On Schopenhauer's Fourfold root of the principle of sufficient reason

Abstract

Dr White's book is the first to be written on Schopenhauer's important foundation-work, On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason. It presents the arguments and analyses of Schopenhauer's work in systematic form and assesses the worth of those arguments and analyses, with particular emphasis on their positive merits. Schopenhauer divides the phenomenal world into four classes of object, discussing each of these in turn, and the chapters of White's book generally follow that order. But the book also contains a chapter of introduction showing how the Fourfold Root fits into Schopenhauer's general scheme of philosophical thought, and an appendix outlining the historical background to Schopenhauer's views. Given that it is the only work of its kind, White's book will be of use and interest to all students, and it is written in such a way that it should be intelligible to the beginner in Schopenhauer as well as helpful to the more established student.