Influences

Friedrich Nietzsche | Arthur Schopenhauer | Richard Wagner

Arthur Schopenhauer

Schopenhauer's influence on the Circle was both direct, as they read and discussed his works, and indirect, as they were influenced by his intellectual scion Nietzsche. In fact, it was Nietzsche's Schopenhauer as Educator that inspired the Circle to contact Nietzsche and express their intent to follow his ideals.

In Schopenhauer's framework, life was suffering, and it rose as such out of a blind will-to-live among living creatures which were unaware of the unity of all that lives. He asserted that individuals could overcome the world and its suffering through means such as compassion, contemplation, and aesthetic transcendence.

Schopenhauer's critique of optimism found resonance in the Circle inasmuch as they perceived the cool, Apollonian vision of progress in Austrian liberalism to be stagnant and incapable of addressing the true needs of society. What was needed was cultural transformation leading to a new unity of individuals with humanity and humanity with nature. Intellect couldn't restore the human race or lead it to a transcendent unity.

Friedrich Nietzsche | Arthur Schopenhauer | Richard Wagner