Popkov A.V. The Will to Die as a Basic Metaphysical Principle in Philipp Mainlander’s Philosophy

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/lp.jvolsu.2026.1.8

Alexander V. Popkov

Postgraduate Student, Department of Ontology and Theory of Cognition, RUDN University

Miklukho-Maklaya St, 10, Bld. 2, 117198 Moscow, Russian Federation

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https://orcid.org/0009-0007-6904-1475

Abstract. Philipp Mainlander is one of the followers of the philosophical teachings of Arthur Schopenhauer. In his treatise “The Philosophy of Redemption,” he sought to bring his teacher’s thought to its logical end, concluding that the will to live, upon closer examination, hides the universal will to die. Mainlander writes that God’s desire for non-existence initiates the appearance of the world and the transmission of his will to die to all that exists. According to the philosopher, God desired non-existence and was able to pass from a superreal existence into non-existence only through the formation of an immanent world. In turn, every thing or phenomenon in the world, according to Mainlander, contains at its core an underlying desire to realize this desire for non-existence in the process of its existence. The Philosophy of Redemption is a consistent movement of the author’s thought from the analysis of the cognitive process and physics to the political organization of public life and metaphysics. Thus, the author identifies in each of these spheres the principle of the will to die, which lies behind the “veil of Maya” of the will to live. Mainlander offers a justification for death as the most important and necessary goal of every individual and considers life itself as a threshold obstacle to achieving non-existence. This article also presents a comparative analysis of the concepts of the will of Schopenhauer, Mainlander, and Nietzsche. It is suggested that the negative nihilism built by Mainlander on the basis of Schopenhauer’s philosophy could have influenced Nietzsche’s views on metaphysical, philosophical, and religious systems. The author differentiates the concepts of will and complements the general context by introducing into it the concept of the will to die of the Mainlander. Working with primary sources, he conducts a comparative analysis of the will to die in relation to the views of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche.

Key words: will to die, will to live, pessimism, Mainlander, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, metaphysics.

Citation. Popkov A.V. The Will to Die as a Basic Metaphysical Principle in Philipp Mainlander’s Philosophy. Logos et Praxis, 2026, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 84-91. (in Russian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/lp.jvolsu.2026.1.8

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