The Paramount Life Will

Western science fiction is a product of western Romanticism and it intensely illustrates the western scientific spirit. It is a special type of literary form born in the scientific times. The social effects are the usual concern of the science fiction writers, and Asimov depicts various vivid pictures of mankind in the future world of science and technology. Isaac Asimov(1920一1995) is the most notable figure in writing those stories, and the most prolific writer in the field. His works cover a wide range in subjects, and he is well-known for his wild imagination. As to his attitude to science, his works show the optimistic scientific view. However, they also reveal the human weaknesses at the same time. Asimov's masterpieces are enormous, but there are still many works which won him prize and the works he claimed to be his favorites that can represent his style. This paper chooses several of the most outstanding ones, some of which are claimed to be his best, to be the object to study. They are The Gods Themselves, The Bicentennial Man, The Ugly Little Boy, Nightfall, The Last Question and All the Troubles of the World. Asimov began a new era in the history of science fiction. Some foreign critics have given a way to study them in a psychological view. However, there is still very little study on this field in our country. Most people tend to study them in some common literary criticism such as writing style, language characteristics and plotting, so this paper made an attempt to study a tip of science fiction in a philosophical view which has a close connection with psychology. The significance of this study lies in its probing in human nature.This essay is a study about the representative works of Isaac Asimov, one of the most notable figures in science fiction in contemporary times, from the view of Arthur Schopenhauer on life will. The works include the ones on robots, the ones on powerful computers, the ones on parallel planet and life forms and the ones on time traveling. Through close study, I'm convinced that all the diverse life forms all comply with Arthur Schopenhauer's theory on life will, which is paramount. To be specifically, will is the root of world phenomena or human activities instead of reason, will is intrinsically selfish and concerns individual, life will is endless and shall always be the root of human pain. This paper discussed the embodiment of the views in these fictions in detail. The essay includes three parts. Introduction deals with something about the current study on this subject both abroad and in China, the works to study and Arthur Schopenhauer's theory. The first part is chapter one which gives the embodiment of will being the root of human activities. Human beings base their acts on their own will rather than other factors such as reason, and reason is the slave of will. The second part is chapter two which gives the embodiment of will being selfish. Individual's will is prior to that of the others and one species'will is over all that of others. The third part is chapter three which gives the embodiment of will being endless. The denial of will can bring pain, yet the fulfillment of will can bring happiness. In spite of the difficulties people have to undergo, it is impossible for people to give up their will. The human will is endless, and human desire is infinite, therefore, the pain brought by the conflict of will is endless. At last, this paper would give a summary about the topic.