Nietzsche and Dostoevsky: Creating and Resolving Existential Despair
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Rebellion Brothers Karamazov
Book V, Chapter IV. Rebellion from The Brothers Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoyevsky) Trans: Constance Garnett Project Gutenber Edition “I must make you one confession,” Ivan began. “I could never understand how one can love one's neighbors. It's just one's neighbors, to my mind, that one can't love, though one might love those at a distance. I once read somewhere of John the Merciful, a saint, that when a hungry, frozen beggar came to him, he took him into his bed, held him in his arms, and began breathing into his mouth, which was putrid and loathsome from some awful disease. I am convinced that he did that from ‘self-laceration,’ from the self-laceration of falsity, for the sake of the charity imposed by duty, as a penance laid on him. For any one to love a man, he must be hidden, for as soon as he shows his face, love is gone.” “Father Zossima has talked of that more than once,” observed Alyosha; “he, too, said that the face of a man often hinders many people not practiced in love, from loving him. But yet there's a great deal of love in mankind, and almost Christ-like love. I know that myself, Ivan.” “Well, I know nothing of it so far, and can't understand it, and the innumerable mass of mankind are with me there. The question is, whether that's due to men's bad qualities or whether it's inherent in their nature. To my thinking, Christ-like love for men is a miracle impossible on earth. -
Dostoevsky's Ideal
Student Publications Student Scholarship Fall 2015 Dostoevsky’s Ideal Man Paul A. Eppler Gettysburg College Follow this and additional works at: https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship Part of the Philosophy Commons Share feedback about the accessibility of this item. Eppler, Paul A., "Dostoevsky’s Ideal Man" (2015). Student Publications. 395. https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship/395 This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution. Cupola permanent link: https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship/ 395 This open access student research paper is brought to you by The uC pola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College. It has been accepted for inclusion by an authorized administrator of The uC pola. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Dostoevsky’s Ideal Man Abstract This paper aimed to provide a comprehensive examination of the "ideal" Dostoevsky human being. Through comparison of various characters and concepts found in his texts, a kenotic individual, one who is undifferentiated in their love for all of God's creation, was found to be the ultimate to which Dostoevsky believed man could ascend. Keywords Dostoevsky, Christianity, Kenoticism Disciplines Philosophy Comments This paper was written for Professor Vernon Cisney's course, PHIL 368: Reading- Dostoevsky, Fall 2015. This student research paper is available at The uC pola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College: https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/ student_scholarship/395 Dostoevsky’s Ideal Man Paul Eppler Professor Vernon Cisney Reading Dostoevsky I affirm that I have upheld the highest principles of honesty and integrity in my academic work and have not witnessed a violation of the Honor Code. -
Christ and the Temptations of Modernity
9 Christ and the Temptations of Modernity David Hawkin One of the trUly great short stories of Western literatUre is “The Grand InqUisitor” which is foUnd in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel, The Brothers Karamazov . In the novel the story of the Grand InqUisitor is told by one of the brothers, Ivan, to another brother, Alyosha. It is set in the sixteenth centUry in Seville in Spain, at the height of the InqUisition. Ivan, the storyteller, tries to envisage what woUld have happened had Christ reappeared at this time. Ivan says, ‘He came Unobserved and moved aboUt silently bUt, strangely enoUgh, those who saw him recognized him at once.’ 1 Having recognized him, a woman in the crowd, in the process of bUrying her dead daUghter, beseeches Christ to raise her daUghter from the dead. Christ does so. It is at this point that the Grand InqUisitor, a wizened 90 year old, appears. He sees Christ raise the girl from the dead. At once he orders Christ to be arrested and imprisoned. Ivan continUes— The Grand InqUisitor’s power is so great and the people are so sUbmissive and tremblingly obedient to him that they immediately open Up a passage for the gUards. A death like silence descends Upon [the gathered crowd] and in that silence the gUards lay hands on [Christ] and lead him away. Then everyone in the crowd, to a man, prostrates himself before the Grand InqUisitor. The old man blesses them in silence and passes on. 2 At night, the old man visits Christ in prison. He knows who Christ is, bUt he does not fall down and worship him. -
By Fyodor Dostoevsky
