Consciousness Quote by Christopher Janaway
““The will has no overall purpose, aims at no highest good, and can never be satisfied. Although it is our essence, it strikes us as an alien agency within, striving for life and procreation blindly, mediated only secondarily by consciousness. Instinctive sexuality is at our core, interfering constantly with the life of the intellect. To be an individual expression of this will is to lead a life of continual desire, deficiency, and suffering. Pleasure or satisfaction exists only relative to a felt lack; it is negative, merely the cessation of an episode of striving or suffering, and has no value of itself. Nothing we can achieve by conscious act of will alters the will to life within us. There is no free will. Human actions, as part of the natural order, are determined […] As individual parts of the empirical world we are ineluctably pushed through life by a force inside us which is not of our choosing, which gives rise to needs and desires we can never fully satisfy, and is without ultimate purpose. Schopenhauer concludes that it would have been better not to exist—and that the world itself is something whose existence we should deplore rather than celebrate.””
About This Quote
Source Philosophy: The World as Will and Representation, 1818
Human will is an irrational, endless drive that creates desire, suffering, and a sense of meaninglessness; consciousness cannot alter it.
In simple terms: We are driven by an endless, unconscious desire that causes suffering.
Key Takeaway
Recognize and transcend the will’s demands.
Themes
existentialism
determinism
desire
suffering
Mood
pensive
philosophical
Type
theoretical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- therapy
- philosophical study
- creative expression
Key Concepts
will
consciousness
free will
Questions to Reflect On
- Can you find meaning despite the will’s endless striving?
- How might acknowledging the will change your actions?
A Different Perspective
The view may overlook moments of genuine joy and agency.
