German Classical and European Post-Classical Philosophy from the 18th to 20th Centuries

Post-Classical Philosophy of the 19th and 20th Centuries

The central belief of thinkers from this period is that every new philosophical idea or discovery represents a personal triumph and a sacrifice of the thinker’s own life and health, as it always involves risk, emotional strain, and the edge of the abyss, without any guarantees of success or signs of a correct path. Philosophy is not merely intellectual activity but a way of life, an existential trial of the self.

In this spirit, German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) viewed human existence as a realm of inevitable suffering, marked by constant disappointments and misfortunes, so profound that it is surprising how few recognize it. Schopenhauer argued that the world can be perceived as either will or representation—two aspects of existence relative to humans. Will is the absolute force behind existence, a cosmic, biological power that creates the world and humanity. To many, life seems unworthy of living, and Schopenhauer was the first to philosophically justify pessimism in the 19th century. For him, human existence is filled with continuous disappointment and suffering, driven by the relentless desires for health, beauty, and wealth, which are never fully satisfied and often lead to sorrow and indifference. Even the desire to preserve one's life is ultimately oriented toward the prospect of death.

According to Schopenhauer, only two types of people are not enslaved by the will: geniuses in art and saints in earthly life. Ordinary individuals only perceive their surroundings in relation to their will and are content with either unfulfilled desires or ordinary sorrow. Every person is born with three higher goods—health, youth, and freedom—but they are often undervalued until they are lost, revealing their nature as merely negative quantities.

Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) wrote: "...He who has fought with the world is great because he has conquered it; he who has fought with himself is more magnificent because he has conquered himself, but he who has fought with God is the greatest of all." To struggle with God means to constantly doubt one's chosen path and the belief that everything in the world happens through our participation, that nothing has happened yet, and that the world is new, being born every second, requiring our presence at its birth.

Ordinary people never realize they are spirit, nor do they sense or feel the presence of God within their existence. They always value material life over spiritual life, leading to the view of health as the greatest good. Similarly, many believe that beauty is the highest value. Ordinary people live to satisfy their base desires, though few find true satisfaction. Instead, they often rely on trivial gratifications and constantly complain about adverse external conditions that prevent them from truly expressing themselves. In reality, the path to a higher human level involves despair, a profound emotional act that demands serious inner tension and leads to victory over the world. No one who has not tasted the bitterness of despair can grasp the true essence of life.

Kierkegaard's unique position on faith is that it represents a disillusionment with knowledge in order to attain faith, which is defined as an inner certainty involving infinity. Kierkegaard emphasizes the figure of the Solitary, who stands above the general. He argues that all general and necessary aspects imply a boundary between the possible and the necessary. He describes Necessity as the life “bars” that confine the experience of boundless possibilities of existence. Faith allows the Solitary to break through the imposition of inevitability by reason. Kierkegaard often uses imagery, depicting Abraham as the symbol of faith and Hegel as the symbol of reason, which form the core of his philosophy. He notes that Abraham left his ancestral land in search of the Promised Land with faith, leaving behind only earthly reason. Kierkegaard remarks, "As for me, I have spent much time trying to understand Hegel, and I believe I have partially succeeded. But when I attempt to understand Abraham, I feel utterly defeated."

The paradox of Kierkegaard's faith lies in the fact that its inner content and outer manifestation are not proportional. Modern philosophy, he argues, has illegitimately replaced the essence of faith by reducing it to the immediate sphere, which is unacceptable. Overall, Kierkegaard characterizes faith as the highest passion that can exist in a person. Every generation has many who have not yet reached faith, but none who could surpass it. Those who have not attained faith face numerous tasks, and with a sincere approach to these tasks, their lives will not be fruitless, though they cannot compare to those who have grasped and found the greatest—the faith.

One of the most notorious thinkers of the 19th century is German philosopher and pupil of Schopenhauer, Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900). Nietzsche’s philosophy seeks to counter established societal values with the image of a free, independent individual capable of being a true knight of humanity—a treasure shaped by preceding generations. Nietzsche believed that contemporary culture, devoid of myth, fosters only abstract, general qualities—abstract education, abstract statehood—a culture lacking a solid, sacred core and thus doomed to absorb surrogates from other cultures. The profound crisis of modern culture, for Nietzsche, is caused by the dominance of rationality over instincts and ultimately over human freedom. Hence, Nietzsche asserts that it was not the Athenians who killed Socrates, but Socrates, by proclaiming the dictatorship of reason, offered Athens a cup of hemlock.

Nietzsche was the first in the 19th century to announce the rise of nihilism, marking the beginning of a re-evaluation of values. In this context, his declaration of the "death of God" is most striking. The God of European history, the Christian God, has lost significance for human will, and with him, his ideals—principles, norms, values—have fallen. Humanity still clings to the belief in a previous world order, but lacks a singular foundation. The prior supersensible world of ideals and goals has died, and although Christian faith persists, the love governing this world is not a viable principle for what occurs.