Editing German philosophy (section)

===Schopenhauer===
{{Main|Arthur Schopenhauer's aesthetics|Critique of the Schopenhauerian philosophy}}
[[File:Arthur Schopenhauer Portrait by Ludwig Sigismund Ruhl 1815.jpeg|upright|thumb|A young Schopenhauer]]
An [[Idiosyncrasy|idiosyncratic]] opponent of German idealism, particularly Hegel's thought, was [[Arthur Schopenhauer]] (1788&nbsp;–1860). He was influenced by [[Eastern philosophy]], particularly [[Buddhism]], and was known for his [[pessimism]]. Schopenhauer's most influential work, ''[[The World as Will and Representation]]'' (1818), claimed that the world is fundamentally what we recognize in ourselves as our [[will (philosophy)|will]]. His analysis of will led him to the conclusion that emotional, physical, and sexual desires can never be fulfilled. Consequently, he eloquently described a lifestyle of negating desires, similar to the [[Asceticism|ascetic]] teachings of [[Vedanta]] and the [[Desert Fathers]] of [[early Christianity]].<ref>''[[The World as Will and Representation]]'', Vol. 2, Ch. 48 (Dover page 616), "The ascetic tendency is certainly unmistakable in [[Early Christianity|genuine and original Christianity]], as it was developed in the writings of the [[Desert Fathers|Church Fathers]] from the kernel of the [[New Testament]]; this tendency is the highest point to which everything strives upwards."</ref>

Towards the end of Schopenhauer's life and in the years after his death, post-Schopenhauerian pessimism<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> became a rather popular "trend" in 19th century Germany.<ref>Monika Langer, ''Nietzsche's Gay Science: Dancing Coherence'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, p. 231.</ref> Nevertheless, it was viewed with disdain by the other popular philosophies at the time, such as [[Hegelianism]], [[materialism]], [[neo-Kantianism]], and the emerging [[positivism]]. In an age of upcoming revolutions and exciting new discoveries in [[science]], the resigned and a-progressive nature of the typical pessimist was seen as detriment to social development. To respond to this growing criticism, a group of philosophers greatly influenced by Schopenhauer such as [[Julius Bahnsen]] (1830–81), [[Karl Robert Eduard von Hartmann]] (1842–1906), [[Philipp Mainländer]] (1841–76), and even some of his personal acquaintances developed their own brand of pessimism, each in their own unique way.<ref>[[Frederick C. Beiser|Beiser]] reviews the commonly held position that Schopenhauer was a transcendental idealist and he rejects it: "Though it is deeply heretical from the standpoint of transcendental idealism, Schopenhauer's objective standpoint involves a form of ''transcendental realism'', i.e. the assumption of the independent reality of the world of experience." (Beiser, Frederick C., ''Weltschmerz: Pessimism in German Philosophy, 1860–1900'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016, p. 40).</ref><ref>[[Frederick C. Beiser|Beiser, Frederick C.]], ''Weltschmerz: Pessimism in German Philosophy, 1860–1900'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016, p. 213 n. 30.</ref>