Germaine Greer and Authur Schopenhaur

Germaine Greer and Author Schopenhauer

fiction
edward w pritchard

Authur Schopenhauer was a misogynist but a major western philosopher. After his Father died he inherited and devoted his life to philosophy taking up the quest to answer Hume and continue and refine the groundbreaking work of Immanuel Kant. Schopenhauer, a bitter man, attacked in writing his contemporaries Hegel, Schelling and even his former professor Fichte. Schopenhauer's attacks on these three men, all three career academics working in State run Universities in a semi police state; were vicious and vindictive and among the most invective ad hominem attacks in all of written scholarly history.

Schopenhauer came to hate his Mother who ran a salon, an intellectual "club" for sophisticates of her day. As a young man Schopenhauer left his Mother and never spoke with her again. Later he wrote "On Women" a vicious attack against what he calls the second sex. Calling women undersized,narrow shouldered, broad hipped, and short legged; Schopenhauer criticizes all women, up to his time [written 1851], as having no sense of justice and strangely, and what seems to perturbs him most, talking in theaters [ untimely and inappropriately].

Germaine Greer wrote the "Female Eunuch" a million seller and has been a feminist and celebrity most of her adult life. She writes well, is an excellent researcher, and has an original position on many of the issues of the times. However, at least according to urban mythology, in Wikipedia, Professor Lisa Jardine, recalled the first time she met Greer, at a formal dinner in college:

The principal called us to order for the speeches. As a hush descended, one person continued to speak, too engrossed in her conversation to notice, her strong Australian accent reverberating around the room...{ authors note- Greer is Australian]

Newsflash at least once Germaine Greer the feminist spoke out of turn in "theaters"

Schopenhauer was right at least in part. However, there have been many allegations that Schopenhauer may have liked "boys, and if alive to judge Greer, he wouldn't notice [ unlike this author notices] that Germnaine Greer is quite good looking and Greer's theater talking may be forgivable for that reason alone. Ms Greer might just chuckle about the whole issue, concerning her and Schopenhauer, because she also seems to like young boys, having published on the subject-see "The Beautiful Boy' Greer-2003.

In summary Schopenhauer although brilliant wrote a vindictive attack against women in " On Women" lumping all individuals together. Greer also a very controversial figure, treats the subject of human sexuality more lightly, and even when raking the male clan over the coals so to speak, seems to keep a sense of humor and to recognize individual differences in culture are a factor in the war between the sexes. Lastly as an aside although the author does find Ms. Greer attractive, he is not one of the stalkers, sworn by restraining order to stay away from her.