Schopenhauer, A Cynical European’s Perspective On Music.

Moving on from the Greek's, let's now look at how the European philosophical crew viewed music.

Arthur Schopenhauer was a 19th century thinker who had a surprisingly deep love for music. In fact, he thought music was the highest of all the arts. Not painting, not poetry but music. Schopenhauer was generally known for his pessimistic view of life, but he was enchanted by music.

Schopenhauer’s big idea was that the world we see and touch, the world of physical things is just a representation. Behind it lies something deeper and more mysterious, which he called the 'Will' (view Schopenhauer’s 'The World as Will and Representation' here). This Will isn’t your personal ambition or motivation; it’s a kind of blind, restless force that drives all existence. It’s why trees grow, rivers flow, and humans strive, suffer, and desire endlessly. It’s kind of like the engine of life. According to Schopenhauer, all art gives us a break from this endless struggle by showing us the essence of things in a beautiful, detached way. But most art, like sculpture or poetry, does this indirectly. Music, however, is different.

Music, he said, doesn’t just represent the Will. It is the Will. That’s a big claim. But Schopenhauer believed that music doesn’t need to show us images or tell stories to move us emotionally. It bypasses the world of appearances and taps directly into the inner essence of life. That’s why it affects us so deeply, it speaks the language of our own existence. It goes straight in without any cognitive processing! A melody doesn’t need to be processed it just finds it way into our emotions. That’s the beautiful simplicity of it, it can make you feel joy, sadness, tension, or peace. Schopenhauer saw this as proof that music taps into something universal. It mirrors the rhythms and patterns of life itself, the longing, the conflict, the resolution.

He compared different musical elements to aspects of human experience. For example, he saw melody as the 'life' of the music, a kind of narrative of striving and struggling. Harmony and rhythm mirrored the underlying structure of the world. Even instrumental music (which tells no story and has no lyrics) could feel like it was expressing deep truths about life and living. Unlike other arts that rely on words, images, or symbols, music can express complex emotions and ideas without ever saying anything concrete. This 'abstract expressiveness' is what made it so powerful for Schopenhauer. You don’t need to know the story behind a piece of music to feel its impact, it hits you directly.

He even suggested that composers are like metaphysical geniuses. They don’t need philosophy to understand the Will, they intuitively express it through sound. And when we listen, we resonate with it, as if we’re momentarily lifted out of our daily struggles and given a glimpse of life’s deeper meaning.

Today, Schopenhauer’s ideas might seem a little intense and abstract, but they resonate more than ever. In a world where we’re bombarded with content and social media junk food, music remains something we turn to when words fail (well, some of it). Whether you’re heartbroken, elated, or just trying to make it through a tough day, music has this uncanny ability to meet you where you are. According to Schopenhauer, you’re not just being entertained. You’re touching something timeless, something that cuts through the noise of the everyday world and speaks directly to your soul.

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Adam Ficek hosts a monthly show 'Tonic Music' on Totally Wired Radio, where he talks to various guests about music and mental health. You can listen again to any of the previous show on the Tonic Music Mixcloud page.