Die glücklichen Tage eines Pessimisten. Mainländer in Neapel

The essay reconstructs the Neapolitan time of the Schopenhauerian philosopher Philipp Mainländer (1841–1876): the “dolce vita” of his early years in southern Italy, his first poetic compositions, and his discovery of the philosophy of Spinoza and Schopenhauer. In Naples (1858–1863) Mainländer lived the happiest years of his short and troubled existence, forming himself in Italian culture, particularly the poetry of the classics and of the great Italian poet and pessimist Giacomo Leopardi. It was during this time he set the groundwork for reflection on his Philosophie der Erlösung. Finally, special attention is given to the young Mainländer’s hitherto unknown relationship with his teacher, the archaeologist Wolfgang Helbig, a well-connected intellectual in the Italian cultural world.