trouble. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/schopenhauer-and-the-philosophy-of-time/