“The Problem of Evil ” by Fyodor Dostoevsky Dostoevsky, (detail) portrait by Vasily Perov, The State Tretyakov Gallery About the author.. The novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) spent four years in a Siberian prison and four more years in the army as punish- ment for his role in a clandestine Utopian-socialist discussion group. He became scornful of the rise of humanistic science in the West and chron- icled its threat to human freedom. Dostoevsky’s writings challenged the notion of the essential rationality of human beings and anticipated many ideas in existential psychoanalysis. For Dostoevsky, the essence of being human is freedom. About the work. In the The Brothers Karamazov,1 Dostoevsky reveals deep psychological insight into the nature of human morality. In this, his greatest work, he expresses the destructive aspects of human freedom which can only be bound by God. In Chapter 4 of that work, the death of an innocent child is seen to be an inescapable objection to God’s good- ness. In this chapter Alyosha is the religious foil to Ivan, his intellectual older brother. 1. Fyodor Dostoevsky. “Rebellion” in the The Brothers Karamazov (1879). Trans. by Constance Garnett. 1 “The Problem of Evil ” by Fyodor Dostoevsky From the reading. “But then there is the children, and what am I to do about them? That’s a question I can’t answer.” Ideas of Interest from The Brothers Karamazov 1. Why does Ivan think that children are innocent and adults are not? Why does he think we can love children when they are close, but we can only love our neighbor abstractly? 2. -
The Struggle for Spiritual Supremacy: Dostoevsky's Philosophy Or History and Eschatology
Western Washington University Western CEDAR WWU Honors Program Senior Projects WWU Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship Spring 1994 The Struggle for Spiritual Supremacy: Dostoevsky's Philosophy or History and Eschatology Andrew Wender Western Washington University Follow this and additional works at: https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwu_honors Part of the History Commons, and the Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Wender, Andrew, "The Struggle for Spiritual Supremacy: Dostoevsky's Philosophy or History and Eschatology" (1994). WWU Honors Program Senior Projects. 339. https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwu_honors/339 This Project is brought to you for free and open access by the WWU Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship at Western CEDAR. It has been accepted for inclusion in WWU Honors Program Senior Projects by an authorized administrator of Western CEDAR. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Struggle for Spiritual Supremacy: Dostoevsky's Philosophy or History and Eschatology Andrew Wender Presented to Prof. George Mariz and Prof. Susan Costanzo Project Advisers Honors 490 - Senior Project June 6, 1994 • ............._ Honors Program HONORS fflESIS In presenting this Honors Paper in partial requirements for a bachelor's degree at Western Washington University, I agree that the Library shall make its copies freely available for inspection. I further agree that extensive copying of this thesis is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood that any publication of this thesis for commercial pur:uoses or for financial eain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Bellingham, Washington 98225-9089 □ f2061 676-3034 An Equal Oppartunit_v University Table of Contents Page I. Introduction . 2 II. Historical Context And Intellectual Development or Dostoevsky's Philosophy or History .............................. -
The Grand Inquisitor,” Is Told by Ivan Karamazov to His Younger Brother Alyosha
Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881), author of such works as Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, and The Possessed, is considered by many to be one of the world’s greatest writers, and the novel The Brothers Karamazov is universally recognized to be one of genuine masterpieces of world literature. Within this novel the story, “The Grand Inquisitor,” is told by Ivan Karamazov to his younger brother Alyosha. The two brothers had just been discussing the problem of evil—the classic problem of Christian theology: if God is really all powerful, all knowing, and truly loving, then why does evil exist? If God could not have prevented evil, then he is not all powerful. If evil somehow escapes his awareness, then he is not all knowing. If he knew, and could do something about it, but chose not to, then how can he be considered a loving God? One solution to this problem is to claim that evil does not really exist, that if we were to see the world Portrait of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 1872 from God’s perspective, from the perspective of eternity, then everything comes out well in the end. Another response is to claim that it really isn’t God’s fault at all, it is ours. God gave us free-will and evil is the result of our misuse of that gift. Ivan will have none of these arguments. He brings up the particularly troubling case of the suffering of innocent children—how can they be blamed and punished if they are innocent? Ivan cannot accept that the suffering of an innocent child will be justified in the end. -
Trial and Error the Malleability of Truth in the Conviction of Dmitri Karamazov
