# Schopenhauer — The Genealogy of Morals character guide

> Schopenhauer in The Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0010-the-genealogy-of-morals

## Snapshot

Schopenhauer treated sexuality as a personal enemy and needed his enemies—Hegel, woman, sensuality—to keep him in good humour and writing.

## Who they are

As the philosopher who paid homage to ascetic ideals, he serves Nietzsche as both a personal case and a typical one, the most eloquent voice of philosophy's rancour toward sensuality. Without his enemies he would have run away from existence; his wrath was his balm, his recreation, his remedium against disgust. He matters because his pessimism lets Nietzsche ask what a philosopher really wants when he bows to ascetic ideals—and hints that he wishes to escape a torture.

## Relationships

### [Richard Wagner](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/characters/richard_wagner)

_psychological_

Wagner was deeply influenced by Schopenhauer's philosophy, adopting his pessimism and ideas of the will, though Nietzsche saw this as a betrayal of art.

### [Kant](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/characters/kant)

_rivalry_

Schopenhauer built upon and fiercely criticized Kant's transcendental idealism, rejecting his categorical imperative as a disguised Christian morality.

### [Thomas of Aquinas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/characters/thomas_of_aquinas)

_psychological_

Schopenhauer's asceticism and denial of the will echo Aquinas's Christian renunciation, which Nietzsche condemns as life-denying.

## In the story

### [Chapter 5](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/5)

Nietzsche's great teacher, who deified pity and self-sacrifice as intrinsic values, leading Nietzsche to question their worth.

### [Third Essay: What Is the Meaning of Ascetic Ideals?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/third-essay)

Cited as a philosopher who championed the ascetic ideal, using art and denial of the will as means of redemption.

### [Separating the Artist from the Work](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/4)

Mentioned as an influence on Wagner's later style, which Nietzsche criticizes as Schopenhauerian and Nihilistic.

### [What Is the Meaning of Ascetic Ideals?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/5)

Schopenhauer's philosophy provided authority for Wagner and is examined as a case of a real philosopher paying homage to the ascetic ideal.

### [Chapter 6: Schopenhauer, Kant, and the Aesthetic Problem](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/6)

Nietzsche critiques Schopenhauer's interpretation of Kant's aesthetic theory, particularly his view that beauty calms the will, which Nietzsche sees as a personal, pathological projection.

### [Chapter 7](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/7)

Presented as a philosopher who raged against sexuality, woman, and sensuality, using enemies to sustain his existence and humor.

### [The Ascetic Ideal and the Philosopher](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/8)

Mentioned in the context of the aesthetic state; Nietzsche critiques Schopenhauer's view that sensuality is removed by beauty, arguing instead that it becomes transfigured.

### [The Guilty Methods of the Ascetic Priest](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/chapters/19)

Mentioned as having written much about himself, with his executor Dr. Gwinner destroying his papers.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/characters/schopenhauer
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_genealogy_of_morals_se/characters