“Great minds are related to the brief span of time during which they live as great buildings are to a little square in which they stand: you cannot see them in all their magnitude because you are standing too close to them.”

German philosopher of the early 19th century, Schopenhauer is best known for his pessimistic worldview and influential critique of Kantian idealism. His work *The World as Will and Representation* explores human suffering as an inescapable aspect of existence, shaping later existentialist thought.