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Work #317 · Early

On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason

Arthur Schopenhauer
1813 (doctoral dissertation); 1847 (revised 2nd edition) · German
Philosophical doctoral dissertation · German post-Kantian philosophy

The four kinds of sufficient reason — Schopenhauer's 1813 doctoral dissertation, methodological foundation for World as Will

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason (Early)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Total
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Active
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency None
Observer · Moral Authority Reason
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Non-conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason

Four kinds of reasons include temporal-causal among irreducible forms.

Space

On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason

Kantian transcendental space underlies the analysis.

Matter

On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason

Material objects as one of the four object types.

Observer

On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason

Kantian transcendental subject — plural, embodied, active.

Energy

On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason

Intellectual energies of analysis.

Information

On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason

Systematic philosophical analysis preserved.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason

The Fourfold Root is the methodological prelude to World as Will and Representation. The 1847 second edition reflects Schopenhauer's mature framework.