674 PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT. 



48. In opposition to this optimistic spirit Schopenhauer 



Pessimism. J . 



introduces into philosophical thought the pessimistic 

 view. The existence of Evil and Sin in the world 

 impresses him more than the hopeful outlook, the 

 promises and aspirations, so characteristic of Fichte's 

 and Hegel's work. In this work he takes no part : 

 he turns away to the opposite or pessimistic inter- 

 pretation, he introduces a foreign element, that which 

 had found expression in the philosophy and poetry 

 of India. A knowledge of these had at that 

 time been recently introduced through the study 

 and translation of the great productions of Oriental 

 literature to which the Eomantic school, headed by 

 Schlegel, had given much attention. Imbibing this 

 spirit Schopenhauer looks upon the world -process as 

 a process of evil, upon the assertion of the Will as 

 the source of evil ; and finds the redeeming process to 

 consist in self -negation, in annihilation of the "Will, in 

 quietism, in asceticism, and in the passive virtues of 

 sympathy, compassion, and renunciation. We may note 

 here that it was likewise the problem of Sin and 

 Evil in the world which Schelling approached in the 

 last phase of his philosophy, and which prevented him 

 from arriving at any satisfactory conclusion of his 

 speculations. To the two questions which remained 

 unanswered in Schelling's mind, the problem of the 

 contingent and the problem of evil, Schopenhauer's 

 philosophy professed to give an answer; but it was 

 one that stood in opposition to the progressive spirit 

 of the age. 



The philosophy of Eduard von Hartmann has generally 



