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Ideas for 'works', 'Parerga and Paralipomena' and 'Grounding Concepts'

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2 ideas

23. Ethics / F. Existentialism / 4. Boredom
Human life is a mistake, shown by boredom, which is direct awareness of the fact [Schopenhauer]
     Full Idea: Human life must be some kind of mistake. ...Boredom is a direct proof that existence is in itself valueless, for boredom is nothing other than the sensation of the emptiness of existence.
     From: Arthur Schopenhauer (Parerga and Paralipomena [1851], XI:146)
     A reaction: I think it is a good advertisement for existentialism that it makes something more out of boredom than Schopenhauer does.
Boredom is only felt by those clever enough to need activity [Schopenhauer]
     Full Idea: Only in the cleverest animals such as dogs and apes does the need for activity, and with that boredom, make itself felt.
     From: Arthur Schopenhauer (Parerga and Paralipomena [1851], III:50)
     A reaction: But it is much more frequently young creatures, of almost any kind, that seek constant activity, and get continually restless. The most active adults need not be the cleverest.