Answers Quote by Arthur Schopenhauer
“Suicide may also be regarded as an experiment - a question which man puts to Nature, trying to force her to answer. The question is this: What change will death produce in a man's existence and in his insight into the nature of things? It is a clumsy experiment to make; for it involves the destruction of the very consciousness which puts the question and awaits the answer.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The World as Will and Representation, Arthur Schopenhauer, 1818
The quote treats suicide as a futile experiment, probing whether death can alter consciousness or understanding, but it destroys the very mind that asks the question.
In simple terms: Suicide is a pointless test that kills the thinker.
Key Takeaway
Avoid self‑destruction; seek meaning while alive.
Themes
existentialism
philosophy
death
consciousness
ethics
Mood
somber
reflective
Type
philosophical
ethical
existential
When to use this quote
- mental health crises
- philosophical debates
- personal despair
- ethical discussions
Key Concepts
nihilism
will to live
meaning of life
Questions to Reflect On
- What drives people to view death as a source of answers?
- Can meaning be found without self‑destruction?
A Different Perspective
It assumes death could provide insight, ignoring that consciousness ends with death.
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![“[Materialism] seeks the primary and most simple state of matter, and then tries to develop all the others from it; ascending from mere mechanism, to chemism, to polarity, to the vegetable and to the animal kingdom. And if we suppose this to have been done, the last link in the chain would be…” quote by Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/88c/arthur-schopenhauer-226_animal-kingdom_materialism-seeks-the-primary-and-most-s_50402.jpg)
