3 h 36 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 3 h 36 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if reason is not in charge—and desire keeps asking for more than life can give?
In The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer; On Human Nature, Arthur Schopenhauer turns from heavy theory to the habits of everyday life. He explores desire, character, egoism and suffering through short essays. At their heart is his unsettling claim: a blind, restless force he calls the will drives us more deeply than thought.
Schopenhauer argues that character is fixed from birth, that selfishness dominates ordinary life, and that lasting satisfaction slips away. His picture of life swings between pain and boredom, with compassion a rare counterweight to egoism. Sharp, plain and often sarcastic, his voice invites you to test these dark claims against the people and choices you know.
What you’ll discover
- Desire before reason Explore his claim that constant striving, rather than clear thought, lies beneath human action.
- The question of character Consider his unsettling argument that a person's deepest nature remains unchanged throughout life.
- Selfishness and rare compassion Examine a view of ordinary life where each person puts the self at its centre.
- Between pain and boredom Follow his account of why getting what we want brings no lasting rest.
- A sharp eye for life Find blunt observations that give you arguments to question, resist and test for yourself.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love sharp observation of motives, moral philosophy with real bite, and short essays they can read one at a time and argue with afterward.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Meet every person through their suffering, not worth
- Life in society is a masquerade of masks
- Humans are the cruel animal, driven by egoism
- Compassion works because all beings are one
- Right is negative, and the State answers wrong
- Statecraft must set might to serve right
- Character is fixed and every act follows from it
- Life exists so the will can know itself
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
Die Essays Arthur Schopenhauers; Über die menschliche Natur
by Arthur Schopenhauer · 1851
Schopenhauer says the world is a masquerade and invites you to meet every mask with pity, not judgment.
Challenging2–5 hours to readDeutsch
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
What would change if you stopped asking whether a person deserves respect and asked only what that person suffers? That is the rule Arthur Schopenhauer proposes in the first pages of this book.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Meet every person through their suffering, not worth
Schopenhauer doubts the word dignity. He says the argument for it goes in a circle. Ask what dignity rests on, and the answer is morality. Ask what morality rests on, and the answer is dignity.
He also finds the word out of place for a creature with a sinful will, a limited mind and a fragile body. In its place he offers a rule for meeting anyone. Do not weigh their worth. Do not dwell on their bad will or narrow ideas, because the first breeds hatred and the second contempt. Look instead at their pains, needs and fears. Then you feel kinship, and compassion takes the place of scorn.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1851
- Language
- Deutsch
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Schopenhauer, Arthur. The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer; On Human Nature. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-essays-of-arthur-schopenhauer-on-human-nature.
Schopenhauer, A. (2026). The essays of Arthur Schopenhauer; on human nature. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-essays-of-arthur-schopenhauer-on-human-nature (Original work published 1851)
Schopenhauer, Arthur. The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer; On Human Nature. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-essays-of-arthur-schopenhauer-on-human-nature.
@book{schopenhauer2026essays,
author = {Schopenhauer, Arthur},
title = {The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer; On Human Nature},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-essays-of-arthur-schopenhauer-on-human-nature},
note = {First published 1851}
}
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Die Essays Arthur Schopenhauers; Über die menschliche Natur
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer, On Human Nature about?
It collects short pieces on why people act as they do. Schopenhauer looks at cruelty, envy, compassion, free will, character and the purpose of government, always tying them to his idea that a single will to live drives every creature.
What does Schopenhauer mean by Tat twam asi?
It is an old Hindu phrase meaning this is yourself. Schopenhauer uses it to explain compassion: when you feel for another person's suffering, you recognize that the barrier between you and them is only an appearance.
What does Schopenhauer say about free will?
He holds that each act follows necessarily from a person's fixed character and the motives of the moment. Only character itself, as the will beyond time, is free. So we learn who we are by watching what we do.
The author
Arthur Schopenhauer
1788–1860 · German philosopher
Arthur Schopenhauer was a German philosopher born in Danzig, now Gdańsk, in 1788. He lived in Frankfurt from 1833 until his death in 1860. He published The World as Will and Representation in 1818, On the Basis of Morality in 1841, and Parerga and Paralipomena in 1851.
More by Arthur Schopenhauer
Alle Bücher des Autors ansehenMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Popular in philosophy & ideas
See all
