Yet Bahnsen's philosophical system was only taking its very first steps. He accepted a "modified" form of Hegel's dialectic, but by removing the metaphysical driving entity, there remained a void to be filled in his worldview. This led to Bahnsen's accidental discovery of the World as Will and Representation by Arthur Schopenhauer. After carefully examining this magnum opus and discussing it personally with the Frankfurt philosopher, Bahnsen realized that the metaphysical notion of an irrational will underlying all of creation was just what he needed in his own system. After several years of studying Schopenhauer's works, Bahnsen became very proficient and knowledgeable in the "philosophy of will". He was regarded as one of the most capable philosophers in the "Schopenhauer Schule", rivalled only by Schopenhauer's personal literary executor — Julius Frauenstädt. However, as Bahnsen's own system matured, he began to deviate from Schopenhauer's teachings in considerable ways.