On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason and Other Writings

by Schopenhauer, Arthur; Cartwright, David E.; Erdmann, Edward E.; Janaway, Christopher

• ISBN13: 9780521872713
• ISBN10: 0521872715
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-11-12
• Publisher: Cambridge Univ Pr

Summary

This volume of new translations unites three shorter works by Arthur Schopenhauer that expand on themes from his book The World as Will and Representation. In On the Fourfold Root he takes the principle of sufficient reason, which states that nothing is without a reason why it is, and shows how it covers different forms of explanation or ground that previous philosophers have tended to confuse. Schopenhauer regarded this study, which he first wrote as his doctoral dissertation, as an essential preliminary to The World as Will. On Will in Nature examines contemporary scientific findings in search of corroboration of his thesis that processes in nature are all a species of striving towards ends; and On Vision and Colours defends an anti-Newtonian account of colour perception influenced by Goethe's famous colour theory. This is the first English edition to provide extensive editorial notes on the different published versions of these works.

Table of Contents

General editor's preface

Editorial notes and references

Introduction

Notes on text and translation

Chronology

Bibliography

On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason

Introduction

Survey of what is most important in previous teachings about the principle of sufficient reason

Inadequacy of previous accounts and sketch of a new one

On the first class of objects for the subject and the form of the principle of sufficient reason governing in it

On the second class of objects for the subject and the form of the principle of sufficient reason governing in it

On the third class of objects for the subject and the form of the principle of sufficient reason governing in it

On the fourth class of objects for the subject and the form of the principle of sufficient reason governing in it

General remarks and results

Variants in different editions

Collation of the two editions

On Vision and Colours

On vision

On colours; Variants in different editions

On Will in Nature

Introduction

Physiology and pathology

Comparative anatomy

Plant physiology

Physical astronomy

Linguistics

Animal magnetism and magic

Sinology

Reference to ethics

Conclusion

Variants in different editions

Glossary of names

Index

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