On the Basis of Morality (from 1840) is one of Arthur Schopenhauer's significant works in
ethics. In this treatise he argues that morality stems from compassion. He starts his work
with criticism of Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals which Schopenhauer considered
the clearest explanation of Kant's foundation of ethics. He continues with a positive
construction of his own ethical theory and concludes the book with a brief description of the
metaphysical foundations of ethics.
