Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) was one of the greatest writers and German philosophers of the nineteenth century. His work influenced figures as diverse as Wagner, Freud and Nietzsche. Best known as a pessimist, he was one of the few philosophers read and admired by Wittgenstein.

In this comprehensive introduction, Julian Young covers all the main aspects of Schopenhauer`s philosophy. Beginning with an overview of Schopenhauer`s life and work, he introduces the central aspects of his metaphysics fundamental to understanding his work as a whole: his philosophical idealism and debt to the philosophy of Kant; his attempt to answer the question of what the world is; his account of science; and in particular his idea that `will` is the essence of all things.

Julian Young then introduces and assesses Schopenhauer`s aesthetics, which occupy a central place in his philosophy. He carefully examines Schopenhauer`s theories of the sublime, artistic genius and music, before assessing his ethics of compassion, his arguments for pessimism and his account of `salvation`. In the final chapter, he considers Schopenhauer`s legacy and his influence on the thought of Nietzsche and Wittgenstein, making this an ideal starting point for those coming to Schopenhauer for the first time.