Why did Schopenhauer hate Hegel?

Arthur Schopenhauer's animosity toward Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel stemmed from a combination of personal, philosophical, and contextual factors. Here are some key points that illuminate this contentious relationship:

**Philosophical Differences**: Schopenhauer and Hegel had fundamentally different philosophical approaches. Schopenhauer was influenced by Kant and was focused on the will as the primary driving force of human behavior and existence, emphasizing individual experience and suffering. In contrast, Hegel's idealism emphasized the development of ideas and the unfolding of history through dialectical processes. Schopenhauer found Hegel's philosophy overly abstract and dismissive of the more immediate aspects of human life.

**Academic Rivalry**: During their respective careers, Hegel was the more prominent and influential philosopher, especially in German academia. Schopenhauer struggled for recognition and often felt overshadowed by Hegel's popularity. This rivalry was compounded by Schopenhauer's belief that Hegel's ideas were poorly constructed and lacked real substance.

**Personal Interaction**: Schopenhauer reportedly had a low opinion of Hegel personally. He believed Hegel to be pompous and pretentious. Additionally, Schopenhauer's own experiences in the academic world were marred by his perception that Hegel's followers dominated philosophical discourse, which left him feeling marginalized.

**Critique of Hegelianism**: Schopenhauer was vocal in his critiques of Hegelian philosophy, going as far as to refer to Hegel's work as "charlatanry." He argued that Hegel's complex terminology and obscure style were designed to confuse rather than clarify philosophical issues, which he believed detracted from the understanding of more important and pressing existential questions.

**Legacy and Influence**: Over time, Schopenhauer's work has gained recognition and appreciation for its depth and insights into human nature and suffering. In contrast, Hegel's philosophical ideas, while influential, have also been critiqued and deconstructed in subsequent philosophical discourse. Schopenhauer's critique can be seen as part of a broader intellectual landscape where different philosophies engage with, and often react against, one another.

In summary, Schopenhauer's disdain for Hegel was rooted in deep philosophical disagreements, personal animosities, and the competitive dynamics of the philosophical community during their lifetimes.