Question

I believe that Schopenhauer is the closest to describing true reality - at least as far as I have currently developed my thoughts. But if reality-in-itself is pure Will (or what you might call an immaterial realm of thought), and it presents itself as the material world (Representation), why should it represent itself this way? To me, this does not solve or address the hard problem of consciousness.

Would Schopenhauer say that the way our brains function is merely correlated to our Will? In other words, I feel happy, and my brain corresponds by firing synapses and releasing chemicals that, from a material view, represent happiness? If that is what he is saying, why should it appear that way? How and why does this representation form?

Answer 1

Schopenhauer's philosophy suggests that what we conceive as reality is the Representation of the Will, echoing the Idealist view that ideas, not matter, constitute true reality. The brain's functioning aligns with this Will, with consciousness remaining a complex aspect not fully unraveled by his philosophy. Schopenhauer and other idealists contribute to the debate on the mind-body problem and the hard problem of consciousness.

Step-by-step explanation:

Schopenhauer's Vision of Reality

The question revolves around Arthur Schopenhauer's philosophical viewpoint on reality and its relation to the Will and the brain's function. In Schopenhauer's philosophy, the Will is a metaphysical force that represents the true essence of reality, manifesting itself as the Representation in the material world. Under this framework, material existence, including the brain's activities such as synapses firing and chemical releases associated with emotions like happiness, are perceived as mere objects for the Will's expression.

Schopenhauer was influenced by Plato, who viewed the material world as an imperfect shadow of an unchanging and eternal realm of Forms. Similarly, Schopenhauer saw the phenomenal world as shaped by our subjective framework - an idea that echoes Kant's assertion that our brains structure and organize our experiences, preventing us from knowing things as they truly are. Therefore, consciousness and its relation to the brain are not directly explained but are intertwined with the interpretive functions of the mind.

Idealists, including Plato, directly challenge materialists by positing that reality aligns more closely with ideas or consciousness rather than physical matter. The problem of the mind-body relationship, the nature of self, and the hard problem of consciousness are areas that have sparked debates across philosophical traditions, including dualism (which posits the coexistence of mind and matter), idealism, and materialism. These approaches offer different perspectives on the enigmatic relationship between subjective experiences and the objective world, which Schopenhauer's philosophy contributes to.