Trial and Error The Malleability of Truth in the Conviction of Dmitri Karamazov monica coscia Fyodor dostoevsky’s timeless novel, The BroThers Karamazov, explores the eternal question oF whether judicial systems can actually attain justice and truth. set in nineteenth-century russia, the novel tells the story oF Fyodor pavlovich and his sons: the rationalist ivan, the religious alyosha, the sensualist dmitri, and the ille- gitimate smerdyakov. the sudden murder oF Fyodor spawns Familial and societal dis- cord, and dmitri is charged with patricide. the novel culminates in a thrilling court- room drama that captures the attention oF the karamazov Family’s entire community. this discourse views dostoevsky’s jury trial in The BroThers Karamazov not only as the trial oF dmitri karamazov, but also as a trial oF russian culture, pitting tradi- tionalism against modernity. this paper assesses how russia’s dualistic culture sets the stage For dostoevsky to invent attorneys, witnesses, judges, and spectators who illustrate the various Facets oF late-nineteenth-century russian society at its pivotal crossroads. the article ultimately explains how dostoevsky’s thrilling legal battle reveals his doubt that the russian courts, or any arbitrarily established legal sys- tem, could ever achieve true justice. During the latter part of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s life, Russia Russia and in Europe.”4 Accordingly, Dostoevsky read in- lays “between a past which has not quite ended and a fu- numerable types of literature from all regions of the cul- ture which has not quite begun.”1 The beauty of Dosto- tural spectrum-novels, periodicals, Christian literature, evsky’s literature lies in its depiction of both sides of this classic Western works, psychological treatises, and tradi- turning point in Russian history: on one hand, he writes of tional Russian literature.5 Dostoevsky learned about West- Russia’s rich, unique national identity and traditional val- ern liberalism and idealism and contrasted it with Russian ues. -
“Viper Will Eat Viper”: Dostoevsky, Darwin, and the Possibility of Brotherhood
III “Viper will eat viper”: Dostoevsky, Darwin, and the Possibility of Brotherhood Anna A. Berman As Darwinian thought took root across Europe and Russia in the 1860s after the publication of On the Origin of Species (1859), intellectuals wrestled with the troubling implications the “struggle for existence” held for human harmony and love. How could people be expected to “love their neighbors” if that love ran counter to science? Was that love even commendable if it counteracted the perfection of the human race through the process of natural selection? And if Darwinian struggle was supposed to be most intense among those who were closest and had the most shared resources to compete for, what hope did this hold for the family? Darwin’s Russian contemporaries were particularly averse the idea that members of the same species were in competition. As Daniel Todes, James Rogers, and Alexander Vucinich have argued, Russian thinkers attempted to reject the Malthusian side of Darwin’s theory.1 Situated in the harsh, vast expanses of Russia, rather than on the crowded, verdant British Isles, they 1 Daniel Todes, Darwin without Malthus: The Struggle for Existence in Russian Evolutionary Thought (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989); James Allen Rogers, “The Russian Populists’ Response to Darwin,” Slavic Review 22, no. 3 (1963): 456–68; Alexander Vucinich, Darwin in Russian Thought (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988). 84 Anna A. Berman argued that of the three struggles Darwin included under the umbrella of “struggle for existence”—(1) -
Legend of the Grand Inquisitor’ Reconsidered Literary Irony and Theological Seriousness in Its Representation of Christ
Journal of Eastern Christian Studies 59(1-2), 103-121. doi: 10.2143/JECS.59.1.2023429 T©HE 2007 ‘LEGEND by Journal OF THE of EasternGRAND Christian INQUISITOR Studies.’ RECONSIDERED All rights reserved. 103 THE ‘LEGEND OF THE GRAND INQUISITOR’ RECONSIDERED LITERARY IRONY AND THEOLOGICAL SERIOUSNESS IN ITS REPRESENTATION OF CHRIST WIL VAN DEN BERCKEN* The chapter ‘The Grand Inquisitor’ in Dostoevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov is one of the most intriguing religious-philosophical pieces in lit- erature. It is an original interpretation of the figure of Christ and of the na- ture of Christian belief. The story has been commented on by many inter- preters but was more often used as an argument for or against a certain ec- clesiastical theological standpoint, rather than appreciated as an autono- mous piece of literature. In order to make a sound theological evaluation, however, one must first approach the story within its own literary frame- work. What literary means does Dostoevsky use to convey his view of Christ and Christianity? Before analysing the theological content of the story, I would like to treat three aspects of literary style in ‘The Grand Inquisi- tor’1: irony in the presentation of the story, the anti-iconographical picture of Christ and the indirect method of presenting his message. IRONY First a word on the general structure of the story of ‘The Grand Inquisitor’ itself. It is a story within the larger story of the novel and is not part of the plot. As regards content, it is linked to the discussion between the brothers, Ivan and Aleksei, on the suffering in the world, described in the previous chapter. -
The Grand Inquisitor
