“If life — the craving for which is the very essence of our being — were possessed of any positive intrinsic value, there would be no such thing as boredom at all: mere existence would satisfy us in itself, and we should want for nothing.”

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.