The Philosophy of Disenchantment

The author surveys the historical and religious sources of modern pessimism, contrasting ancient and Eastern notions of suffering with contemporary systematic doubt. He examines key thinkers—especially Schopenhauer—and outlines doctrines that treat life as burden, dream, or probation, explaining Buddhist stages toward Nirvana alongside Christian and Brahmanic interpretations. Subsequent chapters probe riddles about happiness, the psychological borderlands between contentment and despair, and the idea of a final quietus, finally asking whether existence itself is essentially an affliction. The treatment combines philosophical exposition, literary reference, and comparative analysis to map the genesis and forms of disenchantment.