Underground Men, Inquisitors, and Saints - Fyodor Dostoevsky | Glimpses Into Existence Lecture 3
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This is the third in a series of twelve monthly lectures in a series on Existentialist Philosophy and Literature hosted by the Kingston Library in 2014. The Existentialist philosophers, theologians, playwrights, novelists, short story writers, and poets covered in this series are: Soren Kierkegaard, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Friedrich Nietzsche, Ranier Maria Rilke, Lev Shestov, Franz Kafka, Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Gabriel Marcel In this lecture, we discuss the life, works, and key themes of the great Russian novelist and writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky
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#Dostoevsky #BrothersKaramazov #Existentialism #God #Christianity #Ethics #Politics #Society #Philosophy #Literature
Dostoyevsky's ability to lay out the mental landscape of so many different people truly feals almost superhuman. I am currently reading Crime and Punishment with my father, and it is really helping us come together despite disagreeing on so much and living over 200 miles away from each other.
Yes, that is an interesting feature of his works, to be sure. Bakhtin for that reason calls Dostoevsky's works "polyphonic"
The Idiot & Brothers Karamazov are probably THE books for me, extremely important. Dostoyevsky had a great ability to convey different perspectives, in a lifelike manner, while never taking sides too dogmatically. I feel that he had great compassion for man, and for his/her striving to be happy and together in the world, which usually is very difficult, and oftentimes fails. Yet, it's possible to gain certain things from horrible failures and losses, a kind of process of love and companionship, or perhaps coherence and insight. A feeling of strange meaning in the world. Thanks for the lecture, anyways!
You're welcome.
I'd say that's a pretty good summary of Dostoyevsky as a person
Thanks so much for this, I've been waiting for it for a long time. Dostoevsky is so very special to me. His books have changed my life in ways I never even thought about or could conceive at the time. We are very fortunate to have him in our lives and again thank you for devoting all the time and work to this lecture and all of your other lectures.
You're very welcome! Dostoyevsky is someone for me as well that has been growing on me over the years -- forcing me to think about things I wouldn't have otherwise
Very lucid layout and explanation of The Possessed. An extremely tricky novel, but one that is always rewarding and often hilarious if one knows the basics of what Dostoevsky's trying to do with it
It's my favorite novel of his
The "time-table" metaphor for rationalistic empiricism (if I remember correctly that that was what he was referring to) is perfect.
It's for that, and for the utilitarian-esque kinds of "let's fix man, and fix society projects -- yes, Dostoeyevsky was a master of deriving metaphors
I am really enjoying these lectures on these different existentialist thinkers. These lectures are so well informed that at the end of them I am looking for copies of these authors work so I can read them for myself.
I suppose I probably ought to add some links to copies of the texts.
Glad you really enjoy these lectures -- we've got nine more coming over the course of the year
D's my favorite author. Liked the talk, but also... I REALLY liked the discussion that unexpectedly broke out at the end while you waited for your family to arrive. What a great group and great discussion.
it was indeed a good group. Had something like that here in Milwaukee for the Worlds of Speculative Fiction series
An excellent discussion of Dostoevsky. Would love to see more videos about his works, he's a favorite author of mine,, and his books are so philosophically interesting.
Here you go th-cam.com/play/PL4gvlOxpKKIhYs9Abpunu0q85df3OaEzn.html
The gentlemen who brought up the idea of Christianity being the object of the world's judgement, that was fantastic, I never thought of it like that.
The people essentially bragging about how Catholic they are under the guise of contributing to the conversation remind me why I left the church. Your videos and your commentary on philosophy are incredibly insightful! Me and my fiancé love these videos :)
Yes, there's quite a few of the "I'm so Catholic. . ." types out there.
Glad you enjoy the videos!
Here's the video footage from the Existentialism talk at the Kingston Library last weekend
I remember being, sort of, deeply insulted as a human being, when I read "The underground man" by Dostoyevsky. The "whim" philosophy of the protagonist you describe, I think is greatly expressed in a scene with a prostitute the protagonist as talked into empathy of him, and when he realizes her empathy as she gives him back the money for her prostitution, he "whimsically" rejects her, knowing that he was only, sort of, playing a mental game with her in the first place. But, the idea strikes me now as you talk about the work from a more abstract philosophical perspective, that what if that "whimsical" act was an act that was as surprising as that of the underground man, but instead of being insulting to humanity was a praising of humanity. That would be a literary "proof", for lack of a better term, a "via negativa" perhaps, of a certain type of Christianity, in the abstract. Does that make sense?
hookedonafeeling100
Hahaha! I wasn't insulted myself when I first read Notes from the Underground myself -- which was my first reading by Dostoyevsky -- but then again, I was a pretty self-centered, directionless undergrad at the time!
