Final answer:
Schopenhauer's philosophy distinguishes between the world as representation, shaped by subjective perceptions, and the will, as the reality beyond representation. This does not create a contradiction; instead, it suggests a deeper reality encompassing both the world and the individual as part of the greater will, echoing themes from both Plato and Kant's philosophical explorations.
Step-by-step explanation:
In Arthur Schopenhauer's philosophy outlined in "The World as Will and Representation," he suggests that our experienced reality is indeed a representation shaped by our subjective perceptions. However, Schopenhauer's acknowledgment of his own existence within this representation does not necessarily imply a contradiction. Schopenhauer, much like Plato and Immanuel Kant, believed in a distinction between the phenomenon (the representation) and the noumenon (the thing-in-itself). While phenomenology studies structures of experience and consciousness, Kant posited that humans can never fully perceive the noumenon due to the 'colored glasses' of their perceptual faculties. Similarly, Schopenhauer posited that the world is a representation conditioned by our will, but this does not negate the existence of a will that is a part of the ultimate reality beyond representational forms.
The apparent contradiction arises when considering oneself as part of the representation. However, metaphysics and the distinction between representation (mind‑dependent) and will (mind‑independent or beyond representation) are key aspects in understanding Schopenhauer's work. His ideas do not suggest that because we are part of the representation, our existence or ourselves as subjects are unreal. Instead, Schopenhauer would argue that our individual existence is merely one aspect of the greater will, which encompasses all things and transcends our limited representational understanding.
Furthermore, Schopenhauer's view shares similarities with Anselm's reasoning about existence being greater when it occurs both in the mind and in reality. Schopenhauer's existential and philosophical inquiry does not fall to a self-referential inconsistency but rather invites one to explore the depths of representation and the essence of will behind the veil of mere appearances.