On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason (German: Ueber die vierfache Wurzel des Satzes vom zureichenden Grunde) is an elaboration on the classical Principle of Sufficient Reason written by German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer as his doctoral dissertation in 1813. The principle of sufficient reason is a powerful and controversial philosophical principle stipulating that everything must have a reason or cause. Schopenhauer revised and re-published it in 1847. This work articulated the centerpiece of many of Schopenhauer's arguments, and throughout his later works he consistently refers his readers to this short treatise as the necessary beginning point for a full understanding of his further writings.