I don't think that this particular work is denigrating or praising humanity -- it's more presenting some facets of human nature that were getting left out all too often (and still do today)
Gregory B. Sadler Texts that insults ones ego should have it's own special place in any respectable persons library. I was looking for stuff like that at the time. In that sense "The underground man" is a gem! My first complete and on my own initiative reading was "The Idiot". Never reflected much about that one except in it's way it shows "a facet", as you put it, of a Jesus character, in the light of modernity. ;)
My other comments on other lectures I mentioned Dostoyevsky and Camus as what drove me to existentialism or the absurd, but I failed to mention that when I started reading these two and Kafka, whom i see is on a future lecture in this playlist, I didn't know they were existentialist or related to it when I first read them. As a writer, I picked up many random classics, Camus' Exhile and the Kingdom being a book I saw on my older brother's shelf who was a philosophy undergrad, and wasn't until I realized they were doing and expressing similar things I had been doing in my poetry and was what lead me down an exploration of western philosophy a decade ago. I was at a strange point where I had slight moments of nihilism but with something more, a kind of passion, that was both one of much exuberance and simultaneously great depression. Haviing been a drug addict for my entire twenties, I am at this state where perhaps I have reached the burst of the existential crises bubble that came from that passion and/or knowledge. I no longer want to be an addict and I go longer and longer without but my depression also grows and I too, before ever hearing this, ten years ago, had the thought that the only way to exert my will upon reality would be to commit suicide. In that way, I end the world. I never thought that was nihilistic until hearing you discuss something similar, if not the exact same, just now. I am more than just addict, please don't judge me on that (never missed a day of work and never stole for a fix, because *philosophical ethics* if that makes sense). another amazing lecture, many thanks
Flywheel Shyster I'm glad you enjoyed the lecture and found it useful for (re)thinking through your own life experiences
Grazie infinite for these super interesting lectures ❤🎉
You're very welcome!
Professor! I love your lectures . Love from India❤️
Thanks! Glad you enjoy them!
Damn, this is a good lecture. I remember having read "Notes from Underground" and it taking me quite a while to get through it. Despite it being a relatively short read, the insights were often times far too cutting that I would have to rest the book on its pages and go about my day, as I was almost afraid of reading on to see that Dostoevsky have taken a further peek into my psychological closet. Hell, I'd say I was downright uncomfortable with reading some of this iconoclastic scorn. The underground man seems almost a complete contrasting element of Dostoevsky's character than his white nights dreamer (the idealistic romantic more so infatuated with objects than people; the crushing solidarity that comes with people having fallen in love with you for you not falling in love with them) . This isn't a work of fiction, it's an ideological manuscript of the bristling human condition. The whim of having the ability to be out of character in one's saturation in the world seems to echo Sartre's "The Wall", where the prisoners are reduced to "lesser men" or brutes in circumstances where one is under the boot-heel of anxiety -- of having to come face to face with their existence. That this is a native sentiment or condition, rather, is really the heart of one's difficulty in being themselves.
"the insights were often times far too cutting that I would have to rest the book on its pages and go about my day, as I was almost afraid of reading on to see that Dostoevsky have taken a further peek into my psychological closet"
Yep, that is a good description of what's going on in that text -- and a sign of D's genius is indeed just how different, and yet coherent and deep, his characters can be from each other. I've been debating about whether I want to shoot a video on White Nights, or perhaps the Dream of a Ridiculous Man down the line
Have you ever thought about doing a another series on Graham Greene , Iris Murdoch , George Orwell , Hesse , All these authors have a philosophical theme to their writing.
I voted for Kant in your recent poll , so I am happy to see that you are going to be covering him over the summer.
I've thought about the first three - and other authors as well -but it's a matter of finding the time, which in it's turn is a matter of making a living while I do this. Already started shooting some Kant!
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I hope you continue doing videos and know that people also passionate about philosophy are watching. I feel bad for how the room played out because by comment time I can just tell these people did not come to the library to talk about Dostoyevsky, it’s all but confirmed that they heard a philosophy guy would be speaking in their area and thought they might hijack the conversation to tout trite apologetics so they can tell Father that they yelled at someone who thinks for themselves. “It’s not ‘SHOULD!’” It’s embarrassing for them to hear their beliefs clearly described because they know there’s something very off about it. I can’t write my way out of this comment, I could harp on, but I’d just like to say, what you do is greatly appreciated.
Well, you work with the audience/participants you get. . .
i like the conversation, esp. with passionate guy/reminds me of hanging out in my favorite coffee house
Yes, these sorts of events tend to get a good mix
the Demons is a take from the Necheyev-Bakunin story. It is important to understand that
He really had uncanny insight into the everyday average person..trying to get through a few of his works simultaneously..house of the dead..the idiot..and the double..
Exactly -- that's why I am willing to place him side by side with someone like Shakespeare -- insight into the depths of people, and the capacity to depict them