The cosmological nuance of Arthur Schopenhauer’s atheism: the infinitude of matter and the impossibility of God’s existence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36517/arf.v18i1.96578Keywords:
Schopenhauer. Matter. Atheism. Cosmology. Substance.Abstract
This article investigates the cosmological atheism of Arthur Schopenhauer, understood as one of the dimensions of his denial of the existence of God. This nuance arises directly from his conception of matter as eternal, uncreated, and imperishable, possessing a dual nature: Materie (permanent substance) and Stoff (mutable states). This distinction shows that, although phenomenal forms change, the essence of matter remains immutable and infinite. The study highlights the influences of Aristotle, who conceived matter as becoming, and Spinoza, who understood it as a single and absolute substance. Based on this framework, Schopenhauer identifies matter with the absolute, thereby refuting the cosmological proof of God’s existence, since something eternal and self-caused cannot have been created. Consequently, his philosophy excludes the possibility of a transcendent creator and establishes an immanent and atheistic worldview, in which the universe and the Will are uncreated and self-sufficient principles.
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