Kuolema ja kuolematon

The essay argues that our true essence is an underlying will that is identical with the world's inner nature, while the conscious, remembering intellect is a transient instrument tied to temporal forms; death therefore destroys personal consciousness but not the metaphysical will. It contrasts the timeless, indivisible character of will with the ephemeral, functional role of understanding, portrays earthly life as driven by endless wanting that generates pervasive suffering, and presents aesthetic contemplation and artistic insight as temporary reprieves that reveal a detached perspective on existence and the relation between individual mortality and the persistence of the will.