Tolstoy believed that the pursuit of knowledge and truth was essential to happiness.
a person who thinks that evil will ultimately triumph over good or that this world is as horrible as it possibly be.
Eudaimonia, or mental clarity and self-sufficiency, is what life is all about. A person must liberate himself from outside forces, such as wealth, fame, and power, in order to become self-sufficient. No official philosophy or centralized authority exists in relation to cynicism.
After struggling to finish Anna Karenina, he spent the following years pursuing a life of religion. He rejoined the Russian Orthodox Church, but quickly began to question its beliefs, traditions, and practices. On his own terms, Tolstoy came to believe. The fundamental principles were nonviolence, love of God, and neighbor.
According to Schopenhauer, the purpose of existence is to be denied; according to Kierkegaard, the purpose of life is to fervently obey God; according to Nietzsche, the purpose of life is the will to power; and according to Tolstoy, the purpose of life is a form of illogical knowledge referred to as "faith."
Schopenhauer's natural philosophy and metaphysics led him to the doctrine of pessimism, which holds that life is not really worth living since, with few exceptions, sentient beings are forced to struggle and endure severe suffering.
The pessimist's view and the optimist's view are the two main responses to the question of whether life has any significance for us.
