In early 19th century Germany, one man attempted to make sense of existence. He analyzed it as belonging to either one of the two states. One of "representation," or a world in itself, a system independent of our experience and that of "will" which is our lives being repetitively directed to attaining some goal. In one broad fell swoop, he asserted life to be dull and meaningless and also presented a solution to this recurring misery. To...