在当今全球化时代，随着国门进一步开放，中外交流日渐增多，人们普遍重视英语学习，国人中尤其年轻人中具备阅读英文原著能力的人越来越多了。在这种形势下，“英文学术名著”系列应运而生。编辑者的计划是，选择西方哲学、人文学科、社会科学领域的最基本的英文经典原著，分批陆续出版，为有志者提供价廉的版本和阅读的便利。

《叔本华作品集(精)》为该系列中的一本。

《叔本华作品集(精)》虽然讨论的话题众多，但里面贯穿着的基本思想主线清晰可辨。叔本华这位“语言艺术家”(弗兰茨·卡夫卡的赞语)的过人之处就在于把真理裹以最朴素的语言外衣，从而让真理直接发挥其必然具备的震撼力。因为深刻，所以朴素；因为朴素，更见深刻。尼采形容阅读叔本华的著作犹如抵达了“一处森林高地——在这里，我们深深地呼吸着清新的空气，整个人感觉耳目一新，重又充满了生机”。《叔本华作品集(精)》里代表性的论文只占叔本华全部哲学著作的一小部分，但这些论文足以让我们领略到叔本华这位“不折不扣的天才”(托尔斯泰语)的思想魅力。

I The Wisdom of Life

1 DIVISION OF THE SUBJECT

2 PERSONALITY, OR WHAT A MAN IS

3 PROPERTY， OR WHAT A MAN HAS

4 POSITION, OR A MAN'S PLACE

4.1 Reputation

4.2 Pride

4.3 Rank

4.4 Honor

4.5 Fame

II Counsels and Maxims

5 GENERAL RULES

6 OUR RELATION TO OURSELVES

7 OUR RELATION TO OTHERS

8 WORLDLY FORTUNE

9 THE AGES OF LIFE

III Religion, a Dialogue, Etc.

10 RELIGION. A DIALOGUE

11 A FEW WORDS ON PANTHEISM

12 ON BOOKS AND READING

13 PHYSIOGNOMY

14 PSYCHOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS

15 THE CHRISTIAN SYSTEM

IV The Art of Literature

16 ON AUTHORSHIP

17 ON STYLE

18 ON THE STUDY OF LATIN

19 ON MEN OF LEARNING

20 ON THINKING FOR ONESELF

21 ON SOME FORMS OF LITERATURE

22 ON CRITICISM

23 ON REPUTATION

24 ON GENIUS

V Studies in Pessimism

25 ON THE SUFFERINGS OF THE WORLD

26 THE VANITY OF EXISTENCE

27 ON SUICIDE

28 IMMORTALITY:A DIALOGUE

29 PSYCHOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS

30 ON EDUCATION

31 OF WOMEN

The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer

32 ON NOISE

33 A FEW PARABLES

VI On Human Nature

34 HUMAN NATURE

35 GOVERNMENT

36 FREE-WILL AND FATALISM

37 CHARACTER

38 MORAL INSTINCT

39 ETHICAL REFLECTIONS

VII The Art of Controversy

40 PRELIMINARY: LOGIC AND DIALECTIC

41 THE BASIS OF ALL DIALECTIC

42 STRATAGEMS

42.1 ON THE COMPARATIVE PLACE OF INTEREST AND BEAUTY IN WORKS OF ART

42.2 PSYCHOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS

42.3 ON THE WISDOM OF LIFE: APHORISMS

42.4 GENIUS AND VIRTUE