Schopenhauer’s biography (5 of 5): the illustrious years

In the life of Arthur #schopenhauer (1788-1860), I’ve named the last two decades “the illustrious years.” During those two decades, Schopenhauer enjoyed the status of a minor celebrity in German-speaking territories. Schopenhauer published “The art of debate” (sometimes translated as “The art of controversy”) in 1839. He had turned fifty-one and was continuing with his strategy of publishing as many short books and essays as possible. The more titles he published, the more attention he attracted from reviewers, and the higher the chances of having one title become a best seller. I find “The art of debate” a demeaning book for a #thinker of #genius such as Schopenhauer. The book outlines argumentation lines, such as the “ad hominem” fallacy, that is, the strategy of attacking an idea by attacking the person defending it. “The art of debate” does not contain any #philosophical or #rhetorical innovation. All argumentation lines presented in the book were already known in Ancient Greece and Rome. For a great mind like Schopenhauer’s, it was a waste of time to write such a book. Nonetheless, “The art of debate” sold well and quickly grew into Schopenhauer’s best-selling book. It has been regularly re-published and can still be found in bookshops today. Sadly, the other books by Schopenhauer are much more difficult to find. Schopenhauer gave dozens of lectures, presenting his book “The art of debate.” People applauded and purchased the book, while Schopenhauer enjoyed the sweetness of popularity. However, Schopenhauer could not fail to realise that he was playing a foolish game. He was giving dumbed-down rhetoric lessons instead of spreading his innovative philosophy. He was catering to people who did not care about his ideas. It took Schopenhauer two and a half years to admit that he was wasting his time. Eventually, in 1842, he began to work on a more ambitious book. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/schopenhauers-biography-the-illustrious-years/