The Grand Inquisitor a graphic novel based on the Adapted by Natalia Osipova story from Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Illustrated by Elena Avinova The Brothers Karamazov Introduction by Gary Saul Morson A graphic novel based on the story from Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov Natalia Osipova - adapted script Elena Avinova - storyboard and graphics Translated by Constance Garnett (New York: Macmillan, 1922) Thanks Marina Rubinova and Carol Apollonio for adapted translation PLOUGH PUBLISHING HOUSE Published by Plough Publishing House Walden, New York Robertsbridge, England Elsmore, Australia www.plough.com Plough produces books, a quarterly magazine, and Plough.com to encourage people and help them put their faith into action. We believe Jesus can transform the world and that his teachings and example apply to all aspects of life. At the same time, we seek common ground with all people regardless of their creed. Plough is the publishing house of the Bruderhof, an international Christian community. The Bruderhof is a fellowship of families and singles practicing radical discipleship in the spirit of the first church in Jerusalem (Acts 2 and 4). Members devote their entire lives to serving God, one another, and their neighbors, renouncing private property and sharing everything. To learn more about the Bruderhof ’s faith, history, and daily life, see Bruderhof.com. (Views expressed by Plough authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Bruderhof.) Copyright © 2020 by Plough Publishing House All rights reserved. ISBN 978-0-87486-353-6 Translated by Constance Garnett (New York: Macmillan, 1922) Translation adapted by Marina Rubinova and Carol Apollonio introduction The Eternal Questions, Illustrated Gary Saul Morson WHEN EARTHQUAKES , FAMINES , AND PANDEMICS STRIKE , people often ask: Why does this happen? If they are religious, they pose the traditional ques- tion of theodicy (justification of God): Why does God allow the innocent to suffer? If their perspective is secular, they doubt the goodness of the universe. -
Biblical Allusions in the Brothers Karamazov Winter.Pdf
Running head: BIBLICAL ALLUSIONS IN THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV Biblical Allusions in The Brothers Karamazov To what extent does Fyodor Dostoyevsky implement biblical allusions in his novel, The Brothers Karamazov? Lindy Winter Collin College Word count: 3450 BIBLICAL ALLUSIONS IN THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV Winter 2 Abstract Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, written in 1880 in the Russian language (although translated to English in 1912), is the last book that Dostoyevsky wrote. This passionate novel covers a multitude of significant themes that reflect Dostoyevsky’s own religious and philosophical views such as free will, the existence of God, and ethics. Throughout the novel, however, these themes could not be expressed without the use of biblical allusions, which are indirect references to the bible. Therefore, in order to fully comprehend Dostoyevsky’s purpose for this final novel, this essay will examine the question: to what extent and why does Fyodor Dostoyevsky implement biblical allusions in his novel, The Brothers Karamazov? Answering this question requires a complete and thorough investigation of reviews and criticisms on Dostoyevsky’s novel, background of the author’s life, context of the time period, and an exploration of religious texts that relate to the book. Primary sources, such as scriptural accounts in The Bible, are used to prove the existence of biblical allusions as well as discover a relationship between the novel and biblical text. Furthermore, secondary sources such as literary analyses are critically observed in order to understand the reasoning for Dostoyevsky’s use of biblical allusions. The research primarily focuses on the overall implementation of biblical references in the novel and why they are used. -
THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV by Fyodor Dostoevsky
THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV by Fyodor Dostoevsky THE AUTHOR Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) was born into a lower middle class family in Moscow, the son of a former army surgeon, and experienced a strict religious upbringing. His education was poor, and at age seventeen he entered a military engineering school that he found insufferably boring. He read voraciously in his spare time, and resigned from the military shortly after graduation to pursue a career as a writer. His first literary effort, Poor Folk, was published in 1845 to widespread critical acclaim. His succeeding efforts received little public attention, though through them he continued to polish his craft. In 1847, he joined one of the many secret societies that abounded in Russia during the repressive reign of Nicholas I. He found it exciting and thought its activities somewhat innocuous, but the czar did not agree. In 1849, Dostoevsky was arrested and, with several others of his circle, sentenced to be shot for sedition. The czar allowed preparations for the execution to continue to the very last moment before commuting the sentence. Dostoevsky was then exiled to Siberia for four years of hard labor, followed by six years as a common soldier in the army. In Siberia, the intense suffering he experienced made a deep impression that was later reflected in his most famous works; in addition, the relationships he developed with his fellow prisoners, most of whom were poor and uneducated, gave him a lifelong appreciation for the downtrodden of society. It was also during his years in Siberia that he was converted to the Christian faith.