Arthur Schopenhauer spent most of his career ignored by the philosophical establishment, living alone in Frankfurt with a succession of beloved poodles he named Atma — “world soul” in Sanskrit. His central claim was bleak and magnificent: the universe is driven by a blind, purposeless will, and human existence is essentially suffering punctuated by boredom.

This episode traces Schopenhauer from his wealthy merchant family through his bitter rivalry with Hegel, his decades of obscurity, and his late-life fame as the philosopher who influenced Nietzsche, Wagner, Freud, and the entire existentialist tradition.

• Schopenhauer’s turbulent relationship with his mother and the personal bitterness that shaped his philosophy
• The World as Will and Representation and the idea that reality is driven by blind, irrational force
• His legendary hatred of Hegel and the empty lecture hall that humiliated him
• How his pessimism influenced Nietzsche, Wagner, Freud, Tolstoy, and modern existentialism