Idea, a passage is offered thatcould hardly be a more explicit denial, at the end of life, if a man is sincereand in full possession of his faculties, he will never wish to have it overagain, but rather than this, he will much prefer absolute annihilation (WWI589). Schopenhauer's pessimism has some roots in our inability to adequatelysatisfy our wants. A casual reading might have one to believe both philosopherstook the will to be the same oject or process, but that where one celebrates itthe other denigrates it. A more careful reading will reveal, however, that,Nietzsche though initially impressed with the Schopenhauer conception of thewill, he will later reject it. Schopenhauer concieves the will to be a primalmetaphysical reality.The mileage the two philosophers get from investigating will, the term is nocoordinate in their use, nor are we surorised at the disparity of their maturephilosophies. For Nietzsche, the resignation of the will is a forlorn denial oflife. Similarly, the appeal to a transcendent deity also indicts the indivualsas resentful in the face of those who can affirm life. Nietzsche proposes oneshould affirm life even in the midst of tragedy, thus the passive nihilism thatembraces the ascetic ideals are overcome....
