The World as Will and Idea — Schopenhauer — John Shaqi
The World as Will and Idea
Schopenhauer · German
time, and brought it to an incomparably greater state of perfection. If we
thus observe how the course of Greek culture had prepared the way for, and
led up to the work of Aristotle, we shall be little inclined to believe
the assertion of the Persian author, quoted by Sir William Jones with much
approval, that Kallisthenes found a complete system of logic among the
Indians, and sent it to his uncle Aristotle (Asiatic Researches, vol. iv.
p. 163). It is easy to understand that in the dreary middle ages the
Aristotelian logic would be very acceptable to the controversial spirit of
the schoolmen, which, in the absence of all real knowledge, spent its
energy upon mere formulas and words, and that it would be eagerly adopted
even in its mutilated Arabian form, and presently established as the
centre of all knowledge. Though its authority has since declined, yet up
to our own time logic has retained the credit of a self-contained,
practical, and highly important science. Indeed, in our own day, the
Kantian philosophy, the foundation-stone of which is taken from logic, has
excited a new interest in it; which, in this respect, at any rate, that
is, as the means of the knowledge of the nature of reason, it deserves.
Correct and accurate conclusions may be arrived at if we carefully observe
the relation of the spheres of concepts, and only conclude that one sphere
is contained in a third sphere, when we have clearly seen that this first
sphere is contained in a second, which in its turn is contained in the
third. On the other hand, the art of sophistry lies in casting only a
superficial glance at the relations of the spheres of the concepts, and
then manipulating these relations to suit our purposes, generally in the
following way:—When the sphere of an observed concept lies partly within
that of another concept, and partly within a third altogether different
sphere, we treat it as if it lay entirely within the one or the other, as
may suit our purpose. For example, in speaking of passion, we may subsume
it under the concept of the greatest force, the mightiest agency in the
world, or under the concept of the irrational, and this again under the
concept of impotency or weakness. We may then repeat the process, and
start anew with each concept to which the argument leads us. A concept has
almost always several others, which partially come under it, and each of
these contains part of the sphere of the first, but also includes in its
own sphere something more, which is not in the first. But we draw
attention only to that one of these latter concepts, under which we wish
to subsume the first, and let the others remain unobserved, or keep them
concealed. On the possession of this skill depends the whole art of
sophistry and all finer fallacies; for logical fallacies such as
_mentiens_, _velatus_, _cornatus_, &c., are clearly too clumsy for actual
use. I am not aware that hitherto any one has traced the nature of all