From a relatively young age, Schopenhauer wrote in a notebook various thoughts, both his own and those of other thinkers, for his personal use in the everyday life.

Towards the end of his life, he often spoke to his students about this notebook, which he described, borrowing the expression from Marcus Aurelius, as The inward book, intending it for publication after his death. However, the notebook mysteriously disappeared after his death.

Nevertheless, based on the biography of the philosopher written by one of his students, who reportedly kept the notebook for himself and used excerpts from it for the writing, a reliable reconstruction of its content became possible.

The collection of reflections contained in the notebook vividly reveals the personality and life stance of Schopenhauer to the reader. The philosopher discusses many diverse issues of his personal life and how he deals with them: his financial situation, his relationships with the opposite sex, the fears and anxieties that troubled him, his unwavering belief about his calling and the work he believes has been assigned to him, his solitude, and his misanthropy.

He speaks about all these things in a lively dialogue with other philosophers, thinkers, poets, and employs his unmistakably personal spirit and style, which is so critical and caustic...