In Studies on Pessimism, Schopenhauer argues that suffering is intrinsic to human existence; that by nature we will experience suffering regardless of how we live our lives. Similar to Epictetus's view, Schopenhauer states that the only way to minimize the amount of suffering one experiences is to live a life of pure reason. This article will examine both Schopenhauer's characterization of human suffering and his recommendations for how to best live our lives. He will then argue that, although his characterizations are generally valid, his recommendations are not because they alienate us from our emotions. Schopenhauer states that human life is full of suffering because we lead a life driven by desire. We desire things that involuntarily make us suffer and when we obtain them we realize that they cannot make us happy we replace them with new goals. It becomes a continuous cycle of desires and suffering. It is not simply desires that cause us suffering, but rather all emotions. Schopenhauer claims that “inferior” animals demonstrate significantly less suffering because they do not experience deep emotions. They are “much happier than man with mere existence” (Schopenhauer pg. 3). Man's fixation with the past and present makes us “relentless and discontented” (4). Thought processes such as anticipation are responsible for our suffering because of their relationship to pleasure. We anticipate pleasure so much that when we achieve a goal its pleasure is “not as pleasant as we expected,” but when we experience something painful we discover that it is “much more painful” than we expected (1). So the pain will always exceed the amount of pleasure we experience. Perhaps it is even worse when man stops anticipating. Because when he's bored, and s...... middle of paper... unexplored logic. We are passionate animals and alienating ourselves from our nature would simply cause new suffering. Human existence is full of suffering due to our emotional nature. Schopenhauer states that to reduce suffering we must live an exclusively intellectual life. His characterizations of our suffering in this world center on our emotions, and his recommendations focus on distancing ourselves from them, a virtually impossible task. While it may not recommend suicide as strongly as it recommends distancing oneself from one's emotions, they essentially amount to the same thing. A man who doesn't hear might as well be dead. Works Cited Arthur Schopenhauer. “On the Sufferings of the World” from The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer: Studies in Pessimism, T. Bailey Saunders, trans., Dodo Press © 2008, 13 pages. Reproduced with permission from Dodo Press