What did Schopenhauer suggest we could do to minimize the influence of the powerful, irrational forces within us?
All the irrational and the powerful forces are the part of the human existence naturally. Human should try to rise above these irrational forces. Great efforts made by the human will help him in achieving the state of the nirvana; it is the state of freedom from all the irrational forces.
Concept of the sublimation given by Freud was highly anticipated by the Schopenhauer because according to him escape from these irrational strivings can be achieved by immersing or engaging ourselves into the activities, which are not related to the need of the time like poetry, music or sympathetic love. Irrational forces like sex drive can also be counteracted by living the life of asceticism.
According to the Schopenhauer, human suffers more in comparison to the animals because human have the superior intellect, which directs us towards the irrational urges present within us. The superior intellect also provides the relief from the cycle of the need and need satisfaction by performing the intellectual activities rather performing the biological types.