One of nineteenth century's greatest philosophers, Arthur Schopenhauer made his mark by a fearless insistence on addressing realities rather than abstract ideas, an approach which invited as much heated criticism as it did respect.p In emThe Wisdom of Life emand emCounsels and Maximsem, Schopenhauer discusses a range of topics - among them, possessions, reputation, sexual passions and religion - and presents a stark analysis of the human condition before offering an equally bold solution to optimise happiness. His pragmatic approach is based on his concept of a force in nature he calls will which he sees as the fundamental reality of the world. This blind, irrational imperative continually struggles to realise itself and in so doing the organism evolves, producing - in the case of man - self-aware intelligence by which Will became conscious of itself. Unfortunately for human happiness, Will is forever manifesting as desires and its relentless drive more often than not brings pain. The