The Schopenhauer Cure
novel by Irvin D. Yalom
The Schopenhauer Cure is a 2005 novel by Irvin D. Yalom. The book centers around a psychiatrist with cancer and the change of dynamics in his therapy group, when he brings one of his former patients he believes he failed. The novel switches between the current events happening around the therapy group and the psychobiography of Arthur Schopenhauer.
Plot
Dr. Julius Hertzfeld gets diagnosed with cancer, being given around a year left to live in. In a state of shock, he starts to think about patients he failed and one that comes to his mind is Philip Slate, a man with a sexual addiction. Julius calls Philip for an interview and realizes that Philip turned his life around, attributing his success to Arthur Schopenhauer after whom he has modeled his life. The doctor also finds out that Philip is on his way to becoming a psychotherapist. However, Julius thinks Philip isn't suited to become a psychotherapist, due to him noticing that Philip doesn't know how to empathize. Therefore, both men strike a deal: Philip has to come to Julius' therapy group for six months and if he stays, Julius will become his supervisor for his remaining hours.
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Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q9556832. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2005.
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This entry incorporates text from “The Schopenhauer Cure” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.