The Basis of Morality (Summarized Edition): Enriched edition. A Kantian-tinged, pessimistic inquiry into subjective morality, human nature, and personal responsibility
Jan 2026 · Quickie Classics
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In The Basis of Morality (1840), Schopenhauer mounts a stringent critique of eudaimonism and Kantian duty, arguing that only compassion grounds moral worth. He distinguishes egoism, malice, and compassion, deriving justice and beneficence from the last. Rooting ethics in his metaphysics of the will, he explains altruism as immediate identification with another's inner being. Composed as a prize essay for the Royal Danish Society, it pairs caustic polemic with crystalline argument, severing ethics from theology and post-Kantian system‐building. Schopenhauer (1788–1860) brought to this project the architecture of The World as Will and Representation and a sustained engagement with classical Indian thought. His estrangement from the Hegelian academy sharpened his prose and his suspicion of abstract moral formalism. Sensitivity to animal suffering and to the ubiquity of pain oriented his ethics toward fellow‐feeling rather than rule worship. This book remains indispensable for readers interested in the psychology of altruism, the limits of duty ethics, and the traffic between metaphysics and morality. Philosophers, classicists, and scholars of religion will find a stringent, clarifying challenge, as will reflective general readers. Read it to see compassion, argued with austere precision, elevated to first principle. Quickie Classics summarizes timeless works with precision, preserving the author's voice and keeping the prose clear, fast, and readable—distilled, never diluted. Enriched Edition extras: Introduction · Synopsis · Historical Context · Author Biography · Brief Analysis · 4 Reflection Q&As · Editorial Footnotes.
In The Basis of Morality (1840), Schopenhauer mounts a stringent critique of eudaimonism and Kantian duty, arguing that only compassion grounds moral worth. He distinguishes egoism, malice, and compassion, deriving justice and beneficence from the last. Rooting ethics in his metaphysics of the wi...
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