Application of Schopenhauer's Ideas to Mental Health

Hi Folks,

Earlier this year, brave readers from this community finished a 6 month deep dive into the work of Arthur Schopenhauer through a close reading of his magnum opus, The World as Will and Representation.

I was the facilitator for this reading endeavor, and I collated a thorough series of notes from my learnings and our sessions.

What I wish to attempt to do is summarize 6 months of learning about Schopenhauer into this 45 minute talk plus Q&A, and synthesize these learnings with my current studies and practice in the field of mental health.

How are Arthur Schopenhauer's ideas as presented in his magnum opus, The World as Will and Representation, relevant today and how can they be applied in the context of mental health? Interestingly enough, Freud in his autobiography cites Schopenhauer's ideas as paralleling his own, a philosophical brother shall we say, especially in comparing the "will" to the unconscious.

We will cover Schopenhauer's epistemology, metaphysics, aesthetics and ethics, as well as his critiques of Kantian philosophy. All with a view towards real world application in mental health today, especially within psychodynamic psychotherapy.

If this is your cup of tea, then I hope you can come along and join.

Kind regards,
Ryan

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This event is part of the NYC Philosophy & Psychology Readers Conference 2026. For full details please visit: https://www.meetup.com/reading-philosophy/events/314020228/
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This room holds a maximum of 80 people seated or 148 people standing. It will be first come first served. If you cannot make it please update your RSVP to decline to allow others to use your space.
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