Arthur Schopenhauer: Concrete Abstractions

Posted by admin on Sunday, December 16, 2012

Arthur Schopenhauer Money Quote saying some devote themselves to abstractions for happiness and others to utter reality when a balance is necessary. Arthur Schopenhauer said:
 

 

“Money is human happiness in the abstract: he, then, who is no longer capable of enjoying human happiness in the concrete devotes himself utterly to money” — Arthur Schopenhauer

 

 

In this quote, Arthur Schopenhauer is making a philosophical point about how some people relate to money. He argues that money represents happiness and life’s pleasures in an abstract, conceptual way.

But for those who can no longer experience real human happiness through relationships and experiences, they devote themselves entirely to the pursuit of wealth and money instead.

Schopenhauer seems to be saying that for those who have become detached from genuine emotional fulfillment, amassing money acts as a substitute for the happiness they can no longer feel in intimate, real world interactions with others.

Birthday: February 22, 1788 – Death: September 21, 1860

Categories: happiness Tagged:arthur schopenhauerhappiness