The Economic Times

Quote of the day by Arthur Schopenhauer: 'Man can do what he wills, but he cannot will what he wills.' Life advice from German philosopher who admired Indian texts like Upanishads & Bhagavad Gita

Arthur Schopenhauer, a 19th-century German philosopher, posited that while individuals can act on their desires, they cannot choose those desires themselves. This concept, central to his work The World as Will and Representation, highlights the unconscious will's influence on human motivation and the illusory nature of free will at the level of desire.