Lovejoy, A. O. Schopenhauer as an Evolutionist (1959)

Lovejoy, A. O. Schopenhauer as an Evolutionist / A. O. Lovejoy // Forerunners of Darwin: 1745–1859 / ed. by B. Glass, O. Temkin, W. L. Straus. — Baltimore : Johns Hopkins Press, 1959. — P. 415–437.

In this essay, Arthur O. Lovejoy investigates the evolutionary elements present in the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer, examining how the latter's metaphysical system anticipated certain aspects of biological transformism. Lovejoy demonstrates that while Schopenhauer was not a scientist in the empirical sense, his concept of a blind, striving "Will" as the driving force of all organic existence provides a unique philosophical parallel to the idea of adaptation. The author concludes that Schopenhauer’s work represents an important instance of how non-scientific, speculative systems in the early 19th century arrived at evolutionary conclusions that parallel modern biological insights.